Luke's Fourth Birthday & Party

This past weekend was Luke's much-anticipated Superhero Birthday Party.  And I do not exaggerate when I describe it that way.  He has been looking forward to it since the moment I began planning, which y'all know was round about early fall.  :)  I wanted him to weigh in on a few details of this one now that he's getting old enough to express an opinion.  Not only did I want him to be happy with how it turned out, but since quick decision-making is not his strong suit, I figure the more practice the better.  I carefully narrowed down some invitations for him to choose from and we talked about which costume he wanted to wear.  I also discussed the cake with him and went to great lengths to try and find one that represented all of his favorite heroes while simultaneously didn't cost a year of his future college tuition.  Both kids helped me make one of the games and the centerpieces and, slowly but surely, it came together and the much-anticipated day arrived.

The guests showed up around 11am and the kids (all the cousins plus three little friends and their siblings) were decked out in their adorable costumes.  They played together in the playroom until I called them into the sunroom to do the games.  I let Luke take lead.  He explained each game to the crowd and then went first to demonstrate how it was done.  All the little superheroes had so much fun playing everything, but the "Hulk Smash" game where they punched through tissue paper-covered bowls for a prize was definitely the hit (haha) of the party.  

When they were finished with the games, a few worked on the crafts while David finished grilling the hot dogs.  We called everyone in for lunch, David blessed the food and prayed for Luke, and then we dug in.  Afterward we had cake and ice cream (he was SO serious while everyone was singing to him!) and then cleaned up hands and faces and let him dive into his presents.  He got a lot of Paw Patrol, Miles from Tomorrowland, and superhero gifts and was thrilled with everything.  

When the wrapping paper cleared, everyone hung out and visited while the kids played a little longer and then the crowd started heading out.  Luke got to skip nap and stay up and play, which was one of his favorite parts of the whole day.  After everyone left, we cleaned up a good bit, made nachos for dinner, and watched Peter Pan.  It was a fantastic day celebrating our big boy and I hope it's one "super" party that he remembers for a long time!

More party details...

Colors:  Red, blue, and yellow

Centerpieces/Decor:  Centerpieces made out of red boxes with a yellow star on them and stuffed with "Pow" "Zap" -type cut out signs, balloons, more comic cut out pop words hanging from the fan in the sunroom and above the kitchen island.  I placed blue tulle and some superhero printed material on the tables.  AJ drew a "Welcome Superheroes" message on the white board easel and we sat that on the front porch.  On the fireplace mantel, I hung a "Happy 4th Birthday Luke" banner and set out two pictures of him dressed up at Batman, some of his action figures, and a few DC Superfriends books.  I put a bunch of small-sized photos in my Southern Living frame on the basement door as well as taped some in the shape of a "4" onto the basement wall.  

Food:  "Wonderdogs" (Hot dogs), a Captain America fruit tray, "Thor's Hammers" (pretzel sticks stuck into small cheese rectangles), "Mighty Munchies" (bagged chips), and "Hulk Juice" (green Hawaiian punch).  The cake was a chocolate Publix cake with fondant symbols I'd ordered from an Etsy shop of Spiderman's wrist and web, Batman's symbol, Thor's hammer, Hulk's fist, and a comic sign that said "Luke".  

Activities/Games:  Hulk Smash (bowls each filled with a small prize glued onto a piece of foam board and covered with green tissue paper for them to punch through), Spiderman Web Target practice (shooting silly string at a target), and Pin the Bat Symbol on Batman's chest.  I also had superhero sticker scenes for them to create and small cardstock finger puppets for them to color.  

Favors:  A little golden book about the DC Superfriends plus a superhero pez dispenser.

In closing, a letter to the birthday boy: 

Dear Luke,

Sometimes at night when I'm putting you to bed, we have a little routine that we do.  I'll tell you how much I love you and then say "There's nothing you can do to make me love you more and there's nothing you can do to make me love you less" and explain how I love you simply because you are my son.  You usually brush all that off and say, "Okay, but what do you LIKE about me?" and after I go over the unconditional love thing again, I launch into a list of some of my favorite things about you.  On this, your all-important fourth birthday, I thought I would take a moment to write some of them out:

• You are generous and thoughtful.  You share with others, often without having to be prompted.  You have always been so good at that.  What's truly been an amazing example to me, however, is that you choose the best thing to share.  If it's something edible, you'll dig through until you find the flavor or kind that you know the person likes, even if it's your favorite as well.  It melts my heart every time.

• You have a great sense of humor. You're still working out making up a joke from scratch, but you usually understand when someone else tells one and love to laugh.  Your comedic timing is also very impressive for someone of such a young age.  

• You know how to have FUN.  Like the rest of us in this family, you are an old soul at heart.  But your old soul has a lot of energy in it.  You love to giggle, act silly, dance, and cut up.  Though your knack for doing it right before bedtime can get frustrating, I love that you don't take yourself or things too seriously.  

• You are a ladies' man.  Your preschool teacher told me that no other little boys exist in your class as far as all the girls are concerned.  If she doesn't assign seats on the floor, she'll often turn around to find you surrounded by a group of girls squeezing in on you.  What's more important is that you are learning to be a respectful gentleman, and that will serve you well all of your life.  

• You are a brave protector.  You often talk about fighting bad guys, but sometimes you put your words into action and stick up for Mommy or Audrey if Daddy is tickling or wrestling with us.  You stand in a bug's path to block them from Audrey and offer to do things that she may be too shy or fearful to do on her own.  

• You are adorably cute.  If I am scolding you and you start to crack a smile, your dimples do me in and I can't help but grin too.  

• You are a helper.  You like to jump in and help me sweep, pick up, make lunch and dinner, carry things, or open doors for me. 

• You love God and often talk about and ask questions about Him.  You remind me often that God knows everything and that God can do anything.  I hope you always know that with every fiber of your being.

These are just a few of the many, MANY things I like about you.  You are so amazing, Lukey, and we are so proud of the little boy you are turning into.  We are incredibly blessed to have you and wish you the happiest of birthdays!  

We love you,

Daddy and Mommy
xoxoxo