Thursday, March 3, 2011

Four

I can't believe my baby is four. Every year on his birthday (January 17th), I feel the same way because I just can't believe how much he has grown. My little thinker, entertainer and best friend seems to be growing at lightening speed right before our very eyes. It has been nothing short of amazing to see his developmental milestones. I thank Heavenly Father every day for our little Liam, my miracle baby.

Those born in the frigid winter months all agree on how difficult it is to celebrate their birthdays. Weather and illness always seem to get in the way. I just as well start celebrating Liam's half birthday which would be in July! Anyhow, we celebrated Liam's actual birthday with a pizza dinner and cake, as requested by him, but had to reschedule his actual birthday party for the following Saturday because he came down with a high fever. Also, family and friends were concerned, as we were, about the large snow accumulations. Parking was scarce and some, including us, hadn't even dug out their car from that last snowfall. Our guests ended up parking at the Church parking lot a block away from our house. At least that lot was clear. It was only for an hour or two so it was okay. I'm just glad the weather held up.

The birthday theme was Toy Story, of course. Everyone had done it last year, so it was our turn, I guess. When we asked Liam about a theme, we just got the predicted blank stare, so it was really up to us to decide. We all know he eats, lives, breathes Star Wars these days, but the thought of an all out light saber battle with his friends was a huge deterrent. So, "Liam's Roundup" it was.

On the menu was homemade chili with tortilla chips, chicken drumsticks in barbecue sauce, raw veggies, fruit, carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and cake ("bizcocho Dominicano" from our favorite Dominican bakery, courtesy of "Welita"). We printed up pictures of the characters and plastered them around, played Toy Story trivia and pin the tail on Bullseye. I made the toothpicks with the Toy Story characters and inserted them into the cupcakes. Super cute! The chili and bbq chicken was delish. Aside from the usual kid's birthday party madness, everything went pretty much as planned. I just wished I had taken more photos.

The free birthday scoop!
(Yes, that's a light saber, a birthday present from earlier in the day.)
 
The pizza dinner!
Liam's plain cheese slices had his name on them. 
(The "pappernoli" slices were mommy and daddy's.)

Our wonderful birthday boy!
(I'm so sorry I didn't get a picture of the cupcakes with the characters on them before they were gobbled up.)

Just a few of our terrific friends from the new ward, 
plus "Welita."
Thanks for the yummy cake, Welita!

Old friends and new!
(Pictured are a few of our dear Brooklyn friends whom we missed so much. So glad they were able to make it!)

 A cool birthday gift that has kept us relatively sane this winter. We kept it up for a whole month!

 We have spent endless hours of fun with this toy during our very long winter. We highly recommend it!

 
Liam's double light saber.

The lights and sound effects from these new light sabers, plus the drama from the Jedi and Padawan pictured here, are an epic win. So fun! Only, I can't tell who is the Master and who is the apprentice!


2 comments:

Lindsay said...

We're still sad we couldn't make it to the rescheduled party. :( We were so hoping to come see you guys at your new place! Anyway, it looks like it was a fun party. :) Happy birthday to Liam!

(Also, I can definitely relate to the negative sides of a winter birthday. I've been sick on my January birthday more times than I've been healthy. Such a bummer.)

GR82BAMOM said...

And we're still sad that you couldn't come. We missed you!