Birthday

Alyce's 5th birthday was quite some time ago. Sadly it's taken too long to get around to writing a post about it. Alyce's birthday was really more a birthday week than a birthday day. We did a little celebration on the actual day, next we had a family birthday party at our house, and finally we had a kid birthday party at McDonald's. It makes me tired just thinking back on it all.

The actual birthday was a simple affair after Alyce's dance class. We had cake and ice cream and a few presents. We didn't really need this night but Alyce had been focused on the day so much we didn't want it to be a fizzle. I think it was enough to keep her from being letdown.

The second birthday was the big birthday party where she got the big present from us. This party, held at our house, was for the family. We had grandparents from both sides plus aunts, uncles, and friends of the family. We had lasagna with sides, cake, and ice cream. Presents galore too! The big hit of the party was our gift to Alyce, a new bike! Looking at those pictures of her riding around the cul-de-sac on her old bike we knew she needed something more size appropriate. The bike is princess themed and purple. It has a snap in carriage on the handle bars were she can sit her stuffed animals. The night of the party and the next day we allowed her to ride her bike in the house. We knew we were asking for trouble by allowing bikes in the house but surprisingly enough she didn't hit a thing. With training wheels Alyce is a remarkably good driver. Once we brought the bike outside and got the tires dirty it was to never be back in the house.

The third and final party the friends McDonald's party was a huge success. We originally wanted to have the party at Monkey Joe's but thought it too expensive for what you got. So for a third of the price we held it at McDonald's. I had a McDonald's birthday party as a kid and had a great time. I figured Alyce would enjoy it too. I was right.

We invited all the kids we knew to the party. All of our friend's kids were in attendance including Madison from the neighborhood and Maya a friend of Alyce's from school. Another girl from her school, Ellie, had to cancel before the party. Before the party got underway it was pandemonium on the playground. The playground was a two story high affair with lots of tunnels an slides. Alyce, Maya, and Madison were a roving band of girls. Luke and Gideon were inseparable.



Happy meals were provided, as well as cake and ice cream. The chicken nuggets and milk were consumed quickly so the kids could get back to playing. Cake and ice cream was somewhat abbreviated as most of the kids wanted to keep playing. Present opening, well the girls in attendance wanted to see what Alyce got. Everyone else was running rampant.

Everyone had a great time at the party and I would recommend having a party there to anyone. For the next few days that party was all Alyce would talk about. Hearing from a few friends it sounds like the party was all their kids would talk about as well.

Mission Accomplished.

Duplicates

This weekend Alyce had her big McDonald's birthday party. I'll be writing about that soon. This was the first party for her where we didn't know what she was getting ahead of time. So we needed to talk to her about how to handle duplicate presents or presents she didn't like.

The night before while putting Alyce to bed I talked about how if she gets two of the same present or gets a present of something she already has to say thank you and not mention you already had it. I went on to say that we could exchange it later for a different toy. I think she understood the thank you part but the exchange seemed to confuse her. She kept saying she would have two of the same toy but in different colors. I left it at that having done the best I could at getting my newly minted 5 year old to be gracious when receiving a gift.

I didn't tell Mom that I had the conversation with Alyce. It didn't come up. Well the next morning Mom gets up with Alyce and proceeds to have the same conversation. Alyce pipes up and says "Mooom, Dad already talked about this to me". Well apparently Alyce is turning 15 instead of 5 as she's got it all figured out.

When we opened presents at her party Alyce did get a duplicate present. Luckily the duplicate was sitting at home as it was a gift from one of her classmates that had to cancel. Alyce did a great job with her gift; possibly better than Mom or myself. When we saw a duplicate we turned and looked at each other with a look of horror on our face. Alyce said thank you like she was supposed to and then showed her friend how to use it. It wasn't a perfect reaction but I think it is better than one would expect from a 5 year old.

