Grandma Evie's birthday celebration (complete with Official Party Planner)

Yesterday was Grandma Evie's birthday party!

Earlier this week David and I reached a stalemate at Target about Grandma Evie's birthday party. I thought it should include some cute, colorful plates that said "Happy Birthday!" on them. David whined that they were "fancy," and he only likes "powerful" things. He insisted that any party he would be attending should only have "powerful" things and no "fancy" things. I just wasn't sure my mom would appreciate "powerful" Optimus Prime plates. And he was having a meltdown about the prospect of his mom buying something "fancy."

So we compromised and bought a pinata! And candy! The pinata was our big surprise. Grandma Evie would never suspect a pinata for her party. David was very good about keeping the secret all week.

The day of the party David was very helpful. He filled the pinata (and his mouth) with candy. The opening was small, so he could only drop in one piece of candy at a time. But he worked hard at it until the pinata was completely filled. (Mary pretended to help, but mostly she just ate candy. And held a flashlight for some reason.)

Then David helped me decorate. He worked very, very hard and hung all the ribbon on the chandelier. He also told me which color ribbon we needed next. Mary wasn't quite as helpful--but she did take advantage of the opportunity to dance on the table. (It's not often you get permission to stand on the dining room table!)

David took his work very seriously...
But Mary just clapped her hands and did a jig...
That evening the family enjoyed dinner together at Rosa's. David was excited to see dozens of pinatas hanging from the ceiling at the restaurant! (But he still kept the secret.)

Later that evening was the big reveal. David convinced everyone to hide under the table and jump out to surprise Grandma Evie. She was definitely surprised...
Next was time to open presents...
And David and Mary were on hand to help...

Finally, we busted open the pinata (which we really had managed to keep a secret from my mom all week). First David gave it a few good whacks...
and then Mary...
and then David again...
Grandma Evie then really whacked it good. And, finally, Uncle Daniel beat it to a pulp, and candy came raining down...
Sharing candy...
Finally, we had "cake." Actually, it was a very yummy chocolate pie. But David the Official Party Planner was insistent that you have CAKE at a birthday party. NOT PIE! So we started calling it cake (and he wasn't the wiser).
David might have been the planner, but Mary's job is to carefully lick all the candles. She takes her job very seriously...
The celebration ended with David directing a few rounds of hide'n'seek. ("You can't have a party without games!" is David's common refrain.)

We all had a fun time!

I know this post should be more about my mom and her birthday, but I have to point out what a fun kid David is. He loves parties, and he's very good at planning them. And he always provides the energy and enthusiasm that a good party needs. This is just one of a million reasons why it's such a blessing to have David in our family!

Now, to the point:

Happy Birthday, Grandma Evie!