On Ty’s birthday week, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how we used to celebrate Ty. It all began when Ty was just about to turn one years old. He had plenty of Aunts and Uncles who wanted to not just celebrate, but volunteered to make it memorable. With no kids of their own yet, Ty’s parties quickly grew to be creative and elaborate celebrations.
1st birthday: Mickey
Around 1 years old, Ty really liked Mickey. So this theme was an obvious choice. I made the cake and his aunties took care of the rest. Ty had a lot of cousins around the same age so I made Mickey ears for them to wear at the party too.
2nd birthday: Sesame Street
My siblings surprised us with a costume they made 
Ty was obsessed with “Mamoo” at the time. That was what his daycare teachers called Elmo. So we went with a Sesame Street theme. We painted a mural, made tissue puff characters, and cupcakes! The surprise of the party members (including me) was an Elmo character costume my siblings made. My brother dressed up as Elmo and hilariously scared Ty.
3rd Birthday: Bob the builder
At 3 years old, Bob the Builder was the man. We had a construction theme party in the backyard. We gave the kiddos costumes and set them on a “house” painting project.
4th Birthday: Race Cars
By 4 years old, Ty was into race cars. We had everyone pimp their “rides”, had a car race, and gave out participation trophies.
5th Birthday: Star Wars
Of course one of these birthdays had to be Star Wars! This was the peak of our parties. R2D2 was my proudest cake. We made Jedi costumes for the kids, complete with blow up light sabers. We also set up an obstacle course to train the Jedis. Quinn had just turned 1 and it looked like we were rocking life.
6th Birthday: Playdate
We had JUST gotten home from the hospital with Eli so a party was not possible that year. Instead, we held a small impromptu playdate with 3 of Ty’s friends at the local go-kart place. The group knew of Eli’s expected due date (the same week as Ty’s birthday) so everyone tentatively penciled us in. I did manage to get discharged on Ty’s actual birthday so we had cake at home.
7th Birthday: Birthday Bash (Emojis)
This was the year we decided to merge all the birthdays into one birthday bash, complete with themed T shirts for the family. Quinn was born in January and it was generally difficult to hold winter parties for her. This bash proved to be easier for everyone. Also, my in laws migrated to Florida for the winter so having a bash in April worked out for them too.
8th Birthday: Birthday Bash (Balloons)
Since the last bash went so well, we did another bash for year 8. With 3 kids under our wing, as well as my siblings having their own kids, the parties focused less on creativity and moved more on a general gathering.
9th Birthday: Florida + Playdate
This was the year Mike turned 40, as well. So we expanded our yearly Florida trip to Tampa to include Orlando too. It was as a big birthday present for all the boys. Mike, Ty, and Eli all have April birthdays. However, Ty was still sad to not have a party so we threw in a playdate with one of his school buddies at the local science museum.
10th Birthday: COVID-19
Now we arrive to 2020, where gatherings of 5 or more people are socially unacceptable and possibly illegal. He shares the same tale with almost of everyone with March, April, and possibly May birthdays in 2020.
He celebrated turning a decade older in quarantine. It was actually not as bad as it sounded. It was not elaborate, but it was nice and intimate. We went off-brand and showered him with lots of gifts this year. The alternative (if there wasn’t a state-wide shutdown) was that we had a party the weekend before. And he would have celebrated his actual birthday Facetiming with his Daddy, who travels for work during the weekday. Instead, the shutdown made it possible for Mike to be physically here with him on his actual birthday. His Uncle, Aunt, and even myself joined him in a Minecraft party after dinner and that was pretty nice!
Ty really misses his parties. He doesn’t need much from a party either; just friends. A bounce house helps, too. I have stopped planning kid activities at this stage since I notice the kids prefer to run around and play on their own. We usually hold a birthday party in the spring and a Halloween party in the fall. So hopefully, we can still have that for him in October 2020.
I miss our parties too. They are great gatherings full of people who genuinely love and support us. Quite a few make the trip from out of state to join and support us. We love seeing everyone and catching up. New friendships have even formed among our crowd of folks who would never have otherwise met.
Our next gathering will be for Halloween. Hopefully, we will find our new normal soon and figure out the healthiest way to gather again.