Gavin had a great 5th birthday on the 23rd of January. First, he got up in the morning and to his suprise there was an empty animal cage! He did not want to wait to see what animal he could get, but he had to muster up some patience. Before he could pick out his animal he needed to visit the doctor for his 5 year check up. He is 42 1/2 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds. Exactly 50th percentile on both. He was then the lucky recipient of 3 shots. Thank goodness we were able to counteract the shots- after the dr visit Ron took him to PetSmart to pick out his very own guinea pig. He was so excited!! He chose an albino guinea pig- white fur and red eyes. (probably the scariest one he could have chosen) And of course he got to choo
se the animals name. After thinking about it for a day it became a toss up between "Shakey" and "Wiggle" (based on how she shook with fear everytime Max entered the room). Much to our surprise Gavin went a different direction and named her "Pretty". A joke perhaps? Like naming a hairless dog Furry? That is the only explanation I can come 
up with. He is insistent, though. So we call her Pretty.
After the excitement of the new pet Gavin celebrated his birthday with his friends in daycare. They all got to eat some ice cream. Yum!!
However, the party didn't really get started until Saturday. He invited over 5 friends for a 2 hour birthday bash!! The theme was knight/dragon and so we had a "castle" made out of cardboard boxes. I bought markers and they all decorated the castle. They played three games, pin the fire on the dragon, roll the dragon egg across the floor with your nose, and find the hidden treasure. Of course the camera ran out of batteries during the games, so I don't have a picture of that. We then ate Casey's pizza (a party in your mouth!) and then opened gifts. We finished the party with a castle cake and some chocolate chip ice cream. They had so much fun!
What I have learned.....
There are several things I have learned from this experience.
1. 2 hours with 6 four and five year olds is too long. 1.5 hours would have been long enough.
2. Rug burn on the forehead and nose is a hazard when playing the "roll the egg with your nose" game.
3. Ron is no help when it comes to birthday parties. He has never been any help and will never be any help. I must accept this fact. However, he does get other things done. For example, I asked him to take a picture of the games, he realized the batteries were dead, went to get new batteries. 20 minutes later I found him cleaning his wedding ring. In the search for the batteries he happened upon the ring cleaner... the rest is annoying history. :)
