Another birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese! A Dad can only take so much!
This year, in addition to inviting both sets of Derek's grandparents, and Derek's two cousins, we invited seven kids from Derek's class. One responded Yes, one RSVP'ed with a No, and we never heard from the rest (and they didn't show up at the party). It's true that maybe the day before Easter may not be the best day for a lot of people, but they could have at least responded with a No. Oh well. The one girl that did show up had a good time, and Derek was happy she came.
I brought Derek to the party, and we arrived first. They gave him a crown to wear, and wear it he did! He had some time in the playroom as people started to arrive. We let the kids burn off some energy. Derek and I got to play our usual game of Arctic Thunder, which is a head to head video game where two players, plus some computer players, race on snowmobiles. Sometimes I win, and sometimes Derek wins. Either way, we both have fun. When everyone was there, we had some pizza.
After the pizza, we moved right into presents. Derek got a ton of stuff (as always). He still likes getting clothes. I wonder how much longer it will take before he outgrows that! And of course he got an impressive array of toys. For Christmas, Derek had wanted a certain remote controlled motorcycle. I had read some reviews online, and everyone said that the motorcycle went too fast to use indoors. I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to get him the motorcycle for Christmas and then tell him he couldn't play with it until all the snow was gone. (Especially with all the snow we got this year!) So I gave it to him for his birthday. He also got a game, colorforms (remember those?), videos, and puzzles, to name a few.
We were going to turn the kids loose in the playroom again, but Derek's cousins had somewhere else to go after the party. We wanted to make sure they got some cake. So after the presents, we presented the cake. Grandma did a top notch job of making the SpongeBob cake! She drew SpongeBob carrying five balloons, each one numbered. Derek wanted us to cut a piece of cake that had the number 5 balloon on it. We gave it to him, and he ate the balloon first. Then he ate off all of the frosting and said he was done.
Soon his cousins had to leave, and it wasn't much longer until his friend from school had to go, too. Derek got a little more time in the playroom, and then it was time for the party to officially end. The tired Boy (and his tired Dad!) made sure everything was packed up, and that was that.
If Derek outgrows enjoying clothes soon, as I think he might, I just hope he also outgrows Chuck E. Cheese's soon, too! I used to be able to keep up, but now I think I'm getting too old for that place. At one point, when we were in the dining room, a little girl who couldn't have been but two years old went running past us, holding a high shrieking note, with a big smile on her face. I said "That's why I wanted a boy." (Following her, with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, was a guy who I would think is her father.) But, as usual, Derek had a great time at his birthday party.
When I got my hot tub, Derek was about two and a half years old. The guy from the tub shop said that little kids shouldn't go in anything above body temperature. I keep the tub at about 101 degrees, which is above body temp. When I took Derek to his last check-up, I asked the doctor about him going in the tub. She said that as long as he doesn't stay in very long, and as long as I watch him for signs in case he starts overheating, he should be fine for going in for short periods of time. I knew I'd be draining the tub for the winter a bit after that appointment. When I was filling it back up this spring, Derek asked about it once more. He already had a sense that his birthday was a little ways off, but not too far (it was about a month and a half away by this time). I told him the doctor said when he turned five he'd be big enough to go in the tub with me. I figured that was a good "defining moment" type of thing. On his birthday, he was sure to remind me that he was now old enough to go in the tub!
