Liam's Sleepover Party

Just reading those title words would make many a mom cringe with fear.  And I will admit, I was a little intimidated by the idea of having a sleepover party for Liam.  But on the flip side, I've really been a little unfair to the poor kid.  Aidan has been having sleepovers since he could barely walk.  Liam has had 2 sleepovers in the US and 2 here in Barcelona... in 6 years.  So when I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday party this year and he told me a sleepover, really, what could I say but yes?

And to be honest, it's not that hard of a party to plan.  No need for games or activities since it was a small group of kids.  Just let them run with their imaginations, make pizzas together, have cupcakes and  ice cream and then watch a movie before bed.  Easy peasy right?

Liam helping me get the air mattresses ready for his friends

Within 15 minutes of the first guest getting here, I'll say, I felt like this could be a very bad idea.  Liam was hyper on life and going at full speed.  He was up the stairs, down the stairs, back up the stairs again.  Any parent will agree, up and down the stairs, not only dangerous (and our stairs are marble so they are slippery!) but annoying.  It's quiet, it's loud, it's quiet, it's loud.  

But eventually they got their groove and I have to thank Aidan for that.  Yes, they were still up and down the stairs but imagination took over and they were no longer running aimlessly but creating a world that included each of them.  I think this takes a special talent and for them to all be able to do it together, a true bond.  They were all dressed as super heroes and not all from the same genre - we had Yoshi (from Super Mario), Iron Man/Hulk, Captain America, a King and Indiana Jones... and that was before the last 2 kids arrived.  They created portals that they had to run to and watching them play was something to say the least.  And I loved every moment...

Adventure time!

Two of our heroes :)

The last two kids arrived and the kids continued to play great.  We made pizzas together - though only 3 really participated in that but seriously, as long as they were having fun, I don't care if I had to make the pizzas myself.  

We opened presents and Liam was thrilled with all of them.  He still doesn't quite have a filter though and claimed which was his favorite which made me cringe just a little bit.  We apparently need to work on some party / gift receiving etiquette.  But it's all good.  

Liam opening presents

After opening presents

Dinner was loud but expectedly so.  The kids enjoyed their pizza and then we did cupcakes and ice cream.  They were more interested in playing which was totally fine with us.  It wasn't til around 8:30 that we settled down to start our movie - Return of the Jedi, a unanimous vote by all of the kids.

Eating pizza, watermelon and chicken nuggets... an odd mix, I know...

Liam about to blow out his candles

Licking the bottom of the candle

My "hope" had been that the kids would fall asleep during the movie.  But alas, that was a pipe dream. They talked through the entire movie.  The good news, they know EVERYTHING there is to know about Star Wars - I have to admit, I was impressed with their knowledge, especially given their young age.  These padawan have been trained well ;)

Getting ready to watch the movie

Aidan's asking me why these kids won't stop talking so he can watch the movie??

By 11 they were finally asleep.  Aidan bunked in with me for the night and Josh slept in the living room with the boys (a volunteer action since he knew he was going to be gone the entire day on Sunday entertaining work people).  I was again "hoping" for an 8AM wake up call but yeah, no luck.  Before 6:30 all of the kids had been up at some point to pee and then Jake woke up and decided that he couldn't make it outside and pooped in our room and all the way down the stairs.  Fun way to wake up.  

So according to my camera I took this picture at 6:24AM.  So not only was I awake enough to take the picture at this point but as you can see they are enthralled by the tv already....

But the kids were amazing.  Josh and I kept saying that yeah, they were all loud and full of energy (but what 5/6 isn't?), but they are a fantastic group of kids.  They just played so well together.  We made breakfast (something different for everyone of course) and they played til the parents started to come around 11.  The boys and I spent the day doing...nothing.  Just too pooped.  Josh had to go out to entertain some people for work so it was just the three of us.  

So one party down this month and one to go... let the festivities continue!

Besos,

Julie