Tyler's Sports Birthday Party

Gratituesday:  My Children's Birthdays

On Saturday, I woke Tyler up saying "Happy Birthday".  He was so excited about turning 7 that day.  In fact, the first words he said were, "I've got an idea.  How about everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to me at one o'clock today?"  We had music lessons, baskeball games, and basketball practices scattered throughout the day, so we decided to sing "Happy Birthday" to him that morning instead. 

He opened his presents from us.  Joe's brother and our sister-in-law picked up a Texas Longhorns jersey for us to give him.  They brought it from Texas when they came for Thanksgiving.  Even though Tyler's an OU fan and I had gotten him an OU baseball shirt/short set back in the summer, he had recently become a Longhorns fan, too.  One sibling called him a traitor!

He was really proud of the Texas jersey (Oklahoma is showing through from his shirt underneath!).  He wore it to school yesterday.  The principal called and asked me, "What happened to Tyler?  He's got a Longhorns jersey on?"  Of course, he was just teasing about it.  He really called about PTO stuff, but since he himself played baseball at OU, he's pretty loyal to the Sooners.

Tyler's party was Sunday after worship services.  We couldn't fit it in on Saturday, his actual birthday.  Tyler shares his birthday with his Uncle Teddy, so that's neat.  This year I failed to get a picture of them together like I usually do, but can some time later.  We had a family party with the usual food for Tyler's party:  Chicken Tortilla Soup (which I have posted here), Potato Soup, and Vegetable Beef Stew along with cornbread and garlic-cheese biscuits. 



One of Tyler's brothers said recently that they felt bad that Tyler's birthday meal was always soups, but Tyler wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, he expects it!  Chicken Tortilla Soup is his favorite.

The party was decorated in a OU and sports theme.  Tyler's favorite sports are football, baseball, and basketball.  He likes golf, too, but we didn't use it in the decorations. 

Of course, since it's in December, Tyler's party decor alway has a Christmas flair to it.  I asked him if it was okay to use the OU Santa hat. He liked the idea.

Tyler's cake was fun to make.  I had made sports ball cakes using the Wilton ball cake pan, but I hadn't ever done an "All Sports" cake before.  Don't look too closely because the lines are crooked and the edges are not smooth and straight!  I was in a big hurry trying to get it done and get to one of  the ballgames!

Blow out the candle!  All of my kids have liked having the number candles.  A few have switched over to wanting more candles now.  His wish was that Christmas could be every day. 

Immediately following the family meal part of the party, the children arrived for the party.  Tyler invited his 1st grade class and seven of his friends were able to attend.   It was a nice sized group. Tyler's siblings helped with the party games, which was a big help.

Thankfully it wasn't too cold and the kids could play outside.  The party games were:  Hot Football (like Hot Potato), a ping pong ball relay (hard to do because of the wind) and a balloon popping game - where the balloons were tied to each child's leg and they would pop each other's balloon.  They had lots of fun!

This is the final birthday party of this year for my children and the 46th birthday party I've planned for them in all.  No wonder I'm tired!  Actually, I am GRATEFUL for each of my children's birthdays.  I enjoy parties and enjoy planning them and decorating for them.  But I'm grateful for them because it means that they have been blessed by God with another year of life and that he has bless us as parents by giving us another year of happiness and joy as we watch each of them grow up.

What are you grateful for on this Gratituesday?