Birthday times 2

Owen's birthday arrived at a time of yet another transition around our house. We had made the decision to move the boys from their daycare to a montessori school, and the transition happened on July 1.  Without strong friendships from the old school and no time to meet any new friends, I was a little stressed about what we would do for Owen's birthday. From the minute we set food in Portland, he had been inviting anyone we spent time with to come to his birthday party - as you can imagine, it would have been quite an extensive and random guest list!

Thankfully, our 4th of July travels came to the rescue and when we proposed to Owen that we have his birthday party in Seattle "with our big family," he was thrilled. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Side Note: 

In less than two months at our new school

the boys have been invited to three birthday parties,

so we know we've made a good choice in our quest

to find a more inclusive community in Portland.

As it turns out, Owen lucked out to celebrate his birthday two different times. First, we celebrated his Golden Birthday (5 on the 5th!) at Nana and Papa's. After considering a zillion Seattle touristy things to do to celebrate, we decided to simply take Owen with his birthday present to Newcastle Beach Park. He was more than thrilled to upsize to a 16-inch bike, complete with kick stand and had no problem cruising around the park.

Once up at Lake Ki, we had Owen's official party with the Maxwell clan. I made Owen's requested birthday cupcakes: "Chocolate Chip and Strawberry Cupcakes with Green and Orange Frosting."  After hearing and seeing pictures about the amazing cakes my friends attempt to tackle for their kids' birthdays, I am soooo grateful that Owen still requests just flavors and colors. 

Birthday guests included Josh and Calla, plus Jeff and Ethel and Ryan and Sara. Conrad and Glenna also made quite the trek from an event in Tacoma - we have great family!

Owen wrote his own birthday wish list that included Cars Cars, activity books, puzzles, reading books, and magnatiles, but really, his wishes could have been summed up with three words:
Star Wars Legos

I have no idea what the draw is, but for 5-year old boys, it simply doesn't get better than building your own fleet of storm troopers and jedi knights. The phenomenon is especially puzzling to me because Owen has never see a Star Wars movie, read a book, or anything related. His Star Wars exposure is a t-shirt, conversations with Caleb, and now legos. But, I am more than happy to support the lego obsession. I would rather have 4 zillion legos overtake my house than try to keep 12 different building systems separated and organized. Owen came out of this birthday with a well established fleet and two months later, he's continuing to set-up battles and build different ships, so I'd say this birthday was a success.

Happy 5th Birthday Owen!