knights, dragons and little boys

Birthday parties are a big deal here. Not in the American, spend a ton of money, over-the-top way, but rather that every kid has a birthday party and invites every kid in his class. Since we moved here, Alex has been invited to almost a dozen parties! I don't think I went to that many birthday parties in the first 12 years of my life.

Up to this point, I have gotten away with not having any formal birthday parties for the kids. We have had family parties and celebrations at park days with friends and cupcakes/doughnuts. But after attending all of his friends' parties, Alex had his heart set on having one of his own. It was a little bit ironic that the first birthday party thrown in our family would have to be in French. Nevertheless, with Pete on board to help and translate, I forged ahead with party plans.

I was a little nervous about inviting all of the boys in Alex's class. We were in luck though. The Saturday before Alex's birthday was the first day of Spring Break. According to one of the moms on my street, most people usually leave town on Friday as soon as the kids are out of school. She said we wouldn't get a very good turn out. This was fine by me. Alex passed out the invitations and I waited for the RSVPs, expecting only 4-5 boys. Wishful thinking.

Including Alex, we hosted 16 boys!

The boys on a scavenger hunt to find the dragon

Our fierce dragon pinata was a hit. It would have been great to get some action shots but I was protecting Ruby and Henry from wild, swinging 7 year-olds.

Alex's dragon cake
We didn't get any pictures blowing out the candles because the wind kept beating him to it.

The kids also made swords. You can imagine what it was like to have 16 boys running around with swords. I guess I didn't think that one through very well.

Although it was a success in that Alex and his friends had a great time, I'm not in any rush to have another one. I couldn't have done it without Pete. The language was a huge barrier. At one point when one of the boys was swinging (blindfolded) at the pinata, Henry decided to walk right in front of him. I started screaming at the top of my lungs to Alex's classmate, "STOP! STOP!", only to have Pete yelling at me, "He doesn't understand you! Arretes! Arretes!" Let's just say we were so lucky that Henry wasn't clobbered with the stick. But all's well that ends well and I expect that next year I will return to my simple birthday traditions.

**Random side note**Alex took cupcakes to school for his birthday. Afterward when I picked him up he said, "Everyone really liked them. They said they were the best they had ever had. In fact, they said they were better than cake!". HUH?