Eli's Rock 'em Sock 'em Surprise Birthday Bash

May 19, 2012

Weeks ago, Eli came sneaking into our room after bed-time.

"Hey, Mom and Dad? I gotta tell you something. I want you to throw me a surprise party. But, I don't want to know about it. I DO want my favorite flavor -- chocolate. But DON'T tell me. And, I want to have it at Peter Piper Pizza. But, I don't want to know..." Etc, etc.

At that point and time he also told us he wanted a shark themed party. He changed his mind regarding the theme about a hundred times, but was quite fixated on the "surprise" element of it. I'm not quite sure where he got this idea - I'm guessing he probably saw something on a tv show? Who knows where the kid gets any of his ideas, but he had Dusty and I laughing hysterically that night. He was so sincere about the whole thing.

I really wasn't sure what I was doing for his party when all that came about. I just knew we would have one and it would be in May, near his birthday. I typically like to have their parties on their actual birthday, but this year it falls on Memorial Day and I wanted to be a little cautious since I'm practically due any time. I for sure didn't want something to happen and Eli to not have his party. That would be catastrophic. He's only been talking about his birthday for months on end now.

Somehow, after looking at the May calendar and seeing a million bazillion things going on, we decided to throw one big birthday bash for Eli and 4 of his cousins all together. This included, Zoe, Maddy, Reese & Callie. It seriously could not have been more perfect and made things so easy for everyone. About two weeks ago I finally made Eli decide on a theme. He went back and forth, back and forth, considering everything under the sun from snakes, to sharks, to sharks AND monster trucks, to dinosaurs, to shark monster trucks, and finally landed on robots. Robots. Not just any robots - but red and blue robots that fight. Luckily, I had a light bulb moment and thought of the Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots {of which he has NEVER seen so I know the idea did NOT come from that}. I told him once he decided, that was that, and I was free to begin the planning.

Of course he knew he was having a party, but I chose not to tell him when. I decided it would be fun to surprise him after all. I figured it would really come as a surprise, seeing as how it ended up being a week before his birthday. And let me tell you - he seriously had no clue. I was so proud of Silas because he kept the secret for well over a week. It was beyond cute because he loved being in on the surprise and would wink at me throughout the week and whisper to me about it. He could not have been more excited about it - it really was as if it were his own party.

Today was one of the most chaotic days ever. We started the day off with Silas' final tee ball game {thank goodness! I think we were all done by this point.} After being there well over two hours, I rushed home to get the boys ready for their ice skating lessons. Pappy was generous enough to take them today so Dusty and I could get things done. So, I got home in barely enough time to change and feed the boys. As soon as they left I headed to Party City to order the balloons I would need for the party and to pick up some wrapping paper. I came home, cleaned out my car full of toys that have collected for weeks on end, baseball gear, ice skating gear, photo shoot props, etc. and vacuumed it out {my car is so dirty it is undeniably embarrassing}. I just couldn't take it another second. Then, I wrapped all 5 gifts and loaded them back in the car so Eli would not see them and become suspicious when he returned from skating. I proceeded to clean the entire house, meaning sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning all three bathrooms, doing two loads of laundry, loading the dishwasher, etc. By then I had just enough time to get myself and the boys ready for the party and then leave them with Dusty so I could pick up the balloons and head to Peter Piper to decorate the table before Eli arrived at the party.

It was all worth it. Eli's reaction was priceless. I made sure Dusty texted me as they were coming in so I could see the whole thing play out. He walked in with his hands covering his eyes. Then, Silas told him to look. He removed his hands from his eyes and Silas yelled, "Surprise!!! Do you know what this is?!" Eli beamed. He grinned ear to ear and replied, "My surprise party!!"

Dusty and Silas lead him over to the table to check everything out. He was in awe. He LOVED it. He asked, "Mom? Did you plan all this?? I LOVE it. Thank you, Mom. Thank you!!" He probably thanked me at least 5 different times and couldn't believe I planned it. Like I said, Silas was just as excited as Eli was because he was in on the surprise. It was seriously the cutest and sweetest thing ever. Priceless, I tell you -- priceless.

Though it was a crazy, chaotic day, I am so glad my little E had his perfect "surprise" party. He could not have been happier and I think it was all he wanted it to be. Whew! Now, I can relax from the day and from the stress of having his party over my head. I think I made it through every big event I needed to before baby Jeremiah comes, so that is definitely a relief. He is free to come any time now {okay, maybe not ANYtime - he really should cook a couple more weeks, but you know what I mean...}

Technically, the birthday festivities aren't over yet. We still have his "party" at school, which basically involves bringing cupcakes for his class and then I am sure we will do something on his actual birthday - unless, that is, he gets his wish that Jeremiah be born on his birthday. Here's a few photos from the party. I'm kind of exhausted so didn't spend much time editing, but oh well. You get the idea. Here's Eli's Rock 'em Sock 'em Surprise Birthday Bash...