Happy Birthday

We hit a big milestone in our family last week -- Nathan turned 8! We celebrated with the family on Friday night (his actual birthday) by going to his favorite restaurant -- Brick Oven. The kids love the pasta shells, but they also love the Balloon Man. It was a very busy night, but we were finally able to get him to come to our table.
Nathan asked for a sledge hammer (where did that come from?), Benjamin got an alien with a laser gun, and Joshua got a puppy.
After they sang to him and brought him dessert at the restaurant, we came home and he got to open presents. I think he loved everything, although his immediate favorite was his alarm clock from grandma. I think he's excited to be able to wake himself up (so are we!) and to listen to the radio while in his room.
He also was so excited to get his Cub Scout shirt and book -- he couldn't wait to put it on!
He's also had a lot of fun this last week playing with his Indiana Jones Legos and his Transformers.

Saturday after swim lessons was Nathan's Harry Potter party with friends. Nathan had 9 friends come over to "Hogwarts." After they said a password to get in, we started by making wands. Somehow we didn't get pictures of that, but they took dowels and got to paint them and use pipe cleaners to make the handles.
While those dried, the kids took turns sitting on a stool and wearing the Sorting Hat (it's nice that the party was right after Halloween and it was easy to find the hat). They were sorted into 4 different Gryffindor teams.
Then we went outside to Potions class, where they worked in their teams for 3 different potions. We did "Lava in a Cup", Liquid/Solid with cornstarch and water, and the favorite: "Fizzy Foam" (basically vinegar with baking soda). I think they all had a lot of fun, and they did pretty well with cleaning up the mess. Thank goodness for disposable tablecloths!
The next class was Divination, aka opening presents. Before Nathan could open a present, the child giving it to him would make eye contact. They both had to think about the gift, and then Nathan would make a guess what it was.
Then we moved on to the Great Hall for Golden Snitch ice cream cake and butterbeer (aka root beer).
Our final class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. The kids found a pinata that looked like an innocent 8, but really it was an evil snake in disguise! Everyone got 2 turns to beat at the snake, and then Nathan got to finish him off. Once he was destroyed, candy and small toys were left behind!
Then the kids got to take their wands home, along with a container of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
It was fun to see the kids outside later that afternoon (most of the kids that came live in our neighborhood) playing together with their wands. I think Nathan had a great birthday weekend, and now we are looking forward to his baptism in December.