The invitations were pizza themed. And when the kids arrived, they sat at the dining room table to decorate pizza placemats and party hats with stickers of common toppings.
Then I brought out the Boboli shells and bowls of sauce, cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers, so that the kids could make their own pizzas. While those were baking, they all played outside, then downstairs in the basement playroom.
After eating pizza to their hearts' content, the kids watched Ellie open presents and we sang some of her favorite group participation songs (stirring soup, I see the moon, these are grandma's glasses, etc.). And then we had cake, or, more precisely, cupcakes. Ellie doesn't much care for cake, but she has a mild cupcake obsession. This made a slight decorating challenge for me, but the end result was well worth it. The pepperoni are Fruit Roll-Up, the green peppers are Dots, and the cheese is shredded coconut with yellow food coloring.
First birthday: mini castle
Second birthday: Dora's Backpack
Third birthday: pug dog
Fourth birthday: pizza
The take-home gifts this year were aprons and pizza-related stickers instead of gift bags. This was a relatively simple party, but I don't know how people do this without two parents, two grandparents, and an aunt in town to help out. I can't even decorate a cake without at least two other adults hovering over my shoulder and giving me encouragement every step of the way.
Now that it's a couple of weeks after Ellie's 4th birthday, here's where she is. (I have a 4 year old! Unbelieveable.) She's happy to tell you that she's 4 now, if you ask. We didn't bother taking a spare outfit with us to church today; why bother? Her last real accident was . . . I'm not sure when. Nearly a week ago, I suppose. She's still in a pull-up overnight and for naps, but she's sometimes waking up dry so I have hope that we'll be able to give those up eventually too.
At Ellie's 4-year-checkup last week, her pediatrician was amazed. She kept calling Ellie a superstar, in every way. She's in the 95th percentile for height and weight for children her age with Down syndrome, and other than a little belly (especially during birthday month) is in great physical condition. She's all about the pre-reading skills, and apparently we need to be working on reading more seriously; the pediatrician thinks she's ready. She can count. She's never had a serious ear infection, and is, overall, a remarkably healthy kid.
I've come far enough to say, without hesitation, that we're very lucky parents.
4 comments:
Looks like an awesome party!
Glad to hear that docs are excited about Ellie's progress.
Happiness abounds.
The party looks/sounds like so much fun. The cupcakes out together as a pizza is such a cute idea.
I work myself into a tizzy every year for every birthday. That is one reason why it is nice to have an older child because she still wants the cake and favors but I don't have to decorate or clean like a mad woman for her parties.
Thanks, ROb.
CCW, is that because you go out for Kid L's birthday? Or because the parents no longer accompany the party guests at her age?
Wonderful, wonderful post. Pizza party theme looks like it was super. I'm stealing that one, by the way. I'm thrilled that Ellie is doing so well with her growth and development. You are, indeed, lucky parents. She's a real class act, that girl. :)
Post a Comment