{...a breezy life} at briemarisa.com

It actually does make sense. Late-November birthdays come at a chaotic time of year, particularly if you are a child with parents of mixed religion. PJ's birthday was actually on Thanksgiving this year, followed in rapid succession by (in chronological order) a week of half days at school, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Winter Break from school. It's a chaotic time and sometimes, it's a struggle for PJ to keep it together. So rather than try to squeeze a birthday party into all of that, we made the decision to postpone it until after the holidays. We figured the kids wouldn't care about timing so much as they would the chance to run around and eat pizza and cake. 

We were unhappy with PJ's trampoline party last year, so I poured over finding the perfect spot. We finally settled on a parkour party at The Movement Lab in Hainsport, NJ. I knew from watching American Ninja Warrior that the staff had experience with kids, particularly ones with special needs. And I figured that with PJ's penchant for jumping off of my couch, he was a perfect fit for parkour. So, we booked the party and kept our fingers crossed for stress-free fun. 

He looked like this the whole party, pretty much.

The night before was all about cupcakes, goodie bags, and nervous energy. Throwing parties always turns me into a basket case, from the night before until about 20 minutes after the party starts. I had a full mental breakdown about an hour before my sisters bridal shower because OMGmynerves. We arrived to check in and, a few minutes later, children started to pour in. And I mean, pour in- between classmates and outside-of-school friends and a small contingent of cousins we had about 30 kiddos! Soon, the floor was full of activity with kids climbing, leaping, and flying through the air!

Okay- you will see this little pixie on TV someday! She is an amazing athlete!!

I guess PJ was woozy from all of the estrogen, LOL!

Thankfully, my worries that the party might be a flop were for nothing. The staff at The Movement Lab was phenomenal. The engaged the kids beautifully and carefully guided hem though all of the parkour obstacles. The kids smiles, laughed and screeched their way through balance beams, rope swings, foam pits and warped walls (by the way, PJ's approach to the Warped Wall is quite a bit similar to Fred Flintstone's approach to bowling). I didn't take a ton of pictures because I was too busy drinking it all in. 

Parkour Cuteness

I could have watched them forever,  but eventually, it was time for pizza and cake! A friend of PJ's is lucky enough to have a pizza shop in the family, and their food was the second good decision we made about PJ's party! It was delish, and the kids ate pizza and talked (very loudly) among themselves. I even stuffed a slice in my face, which is unusual since I'm usually too nervous to eat when I throw a party! Many, many voices were raised in singing happy birthday to PJ, who clapped in delight and than demanded that I take the candles off so he could eat his cupcake ("Move these please, Mommy!")!

Eventually, the goodie bags were handed out and the party was packed up. We headed home with a very tired birthday party boy, some leftover cupcakes, and an absolutely staggering stack of presents! PJ joyfully ripped into them when we got home, and each present was more sweet and generous than the next. But what really got my heart was the little stack of handmade birthday cards, all crayons and kindergarten handwriting, wishing my boy a happy birthday. I cried as I looked at how much work went into the cards and felt my heart break a bit as I realized how unlikely it is that these spectacular little people will be PJ's classmates next year.



Thankfully, the part where these children are no longer a part of PJ's every day is still a few months away. For this day, we celebrated my sweet guy, my precious son with his postponed party, and enjoyed every second of it!