Alyce is This Many

Can you believe it? Alyce is 4 years old!  It seems like only yesterday that our little girl was brought into the world and now sleeping in the room down the hall is a 4 year old girl that is pretty much self sufficient.  A lot can happen in 4 years.

For the past few weeks the anticipation of turning 4 has been building.  It reached a fever pitch this weekend.  We had a birthday party for her on Sunday and a trip to Monkey Joe's today.  The party was at Gram's and Papa's house as our apartment is a little small for hosting parties.  GiGi, Onermark Grams, Trent Lisa & Shelby, Uncle Scott, Jeff Liz & Abby, Aunt Jean, and Aunt Sue were all there.  After dinner and before the cake Alyce opened her presents.  Another aspect of her getting older is that she no longer needs us to help with the opening of presents.  Alyce got a lot of great gifts but the most liked was the one Mom and I picked up for her, a princess scooter.  Alyce has been eying scooters for quite some time.  Her friend Zack from down the street has one that Alyce has used and she's pointed them out the few times we've been to Toys R Us.  We've been holding on to it for quite some time and there has even been a close call or two where Alyce could have seen it.

Tonight Alyce and Luke took a trip to Monkey Joe's for a bouncing good time.  Wednesday night is definitely the time to go as we had the whole place to ourselves.  Towards the end a few families filtered in with Alyce making friends with one of the girls.  Sadly they became friends about 5 minutes before we needed to leave.  Alyce and this girl kept riding the slide over and over again.  When it was time for Alyce to leave they shared a hug that melted our heart.  Following Monkey Joe's we met up with Josh, Tammy, and Gideon for burgers and ice cream at Culvers.

One funny part about the time leading up to Alyce's birthday was that she kept getting confused on how old she would be after her birthday.  Instead of saying the word four she would just hold up her hand showing four fingers and asking if she was going to be this many on her birthday.  After we'd tell her that yes she would be four she would then hold up five fingers and say "am I going to be this many after my birthday?".  I think by the time her birthday rolled around she finally figured it all out because when we asked her how old she was she'd very proudly say "four!".

Birthday Party

This past weekend we threw a birthday party for Alyce's 3rd birthday. We threw a small party at our house with some immediate family and friends. The theme of the party was castles and princesses. Mom and I spent the better part of the day on Sunday getting ready for the party and decorating the house; there were pink, purple and blue streamers and balloons, princess plates, and pink castle as the centerpiece.

They started to arrive while Alyce was still in quiet time. By the time Alyce came downstairs the house was full of people and I think she was a little overwhelmed. Any reservation that she had must have disappeared because the next time I checked on her she was strutting all around the house in her birthday dress and boots.

Dinner was running a bit behind so while it was cooking we went ahead and opened presents. This was Alyce's first birthday where she opened up presents herself without any adult assistance. There was a mountain of presents before her and she managed to open them all without getting distracted with a new toy and forgetting about the rest. Alyce received a lot of wonderful presents.

• Her first Barbie dolls
• Little People castle and carriage
• Dinosaur bank
• Princess dress up clothes
• Dora the Explorer tent, chair, books, pajamas and purse
• Her first board game Candy Land
• Puzzles (Dora, My Little Pony and jungle animals)
• Clothes

After the presents were unwrapped a few immediately stood out. The Dora the Explorer chair and the princess clothes. While I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready, Alyce's God sister, Shelby, turned my little girl into a princes. She came into the kitchen wearing a tiara, necklace, and a bracelet. When dinner was finally served we put Alyce's new Dora chair on one of our kitchen chairs and Alyce looked like a queen presiding over a royal ball.

Following dinner and some play time with Alyce's new toys we had some cupcakes and ice cream. Mom decorated some of the cupcakes to look like little mini castles. In a little breach of standard birthday procedure Alyce got to eat some cake before we sang Happy Birthday. With some help from Mom, Alyce was even able to blow out the candles on her cake; yet another first!

