Pic of the Day - And Just Like That!

And just like that, we're celebrating another birthday...

Turning Six

Buddy Roller turned six yesterday.  We didn't plan on having a party for him because I don't believe kids need a party every year.  I do think that birthdays, however, should be a special day.  So after discussing it with The Hubs, we decided to throw a last minute celebration together.  Like three days before!

There were no formal invitations.  Just word of mouth the evening of by knocking on the doors of Roller's friends in our neighborhood, and I did invite two of his favorite buddies via text.  There was no fuss. No frills.  Just pizza, cake, drinks and a few munchies. But there was flag football (The Hubs' idea) since Roller has shown a growing interest in football lately (really not to my approval), some little guys running around with swords, some dancing to Whip and Nae Nae, a little bit of electronics, board games and some six year old fun.

Lessons learned. Birthday celebrations can be stress free and easy to plan. And. Flag football is so much fun. We are definitely going to be playing more of that in the future...

Why Parties Are Special

Birthday parties can be magical. From a child's perspective this can be unarguable. You are the center of attention, surrounded by your friends and family.  And there's food, cake, balloons...and let's not forget...birthday presents!!!  Everyone's there for you. 

From a parent's perspective, it can also be quite special. In my current stage of life, I can honestly say that besides church, I have met more people and formed more relationships by attending kids' birthday parties and get-togethers, in these last five years.  And that's because of Buddy Roller.

To be honest, I don't make it a priority to attend every party Buddy Roller is invited to. And he's invited to a lot. They're the kids from his preschool, friends from his after-care program, and then there's his kindergarten class. That's a lot of kids!  With a busy schedule and lots to do, we don't make it to a lot of parties. We make it to some if they happen to "fit" into our schedule, and of course we make the parties for our dear friends.

Yesterday we attended a party for one of Roller's classmates. It was a fun get-together, and inevitably conversations were started and connections made.  I'm not saying these relationships will last a lifetime, but it is possible.  

Over the course of the last few years, through preschool and sporting events like soccer and basketball, Roller has maintained many friendships.

And yes, friendships come and go. But sometimes, if you're lucky, they can last.  This makes me think back, more than two years ago at Roller's third birthday party. It was the first party we had for him that we had opened up the invitation pool to not only close friends and family, but for kids in his preschool class as well.

I will never forget meeting one family in particular. They were the first ones to show up at the recreation center where we were throwing Roller his "Disney Cars" themed party. Their little boy was fast asleep and Dad, who was a little bit early, volunteered to help us put the finishing touches on the celebration room.  And just like that, a friendship was formed.

Now fast forward more than two years later. We're still friends, and our boys are still getting together.

Kids' birthday parties are a way to connect and form new relationships. And that's a good thing.

I think I may need to make more of an effort and try to attend as many as I can!