Thursday, February 20, 2014

So, a birthday happened...

A BIG birthday!  # 8!  Peter was excited and happy and looking forward to this day.  He was sad to leave 7 but excited for what 8 brings.  To get on with the details, and there are a lot...
The prep-work.
I wanted this to be a fun, memorable birthday for the boy.  So, we "conjured" up a Harry Potter birthday party, with the help of Thanksgiving Point.  Then Diedre's mind went into over drive and came up with a bunch more fun details to add to the day.  #1:  Peter's big birthday present.
  A Harry Potter quilt.  It is cozy and warm and full of love for the boy.  It has the flying car and windows with Hedwig and spell books, Hagrid's hut and the Hungarian Horntail and Quidditch.  Even house colors.  It was fun to make and fun to give.
Detail #2:
 The birthday invitations were delivered by homemade felt owl.  Super fun.
Detail #3:
Chocolate frog boxes for each of the party guests inside of a custom made gift bag.  Plus a snack bag of "Honeydukes Treat Mix" for the kids on the drive to Thanksgiving Point.
Detail #4:
Pictured in the temple picture above, a Harry Potter scarf.  I crocheted one for each of my kids.  Haley did not want the Griffindor colors, she wanted pink.  So she got a pink Hermoine scarf.  Caleb crocheted part of his own Ravenclaw scarf.  And I made one for William and Peter in the Griffindor colors.   Peter wore his long enough for a picture and then he was done.  Obviously my time could have been spent more wisely on this project.
Last time being 7.  Peter's best friend Jacob saved the day.  Our plans were rudely interrupted by a siblings sick tummy and plans not going on as we wanted them to.  So, Peter went to Jacob's house and was able to have a fabulous time being a boy.  They played fooseball, soccer and football outside, just enjoyed being friends.
The big day!!!
 Of course he woke up to balloons and a yummy breakfast of pancakes.  He at least wore his eight shirt to school, but when I went to visit his class he was still wearing his hoodie over the shirt.  He took rice krispy treats to his class for a treat.  
 The party started right after school.  We crammed a bunch of boys into the truck and drove down to Thanksgiving Point.  Rob learned an important lesson on this drive, his kids are not as loud as he once thought.  
 The kids were able to design a wooden wand and then they were "sorted" into their houses.  Peter was sorted in to Hufflepuff.  Two of his other friends were also there with him so he was happy.  William was sorted into Griffindor and he was over the moon about that.  Caleb and Haley were sorted into Slytherin.  Haley did not care, but Caleb was a bit disgruntled about it.  They had a class on Herbology, a scavenger hunt and then a game of Quidditch.  It was loads of fun and the boys all came home ranting and raving about it all.
One extra I forgot to share: 
So, the morning of Peter's birthday I woke up early to get it all ready for him.  I looked at the computer and we have this post-it note thing that you can type messages on when the screen opens.  Peter had written himself a note, "dear Peter, have a happy birthday."  I hope we made it happen for him.  He is a sweet kid.
So, what would I say about this boy now that he is eight?  Peter has a saying, "grown-ups do not understand kids."  Boy is he right.  Peter can confuse me at times.  But I do know a few things about him.  He loves football and Harry Potter!!!  He can turn any game into something about Harry Potter or football.  I have seen him play Harry Potter with dinosaurs and I have seen him set up an entire game of football with stuffed animals or lego guys.  He enjoys spending time alone and thinking.  He is a very smart boy, especially at math.  He tries very hard to be a good friend and to make the right choices.  He can get frustrated very easily and has a touchy temper.  He is very specific about what he likes to eat and the clothes he likes to wear.  He has very profound questions about life and Heaven and where we are all going in this life.  And when he is in a teachable mood the spirit can be strong and it brings us closer together.  We love him and when it all comes down to it, that is what matters most.

1 comment:

Beverly said...

you are so talented--your quilt is darling.