You guys, my baby turned 5! I know everyone says this, but I really don't know how it happened.
And I'm not sure why 5 feels like SUCH a big milestone but it does.
It also felt like a big milestone because this was the first year HE knew exactly what he wanted.
He understood his birthday was coming and he wanted to plan his day, invite friends, the whole nine.
And one day while we were at Walmart he saw a dinosaur piñata and that was it, he was sold.
A dino party complete with piñata would be the perfect celebration for this 5 year old.
And if you've been around here for any time at all, you know I'm all about cuteness on a dime.
Getting creative with what I already have and challenging myself to spend as little money as possible are usually my method. Things that cost little money but make a big impact (see balloon 5 below).
I brought out Grady's plastic dinos, went and scrounged up plants from around the house, and got out our family party hats + Happy Birthday banner that we use for everyone's birthday in our family plus a couple cute pictures of Grady and made this little scene!
The only thing I really needed to make was the Gradysaurus banner. I bought a $3 pack of letters from the Target Dollar Spot and painted them green. It didn't have all the R's or S's I needed so I just traced them on cardboard and added them in.
The cake is a big deal, of course. And while I love to decorate a cake, I'm no baker.
So I made it easy on myself and just did a triple layer boxed funfetti cake.
Store bought icing as well. If it ain't broke, why fix it? That's my motto when
it comes to baking. hah!
To make it even easier on myself, I made cupcakes for all the kids.
Pre-measured, contained cake for the win.
The only other decor we did was this super fun balloon 5.
If you're looking for a statement decor piece and don't want to spend much money but don't mind investing some time, this might be for you!
We just bought a big piece of plywood and painted it white for the backdrop.
Then I freehanded a huge number 5 outline for us to follow.
We bought six $1 packs of balloons for 72 balloons total and then went to town blowing them
up in all different sizes. Start with your big balloons first to make the shape and then fill it in with the littler balloons. Use strong, white tape. Enlist someone else to do all the balloon blowing (that's what I did, hah!)
This was my first time hosting a *real* kid party. Like with more kids than adults.
I was not really sure how it was gonna go, but it was great.
We did some simple dino themed games for the kids:
Dinosaur Egg Hunt
Dinosaur Dig
And of course, the thing that started it all,
Dinosaur Piñata
My boy had a great day. He is such an extrovert so being surrounded by his
people was the best gift of all.
(Thank you to my friend Trish who grabbed my camera and took pictures so I could
be in the moment. That's a good friend right there.)
My sweet Grady boy, I count it such a privilege to be your mama.
We've done this thing together from the start. So, your birthday kinda feels like my birthday - the day I became a mom. You've turned into such a kind, compassionate, and helpful little boy.
You are by far one of my greatest blessings and I love to celebrate YOU.
Every year we try to take pictures of our kids on/around their birthday and here are a
few to remember our Grady Boy at age 5.
