Eric's Birthday Party

The Birthday Boy
Wearing his new
Spiderman pj's,
new custom superhero
cape and mask, and
holding his brand
new frog Webkinz,
named Spider. Spider
is next to his Christmas
Webkinz, Dirtpup.

Ok, fine. You can say "I told you so". The party was a huge hit. We ended up with 11 kids, all of whom were very well behaved and seemed to have a lot of fun. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous, especially for 10:30 on a February morning in Seattle. And Eric had a great time. It was exactly the way he wanted it. He got a Darth Vader Transformer, a Hot Wheels racetrack, a Cars racetrack, this enormous furry Transformers blanket which he absolutely loves (this kid would wear his pj's and go around wrapped in a blanket all day if he could), a custom super hero cape and matching mask with a Super "E" on the back, Operation Spiderman......he is in heaven.

We played a funny music game, listening to "Purple People Eater.

Balloon Stomp

We went outside and played a balloon stomp, which was very funny,

Tug of War

and then we played tug of war, which was hilarious. Most of the kids had never played this before and they loved it. My nephew Jack was on the losing side and didn't understand the goal of the game--when he was pulled across the middle he started celebrating his win!

Tug of War
This game was
such a hit, even the
dads and grandpa
got into the act.

We ended up playing tug of war several times because it was so hilarious. Then my dad, Mike, and Andy got in on it...

We also played several indoor games--we had a Wii Bowling station, a Pin The Head on Bumblebee station, and a Megatron Target Practice station. We actually had to reign them all in so we would have time for presents and cake. I've never actually had too many activities at a party before! Usually I'm looking at the clock, saying oh crap, that only took 4 minutes. Now what am I going to do with them?

Eric was so excited about this Spiderman cake! The Spiderman toy on top came with suction cups, so Eric spent much of the afternoon sticking Spiderman to various windows throughout the house.

Surveying the aftermath with Grandpa

And this is how my living room looked for the rest of the day. Ryan and Eric had a great time opening and playing with each and every single toy, while my dad critiqued each and every toy. If only he were a toy maker and could actually engineer these toy to his specifications. The Spiderman-over-the-door-basketball-hoop was not made well, the Cars racetrack did not have enough speed settings....at least this time he did not remind me that we still have not put windows on the barn.

That night Eric went to bed with each and every birthday gift. In his bed.

I'm already prepping Ryan for a much smaller, big-kid birthday celebration, for when he turns 8 in May. Doesn't a movie with just a few close friends sound good? He's not sold yet, but I still have 3 months to wear him down.