4th Birthday Party

Birthday parties.....ugh! Can I just say what every mom is thinking? I HATE BIRTHDAY PARTIES! Whether it's my kid's party or we are invited to another kid's party, I loathe birthday parties. And here's why:

1. Lots of Noise
2. Kids jacked up on sugar
3. Constantly comparing my kid's behavior to other kids
4. Having to "remind" my child not to open the presents
5. Not being able to talk to my adult friends due to being on "Ethan pushing" patrol

Needless to say......I dread birthday parties. But I hear of terrible stories where kiddos with autism are left out of party invites, so I am also very thankful when we receive a party invite in the mail. He is lucky to have so many friends! But then the stress begins.....Can Ethan handle it? Do I have the strength to endure 2 hours running interference so Ethan doesn't have a meltdown? Is it worth it? And so many more questions I ask myself....UGH! Come on parents! You know I'm not alone!!!

So, when it came time for me to plan Ethan's party, I decided to go "off book," and do what I thought Ethan would actually enjoy. Here were my 3 rules:

1. Keep the noise/commotion as limited as possible by inviting less people.
2. No singing Happy Birthday (that's a big meltdown trigger for Ethan)
3. Keep it low key & hands off meaning put out a bunch of stuff for the kids to play with, but let them play as they wish....no "order of events."

I gotta say people.....it worked like a charm! Ethan didn't have any meltdowns, and everyone had a great time! And we were even able to sing Happy Birthday! We just had to do it FAST & QUIET! But it worked!

Me & Ethan during the Happy Birthday song!

For Ethan's 4th birthday party, I ironically did a POP party! It started with his favorite foods....popcorn & poptarts. Then, it grew......POPsicles, POP the Top Oreos, POP em in your mouth fruit snacks, Soda POP, Cheese POPS (balls), Blow POPs, and POP it open juice. Then, since Ethan requested his party be at Aunt Rachel's house, we knew that the kids would want to POP on the trampoline. So, my sister also offered up her BOUNCE HOUSE.....so the kids could POP in there too! To go with our theme & because Ethan loves it, I created several BUBBLE stations. The first one was the Bubble Foam Rope found at Family Fun. The second station was a BUBBLE buffet. I had a tub of soapy water with TONS of bubble wands next to it for the kids to use. We also included pipe cleaners for the kids (and adults) to make their own bubble wands. I think the pipe cleaners worked even better than the plastic wands!!! The last bubble station was a kiddy pool filled with bubbles solution & hula hoops to make BIG BUBBLES. That was the most popular one, I think. I didn't get pictures of everything (because I was playing too!), but here are a few things we were able to capture!

Food Table

Ethan's Logo Cupcakes & Road

Ethan loves logos & cars so this was a great way to do both. And he was so excited to pick out the logos!

All of our POP food!

We only invited our parents & our siblings' families. Here is Ethan playing with some of his cousins.

The kids doing all of the bubble stations

The BIG BUBBLE station!

Corey blowing bubbles with his niece & nephew.

This year, I had Ethan open his presents WITH the people that brought them. I thought this would be a good way for Ethan to know who gave him the gifts. Here he is with Corey's parents.

Opening gifts with my Dad & Stepmom

Opening gifts with my sister & her family

My mom & Ethan opening presents

Ethan, how old are you?

After the kids played, ate some food, and we did gifts/cake, I pulled out Firework POPPERS. These pop when you throw them on the ground, but not very loud so they didn't bother Ethan. I actually think the adults had more fun with these than the kids! HA!

After that, the party began to wind down....but the kids were just itching to get into that baby swimming pool filled with bubble solution. It was only a matter of time before this happened.....and they LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!

Ethan & a few of his cousins playing in the bubble solution!

And then this! HA!

And as the night went on.....

 
It was hilarious! The adults were laughing & the kids were having such a ball! It was great fun!

As our sunlight faded & the kids became piles of soap, we rinsed everybody off & put them in some dry clothes (thanks Aunt Rachel!). That's when we got out another Ethan favorite....glow sticks! As the kids were ALL jumping on the trampoline, Corey threw handfuls of glow sticks onto the netted trampoline & the kids were so excited! From a distance, all you could see what glowing lights bouncing up & down!

Here's Corey with ALL of the kiddos on the trampoline!

I would say that Ethan's 4th Birthday Party was his best one yet! No meltdowns, lots of fun, and he keeps asking to do it again! I guess that means he had a good time! Happy Birthday, Ethan! We love you!!! Now.....mommy needs to put her feet up with a cup of coffee!