Colt and Payton’s birthdays are both in May (they are only 11 months apart in age!!!). Every year Courtney has a separate party for each of them. It’s always great, but I can’t IMAGINE planning two parties for kids so close in age all in the same month! Kinda crazy right?!?!?
This year BOTH Colt and Payton really, really are into horses/cowboy/cowgirl themes. We have a local horse ranch that hosts birthday parties and allows for as many guests as you want to bring. It was SUCH a great idea to have a combo party for them. They are young enough where they still have similar interests and friends and it allowed them to have a bigger event for their party than they would have had if they did them separately. I was hardcore team “co-party” haha It also meant less work for Courtney which was a big benefit for sure!
We had our Mother’s Day celebration for Mrs. Charlotte that morning then the party was after naps. When the kids woke up it was DOWNPOUR rain and I was so worried that no one would show up for the party. Um, wrong! When we pulled up I thought for sure they were hosting multiple parties at once or something…it was a MASSIVE turnout! So, so many kids were there and it really was such an event!!! I’m sure it made Courtney’s heart so happy to see how many people love her babies to come out in that weather to celebrate with them 🙂
We’ve decided that our family and outdoor events are just a bad luck combo though. I mean Kye’s birthday was a tornado, Casey’s wedding was storms, and Colt and Payton’s party was rainy too!
Casey and I found this hat for Britt when we went shopping and she did not wanna take it off!
They had TONS of activities to choose from and it was great having so much freedom to do whatever the kids wanted! Kye was ready to ride some horses!
We tried with Britt…
She was NOT interested at first!
Haha
They both had a LOT of friends from school come, so sweet!
Britt just wanted her Big Papa 🙂
They played a game where they had to run around and try to catch a cow. Yeah, I’m being serious haha! All the kids were all excited about it!
Check out Kye though…
Kye said “I’m done with this!” and didn’t even try to chase the cow. He said he didn’t want to get dirty. A boy after my own heart FOR SURE 🙂
They also played a game where teams took turns dressing a goat
and lassoing this “ram”
Kye also was not the least bit interested in ANY of those activities. He and this (adorably dressed) little girl opted to not participate. I mean the girl is rockin’ a white jacket in rainy weather…I totally wouldn’t be risking getting that thing dirty either haha
So while the other kids did all the cowboy/cowgirl themed things, Kye entertained himself!
Dressing the goat
Payton had a broken arm and the cast couldn’t get wet, bless her heart, she had to rock the trash bag look!
It was REALLY fun to sit back and watch all the kids play and interact together. Seeing Payton with all of her girlfriends being silly and laughing was so precious and makes me excited to see Britt at this age!
They also had a “train ride” which was a four wheeler with some barrels hooked up to it. Yes, I was a tad nervous about letting Kye ride and no, Britt def did not ride it but they all seemed to have a BLAST on it!
I don’t know these kids but they were SO cute!!!!
Thankfully they had a cottage area where we could all go inside. The rain came and went and was a soft sprinkle which was really good and it kept it from being too hot too!
Presents!
One last choo choo ride 🙂
Mrs. Char is always tcb (takin’ care of business)
I feel like I learned a LOT about my kids’ personalities at that party! Britt is still very slow-to-warm. I think it’s her nature and probably always will be. I’m very much that way. I don’t jump right in unless I’m comfortable with something. She took awhile to warm up to everything. She wasn’t into the horses at first and didn’t want to be put down but by the end of the party she didn’t want to STOP riding the horses and was running all over the place all by herself! I def have to always keep that in mind about her and just be patient and give her time to adjust to her surroundings when we go new places and experience new things and meet new people!
Kye surprised me a little. I expected him to be like the other kids and be into all the activities, but he wasn’t. Zach and I talked a lot about his personality after this party. He is a lot like Zach in a lot more ways than we realized before. I’ve noticed when I’ve been at his school that he will often play alone on the playground. Even at home he will ask to go to his room and play by himself sometimes. He doesn’t mind being alone and doing his own thing and doesn’t feel like he has to do whatever everyone else is doing. My heart was a little sad for him watching him at the party as he WAS alone most of the time but I realized he didn’t care and he was still having fun. It’s just not how I would have had fun as being alone is not really my personality type at all!
Zach was always liked by his peers (especially the girls haha) but wasn’t “Mr Popular” growing up because he didn’t feel the need to follow along with what was “cool” or what everyone else was doing. I can see Kye being that same way, which isn’t a bad thing at all! He has told me before that he didn’t want to play with so and so because they were making bad choices. And I’d MUCH rather him opt to play solo than to make bad choices because he wants to fit in!
When present time came during the party I was very impressed with Kye. He sat perfectly still the entire time and just watched them open the gifts. Other kids did the typical try to “help” them open thing and kept blocking Kye’s view of the present opening but he sat there and nicely asked people to move so he could see. I have noticed though that because Kye is well behaved, he often does get left out. Like with the “choo-choo” rides other kids were whining about getting a turn so they got to ride and Kye was being patient and kept getting left out. Thankfully G-Mama noticed it and made sure he got a turn 🙂 I’ve seen it happen in other group settings as well. I try not to be “that mom” who says something about it but I do observe what happens and it tends to be like that. The kids who act out get the attention and the well behaved ones often get ignored.
I think it’s super important to always try to stay on top of my kids strengths and weaknesses and try to parent them in ways that will support their needs. Getting to sit back and just observe them at this party was a GREAT opportunity for me to learn more about them! With Britt I know I need to be patient with her, but also a little forceful. Just because she doesn’t “want” to do something right away, doesn’t mean she won’t love it after she gets used to it!
With Kye, I learned I need to be mindful of ignoring his needs just because he doesn’t vocalize them. Britt is at a demanding age and it’s easy to put Kye off since he’s so well behaved, but I need to make sure to recognize his good behavior and that he does make those good choices. I also want to be sure to build him up and support his positive self-image. As he continues to get older, it will be harder and harder to separate himself from the poor choices his peers will often make and I hope we can help him find that fine line of being IN the world but not OF the world! I want to help build up his confidence and for him to know that he doesn’t have to be the most popular kid in class!
I also learned that Britt is a little animal LOVER! I knew she loved our pets at home but when they brought out a bunch of puppies this child went NUTS and wanted to chase them the entire time and hold them and love on them non-stop! When I was little I always dreamed of being a veterinarian (until I learned they had to give shots/put animals down) and I can see Britt being all about some animals for a long time to come as well!
G-Mama got her to ride the horses!
It was a VERY fun party and a great time overall but what I will cherish always from this day was watching Britt with Mrs. Charlotte while riding the horse. Mrs. Charlotte walked around that horse track with her over and over again because Britt loved it so much. Seeing the two of them together was just so sweet and watching the joy in Mrs Charlotte’s eyes was very special. I know it was a memory SHE will always hold dear to her and my babies are so blessed to have her in their lives. She brings out such an adorable side of Britt…and obviously her adventurous side too 😉
One last ride for Kye!
Mr. Serious!
Birthday Girl!
First time she’s ever ridden a horse and I can def say she LOVED it!
Growing up I was always very close friends with my cousins and I LOVE that my kids get to experience that as well. We are very, very blessed to live so close to family like we do and that we are all able to spend so much time together. I think it was a VERY successful party and that Colt and Payton really enjoyed every bit of it! I know my crew did as well 🙂
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This looks like such a fun birthday party! It's a great idea!