Jude wakes up on his birthday to presents…and he is excited.

On Saturday of this past week Jude turned 7. Like all birthdays this one was keenly anticipated for weeks. And when the day came it didn’t disappoint.

But first we should talk about school. For the past three birthdays Jude has been either in Kindergarten or preschool at the Denver Waldorf School. Here on birthdays kids are treated like royalty. They are the focus of the entire morning. The entire family comes to class and we listen to the teacher tell a long story about the birthday boy or girl. All the classmates have made cards with special wishes and a picture. And then there is cake. Jude loved it.

Well, now he is in first grade it is a bit different. No cake, no parents coming to class and no big story from the teacher. And what is worse, this year Jude had to share the day with another classmate. So, it was quite a letdown for him. He was sad and he acted out quite a bit on Thursday after his school birthday celebration.

The family tradition…birthday pancakes at a restaurant

Anyway, by the time Saturday came it seemed to be forgotten and Jude was just so excited to be turning 7. Jude was up early and was excited to get the day started. We spent some time opening presents and then it was off to Snooze for breakfast for the traditional birthday pancakes.

Having his birthday on a Saturday this year meant it was the perfect day to have a party and Jude had been looking forward to getting together with his school friends for months. He just wanted to invite the boys so we had 12 six and seven year olds running around our house for a few hours on Saturday.

Jude blowing out the candles on his birthday cake

One of our friends had an inflatable bounce house and even though it was cold outside the kids enjoyed it. But the big hit of the day was Chad Wonder – the magician. He was fantastic. He does a lot of kids parties and he kept everyone spellbound and entertained for an hour. The kids thought he was hilarious and most importantly Jude loved him.

Chad Wonder, the magician, keeps everyone entertained