Saturday after our pictures were finished, we went to Joshua's favorite pizza restaurant. I knew I had to keep them moving since we had a birthday party at 12:30 (which is pretty close to the Good household nap time!). One of my friends from MOPS, who's also named Valerie, was having her son Ethan's 4th birthday party at Gymboree. She was kind enough to invite us to share in his special day.
We arrived on time, and the kids started playing immediately. We hadn't been there since Joshua's last birthday, but both boys seemed to remember it. In fact, Joshua asked about the tube long before they had brought it out. So, I knew he at least remembered where we were. They had a blast!
Pretty soon the room filled up with kids and adults to celebrate Ethan's birthday. Valerie also works at Gymboree part time, and her & her husband are expecting their third child this fall. She's a sweet gal, and their kids are close in age to ours. Alena (sp?) is 2 1/2, I think, and Ethan is 4.
Pretty soon, the girl in charge called the kids over to play in the circle game. Joshua wasn't too sure at first if he wanted to join in or not. So, he told me I had to come play too. I went right up with him, but I didn't grab a color. Instead, I took pictures of him & Caleb with our old crappy camera. Caleb is next to the Bean, but you can't see him from this angle.
The party had a fireman theme, and I thought it was so cute that they let the kids all wear these hats. Then they showed them how the different equipment was apartment buildings and jump ropes were hoses and fire extinguishers, etc. Then they let kids hold onto a 'ladder' that they lifted up. The kids LOVED it! My boys each took two turns. I noticed how they would wait patiently as other kids would jump in front of them, butting in line. Neither one of them thought to push or shove their way to the front of the line but just waited until they could take a turn. As a parent, it was nice to see, but I felt bad as other kids took advantage of their staying back a little.
Caleb kept the fire hat on longer than Joshua did, and he had a great time participating with the other kids. You can tell he's a second child rather than the first. Joshua has to decide what's appropriate or not, while Caleb thinks he's to follow the other kids because that's 'normal' for him. It's amazing as a parent to see the differences.
Here's Joshua & his buddy Ethan, the birthday boy, on the one toy that all the kids took turns jumping out of (the burning building). They thought this was fun. Most kids would count to three and then jump. But, Joshua's friend Henry kept on counting to 20 until another kid told him to jump already. Haaa!!! Margie, Henry's mom, is also in our MOPS group.
They also created the 'tube' Joshua had asked for, and both boys highly enjoyed climbing 'in and out the tunnel' but my pictures didn't turn out so well. They had lots of other circle time games, including some dancing with their mascot "Gymbo." Then it was time for the bubbles, which is always a big hit!
After the bubbles, they took a ride on the parachute (which Joshua chose not to do) and then played underneath, which Caleb thought was hysterical. He laughed and laughed and had a blast!
As the activities continued, my kids wanted to play rather than be involved, but they weren't the only ones and the whole atmosphere there is pretty relaxed. The Hiltz boys (Henry & Peter) got into the boat with my Good boys and they had fun while Margie & I talked. When Peter (the youngest) got tired, his daddy Matt took him to try and stand awhile.
Then it was time for the cake. The boys enjoyed the ice cream cake and the fresh fruit before playing a little bit longer. Soon enough, it was time to get their hand stamped and receive their little goody bags and say goodbye. Happy birthday, Ethan! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!
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