We had Aiden's 5th birthday party yesterday (Saturday) at the house. He chose a dinosaur theme this year. He found the cake he wanted months ago so I went to make the basic rectangle cake on Thursday evening. We'll, I used my Coke recipe (using a can of coke rather than oil, eggs, etc) but used a different brand than normal. As I'm pouring it into the pan, I'm thinking it looks to runny and then notice on the box it says mix for 4 minutes (my normal brand is only 2 minutes) so I pour it back in to the bowl and continue mixing which thickens it up. After I let it cool some and flipped it over to let it cool some more and then ice it, disaster strikes. It was so moist that it stuck on the bottom of the pan in the center but I just assumed it was because the non-stick stuff didn't work since I dumped the batter out of the pan and it must have messed up the no-stick stuff. I get another cake mix on Friday morning and re-do it. Outcome: it still sticks!! I figure I actually need to use the eggs and oil but am totally frustrated by wasting my time and money on cakes that are sticking. Brad goes to the store on Friday evening and puts in an order for a 1/2 sheet cake with just chocolate frosting. Brad picks up the cake on Saturday morning (party isn't until 3:00pm) and then he looks at the dinosaur skeleton Aiden wants and makes a draft using the end of the fork. I then start to trace it using the white icing and get scared to death I'm going to mess it up so I hand it back over to Brad. He pipes in the rest (almost all) of the dinosaur and then I add the oreo crumbs I already prepared and a handful of dinosaur eggs (jelly belly candy). It turned out quite awesome I think.
It's hard to see put I cut out little dinosaur prints and put them outside from the driveway up to the front door. I then decorated the door with an 'A' and had dinosaur window clings on the side windows. The goodie bag eggs were a nice touch for the dinosaur theme. There were lots of unexpected guests so I got really busy real fast. That said, I didn't even take that many pictures. I made the eggs with baking soda, water, and black food coloring and then hid small dinosaurs in them. I gave everyone a round tinfoil pan with two eggs inside and a new toothbrush. They were supposed to excavate the dinosaurs. I also had vinegar in syringes to help the excavation process. It was a hit. Unfortunately, Aiden didn't want to do it but I put a tinfoil pan up away from the rest so that I could sit down with him and do it later. I was so bummed when I went to clean up and saw that towards the end of the party, someone must have grabbed it. Therefore, this cool sensory project I made for Aiden, he didn't even do. I think I'll make a few more eggs and still have him do it. It takes a few days for the eggs to completely dry put I think he would have fun doing it and discovering something. The backyard grass maze was a hit. Lots of kids running around and playing tag. It was drizzling a few minutes before Aiden's party started and was steaming hot about 30 min after it started. The kids were outside running the maze, playing basketball, using the stomp rocket, and excavating eggs. It was fun. To get some reprieve from the heat, we came in for some cake. It was delicious.
Apparently Saturday was a party day. There were a handful of people there who were party hopping that day so half of them left after the cake was cut (and eaten thankfully). Aiden was very excited to open presents so we let him do that. He had lots of fun and it was sweet that the other kids were showing him how to use some of the toys he got. Mrs. Rusty (his occupational therapist) came with her 2 boys and Aiden was really excited about that. Mrs. Rusty is the closest friend I have here and Aiden just adores her and her boys, especially JB. Aiden got an electronic bank and both of her boys helped Aiden put all his coins in the bank. He's been asking for a bank since Christmas (daddy got one then) because as Aiden will tell you, he is "saving for car for when he turns 17." He just cracks me up. Ms. Jessica, our Cubbies helper, came to the party and Aiden was so excited. Although unplanned, she was a huge help. Eli just wanted to play outside in the water but Aiden was inside opening presents and playing with them and I was chatting with Rusty for a bit. Rusty and her family stayed for a bit and it was so much fun. The boys just all played together so well and Eric (her husband) and Brad were just chatting it up and Rusty and I could actually talk and have a conversation (although it was mostly about therapy stuff). Maybe I missed my calling. I love OT stuff but when I volunteered in college, it was at the VA and while I enjoyed it, it's a much different experience when you invest yourself in something that interests or effects you.
Overall, it was a great day. It went from a party of 2, to a party of 4, to a party of 6, to a party of 9 and ended up being a party of 12. It ended up that the two people from Aiden's daycare class that RSVP didn't even come. I had 2 late RSVP's (they called the night before) from his class and they came. The neighbor down the street came which I didn't know about and even brought 2 cousins to join in on the fun. One of his favorite daycare teachers came which he was excited about. For some reason, Aiden gets more focused on the grown-ups coming rather than the kids (JB was an exception). I think he just gets along better with adults and likes to talk them more. Kids his age tend to imaginative and ... he's not. :) He's very realistic so he can be imaginative if it makes sense and could be real. God knew exactly who needed to be at this party and it turned out great and was a great memory for Aiden. We are so thankful for the other kids and grown-ups in his life.
This past year has been a great developmental year for Aiden. He has become so much more independent with physical things (putting on his clothes, opening containers/bags), going potty, etc) and that has opened up a new level of freedom for him. His still loves routine but we don't have to use his picture schedule anymore (although he does use it sometimes). His ability to look ahead and plans things is quite amazing (in my opinion). He thinks things much farther out than I would think he should be able to. He is communicating so much better but still has a very hard time controlling his emotions and being able to communicate through his frustrations. He continues to strive to please people and not upset them which is sweet but I don't want him to base his life and his well-being on the response of others. I've done that it's no fun. I pray for more freedom for him than that. I love that he has a heart of gold but I pray he can balance it and learns that disappointing and/or offending people is not the end of the world.
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