Birthday Mania

All three of our boys have their birthdays within three weeks, and we are currently in that 3-week window. This year, it's a rather complicated window, so let me explain...or skip to the pictures. Your call.

Noah and Aaron both had a big 1st birthday party with family and friends. They also both had specific ideas of what they wanted to do for their birthdays this year. Which left us with a trilemma:
a) Do we throw a Big Party for the only member of our family who doesn't care?
b) Or do we throw The Big Party for all three but then they don't get to do what they really wanted to do for their birthdays?
c) Or do we skip The Big Party and hope Isaac never notices later on?

We looked into other options, but ultimately--being Americans--decided to err on the side of more than less. Seriously, we want to help them focus on celebrating family, friendships, and shared activities. And we just like parties. So, here's the plan we've been implementing (with their stamps of approval):

1. We throw The Big Party for Isaac but let the older boys choose the theme & activities & help blow out the candles.
2. Each boy can pick a special outing for our family and two friends to visit in honor of his birthday.
3. They only receive gifts from family members (which is plenty, trust me!). They receive food donations for Graceworks from friends at The Big Party.

Will next year be simpler? Yes. Has this year been fun already? Yes! Does it feel excessive? That's hard to avoid with three birthdays in three weeks...

The parties began with Isaac's outing to Dunkin' Donuts with his two best friends, Noah and Aaron. ;)

It continued with Noah's visit to The Lego Store with two of his cousins...

Wesley and Isaac rapt by the Star Wars Lego promo video...

Choices...

Mini-figure consultation...

Noah had been doing extra chores for months so he could pay for an upgrade on his birthday lego set. We are so proud of him for working and saving toward a goal!

Content to examine the boxes while Mommy tried on clothes.

And rewarded with some sustenance: Rocky Mt. Chocolate Factory candy apples.

Which were necessary fuel for the builders to make...

I was happily surprised when Noah chose a medieval knights set -- Aaron's obsession seems to be rubbing off on him.

Once Noah has built a set according to instructions, he pulls it apart to make his own creations. He has considered buying sets just for particular parts. So I was not surprised when he showed me a new "battle wagon" he had built. I was surprised to see it comes equipped with a "coffee machine" (Keurig - red spout, yellow mug)...

Another creation: "I'm making him as scary as possible so no one will want to fight him." ‪#‎peacemaker‬ ‪#‎sortof‬ 

A few days later, we went to Monkey Joe's - a bouncy indoor playground that Aaron says is named for Curious George (go figure) - along with two of Aaron's friends from church...

The Straight Shot, and...

The Goofballs. :)

Now, to prep for The Big Party, which Noah has been discussing with me almost non-stop for at least three weeks: details of the menu (the litmus test: Did pirates eat that?) and strategy for the games  (Knights vs. Pirates):

Who should be the first mate on my team?
Does the person who made the weapon get to use it in battle?
Will the treasure be just one big box or two for me and Aaron?
If Aaron is a knight pretending to be a pirate, will he fight the princesses or protect them?.  

And the chocolate cake with knights, which Aaron has been anticipating for even longer with this oft-repeated script:

A: Hey, Mom! I have a surprise for you!
me: Oh yeah? What is it?
A: It's a birfday! It's chocolate! And I'm going to eat it all up! (with gestures ala cookie monster)