Happy Birthday to You!!

Seriously, I am alive, I just took a break from updating for a while. Sorry to all my avid readers, and apparently, there actually are some.

Anyway, just to catch you up since I last wrote;
1. Jacob is still screeching before and during dinner. At least it makes me lose my appetite, so maybe I will lose the last few pregnancy pounds.
2. Nate had his 4th birthday party- which I will write about
3. We are planning a west coast 2 week jaunt, which I am beginning to dread. I dont want to live out of a suitcase for 2 weeks in a hotel room! But, we will see some great stuff.

So about Nate's birthdays... I will admit it, I get totally, ridiculously carried away. For his 1st birthday, we had a "Chicka Chicka Birthday" (A play on the Bill Martin, Lois Ehlert book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom). Obviously, that is not a theme you can find at the local party store, so I made hand-cut paper invitations and invited everyone I knew with kids. Nate was completely overwhelmed and spent the entire party with his head in our housekeepers lap. (She was an invited guest, as she had young kids). We had alphabet cookies, and alphabet pretzels and alphabet everything.

I calmed down slightly for his second birthday, and did a "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" theme, which was easier to find stuff for. I only went slightly bananas on the gift bags and was searching dollar stores 3 months before his party for cars and books about cars.

I got bitten by the smart bug in 2005 and outsourced his birthday party. I simply wrote a check to a local kids gym and had a Dora the Explorer birthday party (it killed me to do a tv theme party after my 2 previous creative themes), but I will admit, it was super easy. After all, I just wrote a check- the gym went to the party store and got everything Dora. I did go slightly crazy over the invitations. I could not simply get the ugly Dora fill in the blank teeny invite cards. I went to the paper store and got gorgeous heavy weight lime-green paper with bright purple envelopes. Then the invitation read, "Come on Vamanos, everybody let's go to...Nate's party!" It had Dora stickers on the envelope.

This year was much trickier, Nate wanted a Rainforest Party. Then he wanted a Superman party, then a swimming party, then so on and so on. We settled on a rainforest party, but I did not know where to hold it or what to do for it. After last year's easy party, I did not want to have it at my house, so I scheduled a swim party then changed my mind. (I did not want to cut cake in a wet bathing suit) Then made plans for a hiking party at a nature center., then decided it would be too hot. Finally, we settled on a party at the National Aquarium. It was perfect. It was low key, just a few kids were in town for it, so the numbers were not overwhelming.

Now I just have 12 months to plan for number 5. I can't wait to see what he is into next year. His parties are really emblematic of where his interests lie. I also see his birthday as my anniversary of becoming a parent, so perhaps that is why I make such a big deal over them.

What do you do for your kids' birthdays? Have you or anyone you know gone really over the top? Although many would consider spending $100 for renting the aquarium + $75 on gift bags, paper goods, art supplies +$70 on food over the top.