Jack's 5th Birthday Party

As is the norm in our family, I let the kids pick the "theme" of their birthday party and we usually do this quite a bit in advance (it gives us time to plan and work on decorating projects long before the big event).  I know that my years are limited with the girls still wanting themed parties, so I hope to continue this as long as I can.

Jack chose "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for his birthday party and I loved being able to incorporate some left-over green items from Sam's Rainforest Party last Fall.  We began a countdown in the kitchen about a month before the big day where he glued a turtle on every night before bed.  He took his role seriously ... and if we somehow forgot to do it before heading to his bed, he would come upstairs later and remind us.

Stuffing the pinata the day before the party.  He requested one for his party and it turned out to be a fun thing ...

His birthday treat for his friends at school ...

I kept the decorations pretty simple, but stuck with the usual decorative banner, hanging piece and a few items on the tables.

Jack helped me make the hanging turtles out of chinese lanterns :

And he loves them so much that they are now hanging in our garage (and make for a great talking piece whenever anyone stops over to visit).

He also assisted in the construction of the banner using paper plates and cardstock.

Fresh-picked lilacs from our bush with the special birthday boy's new number stick inside.

The infamous cake table ...

It's no secret that Ninja Turtles LOVE pizza -- it's their favorite food!  So, I turned the cakes into pizza cakes.  And I used pizza boxes from Old Chicago (I just asked the waitress for a couple of boxes when we went there to eat on Jack's actual birthday).

Jack was so pleased and couldn't wait to dive into one of them!

His turtle shirt was leftover from last year, but made a great ensemble ... especially when paired with a turtle handkerchief (stolen from one of the table centerpieces).

We grilled burgers and brats for the party and then settled into the living room so that Jack could open his gifts.  How perfect was his card from Papa and Grammy?!

And the moment that Jack had been waiting for all day -- blowing out his candle and having a piece of pizza cake!

Actually, I take that back ... He was equally as excited about his pinata and all of the candy inside.  We had it set up in the garage and the kids had a blast hitting it and scoring big with all of the goodies inside.

Jack's 5-year-old stats:

44" tall (71st  percentile; he grew 3.25" in the last year)
46.8 lbs (83rd percentile; he's solid muscle)