Alexander turns 4

This weekend has been a weekend celebrating Alexander's 4th birthday. Normally we would have headed to the park to celebrate his birthday with family but this year, with Corona Virus, we couldn't do this. 

Saturday morning we set up the loungeroom with balloons, the Happy Birthday sign and glasses. 

We signed up to a virtual birthday party that was to be hosted by Emma Wiggle. Alexander was a little bit excited about it. We did think it was going to be on Zoom but guess too many people applied for it and we missed out so joined in through Instagram. It was a bit cute, singing, dancing, a game of pass the parcel and musical statues. It was just a lovely little party.

Alexander had a lot of fun and couldn't wipe the smile off his face. It was a different way to celebrate his birthday and to have a party but it was nice to do it together. 

At nighttime we had a bit of fun with glowsticks for the kids as they went to bed. Alexander did enjoy having the glow. He even wanted to read with the glowstick. But I didn't let him. We read with the light on instead and then prayed by glowstick light. 

My gorgeous baby boy was turning 4 tomorrow. He just looked so gorgeous at bedtime.

In the morning the kids started chatting around 6:45. At 7am Daniel ran out of his bedroom with a blanket he wanted to share with Alexander a teddy and shouted 'Happy Birthday Alexander!'. Eliza then went to his room saying 'Happy Birthday' and was asking him to play a game with her.

We got up and dressed for the day, mixed with cuddles and giggles. We then sat on the couch and watched a gorgeous video of Alexander's family sending him birthday wishes and messages. 

So so lovely to have Nana J and Boompa join in, as well as Grannie Jean, Grayma and Tim and Rach. It was just so nice to see everyone's faces when we couldn't be together. He loved it. He had a smile throughout, he giggled at times and even answered questions from Grayma about how his bike was going. 

Nana J and Boompa

Nana surprised Alexander saying 'Boo!'

Nana and Poppy

He had this smile on his face the whole time. So precious.

Grannie Jean

Grayma

The Howies

Maddie

Aly

Auntie Jen

Uncle Ryan

Tim and Rach

Auntie Sue

Auntie Ros and Uncle Mark

Kimberly

Aunty Julie and Uncle Pete

Auntie Megan took us on an adventure around the shops trying to find the perfect present for Alexander

Aunty Megan and Mark

He loved it!

After the video we did present time. It was lovely to watching each person read their birthday message to him from our birthday messages book.

He gives the best reactions to openning presents. He was very excited to get the huge box of lego and he was also quite stoked to get a light up car track.

He opened Nana J and Boompa's presents as well as Grannie Jean. He loved getting his own little Bluey and some little Super Mario Kart characters.

Grayma called while Alexander was openning his presents. I loved watching him chat with her. He pulled so many faces.

 

Happy with his 4 badge from Nana J and Boompa

Cuddles

We then had some porridge for breakfast. He was very exited to have this. He also requested some orange juice (freshly squeezed). Thanks for the suggestion Daniel.

After breakfast the kids had a little play and then we got ready for Church. Mum and Dad came around to join us for the service which was quite nice to do. 

Then Alexander got to enjoy openning his presents from Nana and Poppy, Auntie Sue, Great Grandma and Grayma.

After church we got organised for lunch. While James and I set up the table and food, it was lovely to see the kids with Nana and Poppy - chatting, reading, playing, looking at photos. I have missed these special moments. 

We then had a tasty BBQ lunch - complete with corn on the cob (a favourite for Alexander), make your own garden salad and the crunchy noodle salad. It was quite yummy!

After lunch the kids rode their bikes for a bit on the road (thanks to Poppy for watching them).

Then it was cake time. Alexander thanked me for making his caterpillar cake. He had requested the one from the Woman's Weekly Cookbook but I changed it slightly to be the Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was quite fun to make. (Will post photos of making it at the end). 

Also with being in ISO I made 2 lots of the cake - 1 to have with Nana and Poppy and 1 to have with Auntie Jenny, Uncle Howie and Oscar. We sang Happy Birthday to Alexander and he blew out the candles. 

Then each person got a section of the cake (one muffin) and 2 lollies (fruits that the caterpillar had eaten). 

I was really proud of how the cakes turned out. The holes in the lollies were especially cool and I was quite proud of that idea. Starburst for the win!

After cake time we thanked Nana and Poppy and said bye in a social distancing way - with elbow high fives and foot taps.

After a little bit of playing time the kids had some downtime with watching Bluey (while James and I brought down Alexander's lego table from the Howie's. It was Oscar's old one).

Cuddling his Bluey while watching Bluey

Then the Howie's came around. We did present time where Alexander was very excited to get some more Lego and then to get the LEGO table too. Pretty fun treat. He was even more excited when he realised that he could store his LEGO in the table!

Oscar reading Alexander his card

Next up we had cake time, round 2. The kids sang happy birthday (again) and Alexander blew out the candles (again). We then enjoyed some more cake. Good thing they were just small muffins so it wasn't eating too much cake.

The kids then requested to play the Wii. James set it up and the kids liked playing a game of Bowling. They cheered each other on with strikes and spares. It was pretty fun to see.

Alexander's faces were so funny!

Daniel and Oscar then played a game of baseball (Oscar won). It was quite hard for the boys to hit the ball at the right time.

Then Eliza and Alexander had a turn of tennis. Eliza won both games.

Lastly Alexander and Oscar had a game of golf. We laughed so hard at Alexander doing massive swings, even when he only needed to hit the ball a short distance. He was also funny when he kept hitting the ball into the bunker and then from one bunker to the next. Not quite the aim of the game. He was also keen to hit the ball into the water. Again, not the aim of the game.

Thanks for coming Howies!

After the Wii it was time for dinner, just an easy meal of toasted sandwiches and left over sausages and veggies. While finishing dinner we had a lovely surprise of Emma and Anna popping over to give Alexander a present. 

So lovely to see them and they are just so generous. We had a brief chat with them before the kids finished dinner and the kids got ready for bed.

At bedtime Eliza was very sweet and wanted to read a book to Alexander. I love how she loves reading. 

They were very excited to read together. He then climbed into bed with his new Bluey toy and went to sleep. 

Happy 4th Birthday Alexander! I hope that you had a fun day. You sure looked like you did. I am so glad that you were able to celebrate your birthday with some of your family and that you were able to see even more of your family on your messages video. This will be something that I hope you look back on and smile at as you grow up. To see Boompa, Grannie Jean, Grayma. It was just very special to have them involved. Alexander, I just love your heart for others. Even this morning when Eliza was upset that she doesn't have very much LEGO, you immediately said 'It's ok Eliza. You can borrow mine and play with me.' You love to be a part of other peoples' lives. Your smile is just gorgeous and your belly laughs are contagious. You love to make people laugh by pulling faces and being silly and I just love this confident side of you. You just want to be around others and be involved in what others are doing. This has become more clear through doing home schooling during Corona. You are so clever, picking up new skills and being very proud of yourself when you achieve something new. You love to laugh and play with your brother and sister. I love seeing you look out for others, be creative in your playing, have a love of music and be curious about things around you. Thank you for my many cuddles, sitting on me, nuzzling into me, doing nose rubs with me. 
I love you Bubba and I hope that you felt loved and special today because you are.
Happy 4th Birthday Alexander!

(I asked Alexander what his favourite part of his birthday was and he said 'Watching the video of all the messages to me. Especially Mark saying that I needed bandaids for my present for if I feel off my bike.)

Here are the photos of making Alexander's cake.