splish splash bash

Yesterday we celebrated Ben's big 0-4 with a larger gathering of friends and family.  Knowing that we will not be able to have 60+ people at every birthday, (especially as more classmates are included,) we scaled down the list to kiddos close to Ben's age.  This did seem to help Ben be a little less overwhelmed and have specific memories of some of the kiddos who were there. :)
 Early in the Summer, I began the search for a pool to host a pool party and sadly many closed for the season before Ben's birthday.  I discovered the Ben Franklin pool in a nearby suburb and although we could only have the pool to ourselves for two hours, I went ahead and booked it.  For most kiddos Ben's age, two hours of swimming is plenty, and even for Ben, more than 3 would've been too much.  The weather was on the chilly side, but the sun came back for a bit of the evening and thankfully the thunder and rain of recent days stayed away.  The pool featured two water slides, a diving board and kiddie pool with splash park.  We had the whole pool to ourselves and two lifeguards to watch everyone.  They also let Ben don his life-jacket for the diving board and uber-fast slide that dumped into 11 feet of water.   During normal hours, kids have to swim from slides to the edge of the pool on their own without floaties to be allowed to jump/slide.
Daddy and Tante especially, went on and on about how much fun they had and that this had been Ben's best birthday yet.  Thanks to a large snack before, Ben didn't even take a break to eat, until we served Daddy's famous Valrhona chocolate cupcakes.
Big thanks to everyone for coming and helping us Splish, Splash and celebrate.

 

"Ben is four"

 

"Splish-Splash"

Here comes the birthday boy!!

 

beach balls doubled as decorations and favors. ;)

Tante asked what she could do to help a couple months before and surely shuddered when I sent her a picture of this shark.  She executed flawlessly and this fish stole the show!!

sweet Alaina

little fish Grace

Tante and MeeMee

high-flying fun........

Neighbor Joey rocked the diving board

like father, like son

Tante too!

 

It was Peyton's actual birthday so she got a candle and singing, too.

"No Papa, not a bite, the WHOLE thing."

f.o.u.r.

FOUR! 4. f....o....u....r...... feels.............SO grown-up.  Four feels on the brink of a whole-new big kid world.  We celebrated the big day with MeeMee, Nana, Papa and the usually requested pizza and ice cream.  Tante was out of town for work so couldn't join us for the actual birthday fun.  We had a low-key and fun day with a couple playground visits and some favorite meals before everyone joined us for dinner and gifts.

I had spent the night before wrapping gifts and hanging his banner, etc.  Both alone and with Ryan, I spent a lot of time contemplating the nerves and unknown of the eve of his birth four years earlier.  I really had somehow viewed it all from outside my body in some miraculous act of self-preservation.  The fact that I could sleep at all that night still absolutely baffles me.  We have pictures and video and our composure before, during and right after his birth are such a testament to the power of the human mind and body.  I love re-living the gift of Ben each year and feeling extra-thankful (as I'm pretty thankful for him most days,) for the un-selfish and incredible gift his birth-mom gave us.

Enough of the sap and on to the fun.......


We had a little photo shoot the day before Ben's birthday before he got pizza and ice cream all over his shirt.

And the celebration.....

We had ice cream cones since Daddy is making cupcakes for the big party.

Ben still isn't overwhelmingly into opening gifts but started out with fervor.  I tried to save the basketball for the end, but Ben chose it second and would've been happy to stop then.

He got this adorable Super Ben costume from the TS fam.

 

He LOVES his "Go! Go! football! Omaha!" jersey.

 The day after began with a big-screen viewing of Wall-E...

He had previously only had Wall-E on MeeMee's iPad

and lunch staring at his Wall-E card from the Blackerbys

 

then he had to show me how it was done with his new full-size, real-deal basketball

Look for "more about 4," in posts to come and the Splish Splash Bash this weekend!

Back in the Saddle and some VERY important reminders

Sadly, swimming with Meagan came to an end for the Summer but we didn't want to keep our fish out of the water for too long.  A well timed BOGO sale on private lessons at Swimlabs (one per family, of course) meant Ben had a new teacher, Ms. Heather, to get acquainted with.  I sent Ben in and gave Ms. Heather the quick and abridged version of Ben's current swimming skills and retired to the viewing room to watch the magic happen.  

Ben was quickly smiling and he and Ms. Heather appeared to be having some close face to face conversations paired with her slowly dunking Ben over and over.  I told myself that she was just getting a feel for Ben's comfort level but after a couple short other activities, they kept coming back to this "babyish" face dunking.  I looked at my watch, started pacing and hiding out to get a better view of just what was transpiring.  Finally, after what seemed like 20 of the 30 minutes being spent on this trivial and extremely remedial skill, I asked at the front desk about better ways to communicate about Ben's skill level.  I could tell I intimidated the receptionist and she got very red while talking about notes in the file and making sure I was happy, etc.  

Finally the half hour was up and Heather called me into the pool area.  She put up her hand and said, "before you say anything, let me explain." She said she could see me watching and that they had been working on freestyle breathing regulation through the nose.  She assured me that she understood Ben's skill level and that he could hold his breath FOREVER.  She said she needed him to regulate his breath through his nose so they could start freestyle strokes, etc.  She then said she could teach Ben to swim or teach Ben to be a swimmer and that she thought he was destined for the latter.  I just stood and nodded growing more and more red and apologizing for my actions.  I ducked my head and told the receptionist that Heather had explained everything and to please excuse all of my concerns.  

I will tell you it's been quite some time since I've been put in my place like that and reminded how truly deceiving looks can be.  It was also a great reminder that most of the time the experts know what they're doing and that there are many many things I am NOT an expert about.
I look very forward to watching the future magic happen with Ben and Ms. Heather and promise to do so quietly from my seat.