Dinosaur Party

I had so much fun planning Jacob's birthday party. Three is such a wonderful age, because they really get the concept of a birthday and being the center of attention for a day, and that you will be bigger. Of course, we had to go with a dinosaur theme because he loves them, and spends a lot of time chasing Jane around the house roaring at her. Jacob is a very social child, and LOVES to play with friends. The best thing about his birthday, is that all his little buddies were there.

We started off catching bubbles, while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Then, there was a treasure hunt to find the hidden "dinosaur nest" full of eggs. Emily was in charge of this activity, and excited to use her excellent reading skills to help the kids hunt. Of all the things we did this day, this is the thing I would do differently. The older kids got very excited about it, but the 3 (& almost 3) year old's didn't seem to get the idea of a clue leading them to something. Next time (for this age group) I'd just hide a bunch of eggs, and have them hunt randomly for them.
The "nest" was the sandbox in the backyard, and had small eggs buried that they had to dig up - inside each one was a mini-dinosaur.
They all enjoyed digging up the eggs (although most of the kids promptly lost the little dinosaurs.)
Then we ate frosting - oops, I meant to say decorated brontosaurus cookies.

Is there even a cookie under there?

MMM, yummy!
Put a little on, lick it off. Put a little on...
Didn't your Mother ever teach you not to lick your knife?
Then they did scratch art dinosaurs. This was fun, and Emily kept saying "How do they do that ? It's magic!"

To burn off some of the sugar from the frosting-fest, we jumped on the bouncy castle.
Wa - hoo!
The slide was a big attraction.
Jane held her own against the big kids (she's tough.)

Time for lunch.
Chocolate pudding is a great chaser for frosting.
I wanted to make these cups of "dirt" (chocolate pudding and crushed cookies) and add those candies that look like pebbles, and then a little dinosaur to each one. However, I didn't get around to searching out the rock candy, or pick up a "dinosaur toob" so ended up doing gummy worms instead. Didn't match the theme, but the kids still thought they were good. Jacob wan't too sure, but liked it after a taste.
Jane ate a pizza bagel (miracle.)
Jacob was really pleased with his stegosaurus cake. Doesn't he just have the cutest grin?

Nothing rounds out a party like a pinata. After each kid had had 2 hits (and not a scratch on the thing) we let Rebekah at it.
Yay, grab candy.

Then we sent everyone home with a dinosaur themed treat bag.
Jacob got really great gifts from his friends and family. Although he loves dinosaurs, he's still addicted to trains - and we added a few more trains and some cool track pieces.

How old are you? (Note the ASL 3 - love it!)
Happy Birthday Buddy!

We all love you so much, and although you run me ragged, our family would be empty without you. I love you.