We celebrated Keelan’s 8th Birthday tonight. He requested a pool party, but it’s not quite summer weather for a pool party yet. (Plus FUNCLE’s pool isn’t open yet) So we booked a local recreational indoor water area for 2 hours. Now, I typically plan ahead and roll but this will be the first time I realized how much more goes in to his parties since I’m breaking it down into text.
First, the countdown. We counted down all week to his party and birthday, to help with awareness and excitement because it is all about him. So many times unfortunately, we are running here or there for his siblings or for many duties/commitments. But this is all about HIM! So we woke up every morning this week with a countdown. And as I do mostly every morning, we went over the schedule for the day for him. So typically we wake up and I say something like “School today, then are you riding the bus?, and then we have dinner with Gigi” or whatever is on the agenda for the evening. It helps give him a clear picture of what to expect for the day. Somedays we can deviate a little, somedays we can’t. So today was PARTY DAY!!!!! This morning we went over the schedule for the day. “Go to School, I’m picking you up from school, then we are going to pick up your birthday cake, and go to the water area for your party” He was so excited today. Somedays are a struggle to go to school, but today he was pushing me to get his clothes and get to school.
Second, the planning. So Keelan wanted a pool party but wanted a planet themed party. So I got space/planet themed table cloths, cups, plates, etc. (I did forget the forks though – thankful the facility had some extra) I also ordered pizza, had individual bagged chips, and blue koolaid. Now Keelan, doesn’t eat pizza but everyone attending the party did. So we had to do a few extra steps for him. Aunt Lindsay made a stop at DQ and got his favorite chicken strips. See, Keelan doesn’t eat many meats, except chicken strips BUT he typically has to have chocolate ice cream first. A routine that started randomly in the car one day when he wanted ice cream and I got some chicken strips and he willingly tried them after finishing his ice cream. AND HE FELL IN LOVE. So now it’s a general routine. So while everyone had pizza, he had some DQ chicken strips.
But we also got a planet cake. The cake as seen above was AMAZING. Cake, Batter, and Bowl does almost all of our cakes and never ceases to amaze us with the detail and deliciousness. BUT Keelan doesn’t eat cake, so we also had chocolate ice cream as well available. So why waste money on a cake? Good question lol. Two reasons actually. He LOVES blowing out the candles, being the center of attention, and the birthday song. The other reason is inclusion. It’s the normal tradition to have a birthday cake and deep down Keelan just wants to fit in with other kids. So we do a cake, sing, and serve cake while Keelan has ice cream (and some of the other kids)
Keelan attending events of any kind typically requires some extra thought processes of food, sounds, schedule layouts, but it’s all part of his process. Somedays I rock at thinking ahead, packing correctly, scheduling it out, and somedays I epically fail. But with every fail is learning and remembering for next time. Today was a success. I’m so proud and honored to be his mom.