Alyce must have been more interested in her toys than the cake because she had only eaten half before she wanted to get down from the table and go play. With the help of Uncle Trent and Shelby, Alyce opened up and started playing with her Little People castle and carriage. These were big hits as Alyce continued to play with them while sitting in her Dora chair up until bedtime. Alyce did take a few breaks from playing to give everyone goodbye hugs and to say thank you in her quiet little shy voice.

I think Alyce had fun at her party. To the eyes of a three year I would say that the entire experience would be magical. There was dressing up, presents, sweets, and friends. Everything a little girl could ask for.

Gideon's Birthday Party

On Saturday the family went to our friends Josh and Tammy's house for a 1st birthday party for their son Gideon. We had a lot of fun talking to old friends and eating lots of cake. Alyce enjoyed herself by playing with Gideon's new toys.

Two toys really stuck out as favorites to all of the kids in attendance. The first toy given to Gideon by Mom, Alyce, Luke, and myself was a toy lawnmower that makes bubbles. Tammy didn't get the bubbles out as she wanted clean floors but the kids didn't mind. They pushed this thing all around the house both inside and out. I think I need to get one with Alyce. With proper training I think I can get her to do a decent job mowing the back.


The second toy is an oldie but goodie a plastic swimming pool. The same classic blue swimming pool that we all had as kids. Josh setup a sprinkler and a toy slide to land into the pool and the kids were set. Well the kids that brought swimsuits or a change of clothes were set. Mom put Alyce into her swimsuit and she was off to play in the pool that had water straight from the hose *cold*. I can't really say that Alyce was enjoying herself in the pool as her lips were blue and her arms all goose bumpy but we asked her repeatedly if she wanted to dry off and every time "no" was the response. Alyce would get into and out of the pool, go down the slide, and toss balls into the pool.


After a while it was time to eat and Alyce had enough of the water. We had a great time at the party. Everyone wanted to hold and take care of Luke so Mom and I both had a good portion of the day to ourselves. It is nice that Alyce is getting old enough that as long as we can see her we know she is ok. No more do we have to be within arms reach because there is something she can't navigate. If we are at a place with other parents we can even take our eyes off her as they will inform us if she is getting beyond her boundaries or doing something inappropriate. I won't say that we can see the finish line with Alyce but the race is definitely getting easier.

Alyce is 2!

Two years ago on this very day Alyce joined the world. Mom went into labor around 2:00 a.m. and Alyce was born just before noon on October 27 2006. Our lives from that point on have never been the same.

To celebrate this occasion we threw a party for our little girl. We invited all types of friends and family. Grandma, Grams & Grandpa, Gi Gi, Jeff & Liz, Trent Lisa & Shelby, Josh Tammy & Gideon, Aunt Jean, Aunt Sue, and Mommy's brother Scott were all in attendance. The party had already started when Alyce woke up from her nap and she was greeted by a room full of people. She handled the commotion well by snuggling next to Gi Gi until the cobwebs went away. Next Lisa got to hold Alyce on her hip while Shelby did some entertaining.

For dinner we had hot dogs and Grandma's Award Winning Chili. They must have been a big hit as there were only two hot dogs and half a bowl of chili left at the end of the night.

After dinner we opened presents and there were a lot of presents to be opened. Alyce received everything from wooden trains, clothes, push toys, crayons, kitchen supplies, and a new baby doll. The biggest present for Alyce was an appearance by her friend Gideon or Gid Gid as Alyce calls him. Alyce opened up a few presents but became frustrated when she couldn't get into any of the hermetically sealed packages.


The last major event of the night was the birthday cake. Looking at the video below it is obvious Alyce didn't really know what was going on other than the fact she new it was about her. Next year she won't need us to blow out her candle like we did this year. She was a big fan of the cake and ice cream. She ate almost all of it by herself; sharp contrast to last year where she didn't even take a bite.


Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Enjoy some of the pictures from the party.