Julia's 4th Birthday Carnival

Let the games begin!

Julia loves birthday parties.  Last year in the midst of surgery, radiation, and chemo we were planning her 3rd birthday.  She chose Little Einsteins.  They were the one thing that brought her continuous comfort in the hospital.  The theme song still bring s tears to my eyes as I flashback to sleepless nights in pain in the PICU, chemo vomiting, daily trips to radiation for sedation.  Those DVDs always calmed her down and allowed her to be strong and fight.

While she was in the hospital she received a Curious George doll, the complete book collection, and CDs.  We read these stories so many times.  One of her favorites was Curious George Goes to the Hospital.  We read it so often I could recite it, but she loved it.  Both the kids love the PBS show and watch it daily before breakfast.  So this year we decided it would be a Curious George birthday.
 
We have been planning this carnival for several months and it's a good thing because the past few weeks of our life have been nonstop action.  It all started with some fun ideas for backyard games inspired by the Costco's plastic container for their apples.  I just couldn't bring myself to throw it away, so I've been saving them on a shelf in the garage.

PING PONG TOSS:
We built a simple L-shaped frame from some scrap wood.  Then we opened the apple containers and painted the bottom of some with acrylic paint.  I used peel-n-stick velcro to adhere them to the board.  A bucket of ping pong balls and we were ready to go!

PIN THE BUTTERFLY:
There was also Pin the Butterfly on the Log (from Party City).  The numbered stickers make this so easy..

WATER THE FLOWERS:
The kids really wanted to have water balloons at the party.  I don't know about you, but I am not a fan of tiny balloon bits all over my yard.  The solution was to make a target.  We attached a cheap inner tube to a board with Gorilla Glue and loops of packing tape.  I painted the center yellow to look like a flower and added brown dots for seeds.  Then we flipped it over and put tiny nails through the dots.  And we had a new game, Water the Flowers.  We used the water balloon sets from the dollar bins that come with a hose nozzle for easy-filling.  The great feature was the tiny balloon pieces were caught inside the inner tube...  

FISHING:
The kids and I painted an old sheet for our fishing game.  The clothespin on the stick was a great pole to fish for bags of cotton candy...

BOWLING:
All the kids love to play bowling and I've always wanted to have an alley for the set.  We attached two rectangle boards with hinges on the back.  This way we can fold it for easy storage.  We attached pieces of 2x4 for a back bumper and painted dots for the pin set-up.

The tattoo station was a big hit...

RING TOSS:
We also had ring toss.  This set is from Lillian Vernon Kids...

LEAP FROG TOSS:
This was a simple setup of a bucket of plastic frogs and buckets of water.  It was helpful that we could easily adjust the difficulty levels of these games by having the kids stand at different distances.

After making all of these games I realized why kids like carnivals so much.  All the games involve throwing things and they get prizes for doing it!

We decided to have a collection box at the party for Give Kids the World.  We are going to spend the month filling this box to the brim and can't wait to send it off to Florida.  We are all so excited to be tangibly giving back and paying forward the blessings we received.

The party was a huge success.  We had glorious sunshine and a yard full of family and friends.  Here's three hours in picture memories...

Julia was very excited about opening presents.  Her tender, gracious heart makes me so happy.  She read every card, thanked all her friends, and had the sweetest comments about everything she opened, "This is what I've always wanted!", "I love this!", "Thank you so much!", "Oooh, look!!"  I loved when she opened the cupcake set from her great-grandparents.  She got a sad look on her face and said, "But how can I tell them thank you because they're in Pennsylvania?" You have such a gift with words and encouragement, Julia.

Happy, happy birthday sweet Ju-Ju! We are all so blessed to celebrate this day with you and rejoice in good health, good friends, loving family, and so much gratitude.Your 3rd year of life was like nothing we could have ever imagined.  Looking back, I cannot believe how far you have come.  Just in the past month you have gotten so much stronger, happier, and more peaceful.  God has been so faithful to heal you in every way, in His time.  We all look forward to the new joys and adventures of your 4th year and feel privileged to walk beside you.  You are a gift to everyone you meet.  May God continue to carry you wherever He leads.  We love you!