Well, it may be a little late, but things have been very busy here - especially in celebration mode! I can't believe that I am saying this already but we celebrated Riley's 5th birthday! I can honestly remember so vividly the day that he was born and it is crazy to think that it has already been five whole years!
In the past, we have had family birthday parties but this year we decided to let Riley have his first 'big' birthday party. We let him invite friends from both last year's class at school as well as this year and at the end of the day, we had about 20 kids at the JCC for Riley's sports party. I had fun being creative with the details of the sports party and enjoyed putting together the concession stand. I don't think the kids got the idea but I thought it was cute and made for some good pictures!
The kids had a great time playing on the playground, taking part in the group activities and of course, eating cake! We lucked out and the weather was absolutely perfect so we were able to spend the whole time outside. It was exactly what Riley wanted with his friends and everyone had fun.
In lieu of birthday gifts, we requested that the kids bring in sports equipment that could be donated. The families were all so generous and we had bags and bags of things to share. We brought them to Jewish Family & Children's Services and they accepted them for the Refugee Services department and said they would have great use for them. We were so proud of Riley for sharing his gifts and I think the idea of donation and giving to those who have less is really starting to sink in.
Believe it or not, Riley is already starting to plan his 6th birthday, but we are just enjoying every day of him being 5!
