Saturday, December 20, 2008

Tristan's Birthday Celebration

Since Tristan's birthday fell in the middle of the week, where everyone was working and not able to come by for a little get together we celebrated his birthday yesterday. Before that, though, we had an extra big surprise for him. We purchased tickets to the Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music show. The show was this last Thursday (just two days after his actual birthday). While my friend watched Melayna, Scott and I took Tristan to see the show. I thought the show was wonderful. Very educational and entertaining. It had all the usual characters: Elmo, Count, Big Bird, Oscar, Grover, Baby Bear, Bert, Ernie, and more. The musical numbers were upbeat and usually had some sort of educational or meaningful thought to it. They created familiarity by starting with the opening song just like the show, having a number and letter of the day (which was "J" and "8", by the way), and even have Elmo's World (complete with the opening song, Mr. Noodle's brother - Mr. Noodle, Dorothy - his goldfish, and the closing song).
Despite Tristan's love for all things Sesame Street, especially Elmo, he just sat there. He sat in my lap most of the time (his seat became storage for my bag and our drinks), clutching onto Mr. Bear, his attachment object or lovey. Scott got this neat shot of him gazing at the stage. He very rarely said anything. Did I mention that we paid $100 to go to see the show? We were in the fifth row, but yes, we paid about $100 to go to the show.
By the way, they are great at marketing their products at the show. We avoided the concession stands going to our seats. Tristan barely noticed since there was too much going on around him. 'Perfect!', I thought. We don't have to spend gobs of money on marked up stuff. Oh, but wait! They had an intermission. What better time than to force parents into buying something for their kid to avoid a full blown tantrum? Just shortly after the start of intermission, a guy comes into the auditorium with fifty or more Elmo helium balloons! Great. Every child in the theater wanted one. We're out of cash, so we keep trying to tell Tristan he couldn't have one. Even the the kid on our left had one, the kid behind us had one, and the kid in front of us had one. I could see it happening, a tantrum in the works. And for what? An $8.00 balloon that will either a)pop b)fly in the air if he lets it go or c)deflate in just a few days. So, what did we do? In order to avoid a tantrum, during the long fifteen minute intermission, I took him to the concession stand and bought him an $8.00 penant (they accept credit cards there). Grrrr, they won! They successfully manipulated my son and me so that I spent even more money. *holds head down in shame* Regardless of my son's awe struck silence, he apparently enjoyed the show. He turned back to his normal jib-jabber self during intermission and immediately following the show.

Alright, so no birthday would be completely with cake and ice cream, right? So, Grandma, Grandpa, and a few friends came over to help us celebrate Tristan's 3rd birthday. I baked and decorated a cake, especially made with Tristan in mind. I also made a Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie, too. My friend, Dani, shares her birthday with Tristan, but she isn't a fan of cake. So, I promised her this pie that I make sometimes, which she absolutely loves. Besides cake and pie and ice cream, the evening was complete with chicken garlic pizza and philly cheesesteak pizza from Papa Murphy's.

Tristan got some pretty awesome gifts. His own camera! (he loves taking pictures with mine, so Grandma got him a kid tough one). A DVD with four episodes of Word World from our friends (very thankful for because he loves that show but is usually down for a nap at that time). And Fisher Price Cool School (a keyboard and writing pad with educational software). Tristan got to open his gifts from us on his actual birthday. We got him a bunch of Word World toys - animals that are made of letters which pull apart, a fruit basket play dough set, and and aqua writer pad.

All of these gifts truly fit our son's likes and personality. He loved it all! Overall, I think he had a wonderful birthday. He was surrounded by friends and family. He received some wonderful gifts. And most of all, he had fun! Happy Birthday kiddo!

1 comments:

Paula December 21, 2008 at 3:41 PM  

What a fun day for Tristan. I took my older daughter to a Sesame Street show and she loved it (that was about 15 years ago). I hate the way they get you to spend more money though. I think you did good just getting away spending money on the penant. The cake is really cute!

About This Blog

My name is Mary and I'm a working mom with two beautiful children. I've worked for over seven years at a credit union, currently as an administrative assistant. Last fall, I went back to school and started on a Bachelors in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Elementary Education.

My hobbies, when I have time, include photography, sewing, photo processing, digital scrapbook, online gaming, reading, role playing games like DnD, and board games. But what I really love doing is just being a mom to my two children, Tristan and Melayna.

Tristan, whois four, is an awesome big brother and such an intelligent little boy. He loves Transformers, animals, Dr. Seuss books, and eating.

Melayna, who is one and a half, has definitely taught her momma patience. Unlike her easy going brother, she is curious and persistent. And if something stands in her way, she will definitely let you know her displeasure. Regardless, she is a sweetheart and daddy's little girl.

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