Pow, Kazam... BATMAN!

Something crazy is going to happen in this house tomorrow. At 8:43pm to be exact. Our first born will be 6 years old! I have been trying to wrap my head around the realization for a while now. It seems unreal that so much has happened in our lives in the last 6 years. Braeden is a big brother twice over and a full time elementary school student now. The wow's just keep coming out of my mouth as I try to describe it all.

Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with family and close friends. We opted not to do a kid's party and a family party this year, so I told Braeden we would take the kids who usually come to the family party bowling first and then come back to our house for dinner, cake and presents. We started out at the quaintest little bowling alley a few towns away from us, way up in the "hills" as people around here would say. They have 8 lanes and all original wooden benches and ball returns. It was so fun and all of the kids bowled the whole time!! It was so impressive. At the bigger bowling alley closer to our house there are so many distractions that the kids are often lured in by the arcade pretty quickly. This alley only has the bowling lanes and a bar (which worked out for the dad's watching the Patriots game) so the kids stayed focused and had a great time.

When I asked Braeden several months ago what theme he wanted for his birthday, he told me Batman. I don't think he's ever seen a Batman movie or show, but nonetheless that was his choice. I knew I couldn't do a lot with it because we were in such transition in our house, but I did have a Batman cake made and created some Batman goodie bags. 

After we finished bowling everyone came back to our house. I really loved the way it all worked out. The kids all had a short break in the car on the way back home and everybody had built up an appetite for dinner. Evan and Maggie were both under the weather so my parents kept them at their house and didn't get to come to the party. I felt bad but we will celebrate with them tomorrow night on Braeden's actual birthday. 

Everyone had lots of fun playing and sharing in the gift opening. Braeden enjoyed every minute and was very thankful for all of the wonderful friends that he can share his birthday with and I'm incredibly grateful that all of those great friends parents are also great friends of mine! It's a win all the way around.

He was soooo excited about his Batman shirt and mask!

Braeden had the best time. I hope that all of his friends and their families did too.