Bennett the Birthday Boy

I just downloaded the pictures we've taken since we got back from our trip, and I was surprised by how many events have taken place in the last three weeks. My birthday, which meant a visit from my dear friend Catie and her daughter Allie, the kids school music concert, Bennett's Cub ceremony where he moved from being a Tiger to a Wolf, Field Day, and dance recital preparations to name a few. I will have to post about all of those some other time, because something far more important happened this week -- Bennett had a birthday. I think of all of our children, Bennett looks forward to his birthday the most. He has been talking about his birthday for months, and as it has been approaching the last couple of weeks, he would mention several times a day that he just couldn't wait any longer for his birthday. Well on Tuesday the big day finally arrived, and I hope that we were able to make it a special day for him.

It started with breakfast in bed. Bennett is an easy kid food wise -- he requested Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and I threw in a yogurt drink as an extra treat!

He had mentioned several times that he could not wait till the evening to open his presents, so we let him open a couple of presents while he was still in bed. He got a new back pack and lunch box from Grandma and Grandpa Allen, and the pillow pet he has been waiting for since the girls got theirs in December and January. He loved both gifts.

I came to his classroom in the morning to bring in the birthday treat he requested -- donuts and cranberry juice. He stood at the front of the class and they sang to him, and then they enjoyed the treat (surprisingly the cranberry juice was a hit -- I had my doubts). Bennett's desk is right next to his little crush, Abby, so I had to snap a picture of the two of them together. They have been in the same class in school and church for several years, and Bennett thinks she is his destiny. I can't blame him -- she is pretty darn cute.

After school, Sam and I picked up Bennett and six of his buddies (and Elle and her friend Heidi, big sister to one of Bennett's guests), and headed up to Cinema Grill. It is a theater that plays second-run movies, and serves food to eat while you watch. We saw "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2", and I ordered the kids pizza, drinks, and popcorn. They seemed entertained by the combo of the movie and the food, and it was such a nice, easy birthday party. And not too expensive either, since we hit up a Tuesday matinee, which meant movie tickets were $1.25 each. Can't beat that!

 Jake -- Bennett -- John

 Gavin -- Jake

 Nick -- Eddie -- Nathan (and Babette in the background -- my other driver)

 Heidi -- Elle

Bennett's buddies

After the movie, Babette and I transported the boys back to our house for cake and presents. When I asked Bennett what kind of a cake he wanted this year, he said requested chocolate with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. So I just made a cake mix chocolate cake, some homemade chocolate frosting, and some rainbow sprinkles. Totally cheap cake, and it tasted good and was perfect for this crowd. We sang to Bennett, minus the "cha-cha-chas" per Bennett request (this kid has some real preferences when it comes to his birthday), and then he blew out his candles.

After cake, we opened presents. He got a nice variety of fun toys from his friends, and seemed very pleased with the whole thing.

We sent the boys home with a dart gun I got a great deal on at Target, and Airhead (Bennett's favorite candy), and a pack of gum. It was such a great party for me -- manageable amount of kids, mostly not at our house, and relatively inexpensive. I have decided that now that I am 31, I am getting too old for my birthday parties of old where I invited way too many kids and threw a big party here. I still love the idea of home parties, but just need to keep things simple with less kids and less craziness. And I felt like for me, Bennett's party this year really hit the mark. And I honestly put it together less than a week before his birthday. I didn't do formal invitations -- just called the moms of the few kids we decided to invite. So not my normal routine, and yet refreshingly different.

Once all the kids were gone, Sam and Elle went to scouts and Bennet played with his new toys while I got the little bit of cake mess cleaned up. Once Sam and Elle returned, we opened a few more family presents. Bennett got some awesome Harry Potter legos from Brighton and family, and the kids can't wait to set them up. He got a few more things from our family, including a karate uniform. He has been doing Karate since January, and has been such a good sport about just wearing sweat pants and a tee shirt every week. But a few weeks ago he asked me casually, "I wonder what I would look like in a karate uniform." I asked him if he wanted one, and he said, "Yeah, I would like that." I found one for $15 on Amazon, and he loves it. He put it right on, and insisted on wearing it to bed, and loved wearing it to class the next day.

I'd say Bennett's birthday was a success. It was fun celebrating our special boy. Bennett really does mean the world to me. He is so sweet and sensitive. Of all of our kids, he is the most in tuned with my emotions and feelings, the most concerned about me. He loves his sisters, and is such a good brother to them. He loves his dad, and loves to spend time with him and wrestle with him. He is really taking an interest in states and maps and geography, which is so cute -- I love that he gets that from his dad. He is loving karate, and I am glad he has found something he has an interest in. He did great on field day -- I'll talk more about that on my end-of-school post, but he is tall for his age, with long legs, and he is a great little runner. He is kind. He is good. He wants to do whats right. He wants to make his parents and Heavenly Father and Jesus happy. He is a sweet boy, and we love his so much.

Happy Birthday, Bennett! You are the cutest 7-year-old we know!