Big Batman Birthday

The fourth birthday celebration and accompanying anticipation has been hands-down the most fun yet! Osten has been talking about his party for nearly two months and patiently awaiting its arrival. Since the subject first arose, he has been adamant about having a Batman birthday. Of course, we fully expected him to change his mind at least a time or two, but he never waivered. Not even once. A few weeks ago, I picked up some Batman invitations--the folded, old-school kind with the blanks for you to handwrite the specifics. When I showed them to Osten, his face lit up. We took an invitation the next day to his swimming class, and Osten was equal parts excitement and pride as he hand-delivered the envelope to his new friend, Jackson. We delivered a stack of his invitations later in the week to the kids in his class. It was so much fun to watch Osten hand each of his friends an envelope and observe the frenzy that ensued once their teacher explained their significance.

The ensuing ten days were such a hoot as Osten counted down to the big day. His actual birthday arrived a few days prior to his party, and we had a fabulous first family celebration at Macaroni Grill to include a serenade. It was so much fun to watch Osten beam as he told the waitress that it was his birthday, and his face was all aglow when they brought him a big chocolate cake with ice cream and four lighted candles. A chocolate fan just like his Daddy, he did some decent damage to his cake which was big enough for the four of us to share.

After dinner, we headed straight home at Osten's request to open a few family presents. He was sheer excitement as he ripped into his gifts, squealing "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!" There was only one "Oh, my Jesus" slip up which I didn't think was too terrible given his enthusiastic state. (As an aside, we have yet to figure out where he picked up this unfortunate expression, but we are having quite the time ridding it from his vernacular).

A few days later, Grammi and FaFa arrived in town along with the big day. Daddy, Osten, Marci and I started the day at the annual neighborhood chili cook-off, where Osten had his first pony ride and had a retro batman symbol painted on his face. We squeezed in a couple of naps and then packed the car for the par-tay.

The kids seemed to have a good time, and they played hard for over an hour in the foam pit, trampolines and balance beams, but the crowd-favorite was hands down the Tarzan rope. His favorite teacher, Miss Casey, even made an appearance, and Osten was so excited for her to see him swing on the rope. It was so much fun to watch the kids play and play and play and swing on that rope. What little of his Batman face paint remained after his nap was quickly washed away by all of the activity.

The fun continued after we cut the cake and squeezed in a few more rope swings. We had promised Osten that he could open his presents just as soon as we got home, and he held us to our word. He spent the rest of the evening (minus a quick bite of dinner) playing with all of his new loot.

The following day, we were talking about his party and his new digit, and I asked him if he had a good time. He thought about it and then said, "But Mommy, I wanted a big Batman birthday." Perplexed, I responded, "You did have a big Batman birthday, honey." He insisted, "But Mommy, I wanted a BIG Batman birthday." "Honey, you did have a big Batman birthday." After another one of these exchanges, it occurred to me that I wasn't getting the gist of what he was trying to tell me, so I asked him to explain. "Mommy, " he said, "I wanted a big Batman birthday, but there was only one candle on my cake." Hmm . . . now we were getting somewhere! "Well, honey," I explained, "that candle was the number four, so that's why there was only one. Did you want to have four candles?" He looked at me with those big brown eyes and the most serious look on his face and said, "Yes, Mommy!! I told you, I wanted a big Batman birthday!"

[So note to self to forego the number candle next year because this is a boy who requires a candle for every year!! Too cute.]

Happy fourth birthday, Osten! We love you . . . so much!! I can't wait to see the developments and surprises this next year brings for you.