Xavier Turns 4!
Happy Birthday, Xavier!
Above is the invitation sent out for Xavier's party. The picture is from the cover of the book Dragons Love Tacos which inspired the theme of the party.
Several hours last night cleaning the patio and back yard, power washing the gazebo, moving tables and chairs, staging food stations and trash receptacles and finishing hand-made decorations resulted in quite a presentable venue for a taco party for dragons.
Of course, the work did not end last night (Rebecca did not finish putting together the brilliantly done homemade decoration of the dragon made from construction paper hands until well after 10:00 PM). This morning, we staged the food, moved crock pots into place, iced coolers, loaded drinks. Wow, no wonder I urged Rebecca to out-source Xavier's party to a location where other people did the work of setup and tear down.
When we discussed having Xavier's first formal birthday party, the idea of out-sourcing was considered. It had appeal on some points, but not in others. For Rebecca, the decision to have it at home came from us having a large enough house and yard. For me, because Xavier has asked for some time to have friends come to the house. Of course, the expected mess left behind by fourteen four-year olds (and a few less than four year olds) was all that I imagined. Even now, Xavier's play area in Middle Earth still languishes from the aftermath of Hurricane "Xavier turns four". We'll clean up that mess tomorrow; the EPA has declared it a super-fund site!
The party was a great success. The kids had a lot of fun running around, in and out of the house and around the yard. Rebecca got to know many of the moms better. I got to know some of the dads.
Of course, we served tacos for lunch! Chicken and beef as choices, plus all the toppings (all mild, of course—because dragons hate spicy tacos).
One adult did ask if we had any hot sauce. I told her we didn't put any out. We did not want the dragons to have tummy troubles (I've read what happens when they get the tummy troubles, and I like my house!)
Xavier enjoyed his party. He ran with his friends, showed off his room and toys, played tag and so many other impromptu games boys invent. Except for a single taco shell and one bite of chicken (which I made him eat), Xavier ate nothing for lunch. Too much else kept his attention, and lunch only slowed him down.
Xavier fully understood the time for cake. He tried blowing out the candles before they got lit; even while being lit, he tried blowing them out. One candle (the fourth) apparently bemoaned him turning four and did not want to light. It was like a trick candle in reverse. The others were burning down while number four wouldn't singe.
Finally number four ponied up and four candles burned on the nose of the dragon. Happy Birthday was sung, and Xavier knew to wait until the singing ended. He smiled with that smile telling people he knew he was the center of attention. As soon as that last communal word rang into the air, he leaned forward and blew out the flames. Xavier officially turned four!
We learned a lot from hosting our first birthday party. For example, don't put gummy candy in the gift bags when you have the party outside in the hot sun. And speaking of gift bags, we learned next time we won't hand them out until toward the end of the party.
Xavier's 2017 Cake
Greetings to everyone.
There is a whimsical book which found itself on the New York Times best seller list a few years back. Rebecca bought it not because of this, but because of its artwork and colors.
Xavier very much likes the book Dragons Love Tacos. For a while, we read it every night before bed.
This year, Rebecca decided to throw Xavier a party. Xavier has been asking to have friends "come to the house" a lot of late, and he has grown cognitive enough to anticipate and enjoy a party. After some thought, Rebecca decided to theme the party after the book and have a taco party.
The difficulties began with finding decorations for the party. If we had chosen a Star Wars theme, or a theme of many popular Disney children's movies like Toy Story, The Incredibles or Cars, decorations, napkins and plates abounded.
But sadly, even though it made the New York Times list, Dragons Love Tacos did not have any support. Rebecca took matters in hand and rolled her own.
Still, theme related supplies were scarce, if not down-right non-existent. Even dinosaur themes were hard to find.
Most of the items Rebecca made on her own; she was quite resourceful. Like two years ago with the Minions theme, Rebecca has spent this past week baking and building Xavier's cake.
The cake, two chocolate layers with a filling in between, makes up the body of the dragon. Cherry flavored gummy candies form its claws. Two large cookies for wings; cookies for dermal plates and eyes. And a large bowl full of blue, home-made butter cream frosting for its scaly skin.
The tacos the dragon gorges upon are tiny home-made sugar cookies. Folded in half, they have chocolate frosting for meat, red and green frosting for tomatoes and lettuce. Of course, having read the book, Rebecca was very careful to use only mild taco topping in her creation. She did not want the dragon to get tummy troubles.
When Mom's Away
Greetings to everyone.
This weekend is Rebecca's Reserve Weekend, so Xavier and I are "baching it."
We spent the morning playing Tinker Toys, Xavier's new favorite toy. Even Hot Wheels are forgotten when Tinker Toys are involved.
Xavier thinks that everything can be built with Tinker Toys. He'll watch the lawn guys mow the yard, then come and ask "How do you make a lawn mower with Tinker Toys?"
While watching a YouTube video of a wood chipper, he'll get excited, turn off the TV and run into Middle Earth and start building a wood chipper out of his Tinker Toys.
Two or three times a day, I hear the question "How do you build something with Tinker Toys?" Many things we have not attempted because we do not have enough parts, or the Toys are not the correct medium for the project.
We have made washing machines, driers, space ships, wood chippers, lawn aerators, street sweepers, refrigerators, fans, toilets and sewer systems, just to name a few things.
Not only does it show his love for his Tinker Toys (he spent half an hour in the bucket playing), it also shows how small Xavier still is.
Xavier Out Grows His Boots
Hello everyone.
This past weekend we had a lot of snow. On Saturday, Xavier and I suited up and spent several hours outside. We got a broom stuck high up in a tree. We made a huge snow fort. Once we finished the fort, we had a big snowball fight.
On Sunday, Rebecca took Xavier sledding. He came home very rosy-faced. His sunscreen wore off too soon, but he had a lot of fun. He met several other boys on the sledding hill and they played hard.
After dinner this evening, while Rebecca and I still sat at the table and talked, Xavier decided to be a little silly and "suit up" in Mom's boots.
