Little Postcards from "Holland": Birthday Party

Today, we were able to celebrate John's sixth birthday with a fun party. It's always a challenge for me to decide what kind of party to have for him. He isn't able to do the typical parties that kids his age have. I have been fighting the trend to have a fun jump for his birthday. While all of his friends would probably have the best time, John really couldn't participate. Sure I could bring him into one, but he has proven in the past that he really doesn't like them. He ends up crying until I take him out.

I have also been hesitant to have any kind of "wet and wild" party. He could get in a baby pool, but because of his trach, we have to avoid getting him too wet. So sprinklers and splash pads are out for him. I did lean towards doing something like this in our back yard and letting him hang out in a blow up pool. But ultimately, we went with simple.

We decided to have his party at The Little Gym of Katy. This is a fun place that does tumbling and gymnastics type activities as well as plays music and parachute games. They basically will customize your party for the age of the child. I have to say, this was one of the best ideas we have ever had.

Not only do all of the kids have lots of activities to keep them busy and to help burn off some energy, but the staff at the gym are great. Our small group had two activity leaders who took care of everything. They organized the gym activities and then had the party room all set up for cake and ice cream. They supplied all of the balloons, paper goods, drinks for the kids and even the party favors. All we had to do was bring the cake. Sounds easy right? Well for most families that would be simple. But for us, we ran off and left the cake at home. The only thing we had to remember and we forgot it. We didn't realize it until it was time to sing happy birthday and blow out the candles. So while Tommy quickly ran to the grocery store to buy a ready made cake, we broke out the ice cream cups. We even put his number six candle in his ice cream so everyone could sing to him. Nothing like improvising.

Except for that one little screw up on our part, it was a very successful party. And the best part was we didn't have to do all of the set up and when the party was over, there was nothing for us to clean. We just packed our gifts and came home. It is one of the least stressful birthdays we have ever had. I highly recommend this place to any child having a party. The staff was incredible and all of the kids seemed to have a great time.

Our birthday boy was pretty pooped tonight and went to bed early. He should have some pretty sweet dreams. Here are some pictures from the party!