Biophilliac Mommy: Mattimeo Turns Six

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Mattimeo Turns Six

This week, Mattimeo turned six years old! Here are some fun facts about our little guy:

Favorite Food: Blueberry pancakes (watermelon and corn on the cob are close contenders)
Favorite Song: Batman Theme song
Favorite Drink: Milk
Favorite Movie: Peter Pan
Favorite Book: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Super Hero: Wolverine
Favorite Color: Black (he is also very drawn to warm colors)

Meo is growing to be quite an outgoing little guy. He loves playing with friends and has made some great ones. Meo loves to wear costumes, ride his bike, draw pictures and make costumes, build with LEGOs, flip through books and be read to, play board games, hiking, and observing and making contact with all sorts of wildlife. He enjoys theater, especially the wearing costume part, and has a knack for learning lines, poems, and songs quickly. He's done a couple small plays for Storybook Theater and one real play (Dinosuars before Dusk). Meo enjoys playing soccer and t-ball, but so far t-ball is his favorite. He's been playing violin for over a year and a half now and is beginning to sound more musical and thoughtful when he plays. Sometimes he doesn't feel like practicing, but he still does almost everyday and is usually proud of his playing. He has an excellent ear and picks up songs quickly. He is starting to read music. Meo also really loves martial arts. He enjoys the physical challenges of it, but we are hoping to also use some of the discipline and calmness of it to bring peace to our day to day life. His big present for his birthday this year was a punching bag, so when he feels upset he can do something constructive that won't hurt others. He is fiery like his Mama, but he is also very sweet, kind, and empathetic. He is creative and imaginative. He's inquisitive and loves to learn. We are all very proud of him and love him with all our hearts.

The Party

For his birthday we threw a Peter Pan themed party. I made Meo a Peter Pan costume and we got Link a Captain Hook costume to wear.

We transformed our yard into Neverland. Their little house became the Darling house, with a little bed and blocks, and dog house with Nana inside, and even a little crocodile that clacks when you pull it by the string.

We transformed their new playground into a pirate ship. There is a pirate steering wheel, compasses, a spyglass, and a huge treasure chest full of coins and gems. Robbie buried lots of tiny treasure chests in the sandbox for kids to dig around and search for. We had a plank to walk across that led to a small pool full of little crocodiles. There was a inflated crocodile and rings so you could try to throw a ring onto the crocodile. We set up an area to build fairy houses for Tinkerbell and her friends. There was a teepee to cool off in its shade, and bows and arrows to practice shooting at targets. There were even star balloons. I think the best part of the party though was all the costumes. We had fairy wings and homemade fairy wants, pirate bandannas with eye patches, foam swords, and Peter Pan hats that I made from felt. The kids had a blast choosing a costume and most tried them all on at some point and would mix and match. They all got to take their costumes home with them as party favors too.

I picked some ferns to give the food area a Neverland feel as well. We had chocolate donuts for cannonballs, blocks of cheese for Pirate's gold blocks, Pirate booty, Lost boys trail mix, a treasure chest full of chocolate coins, lots of fruit, and stars shaped cookies covered in maple icing. I decorated the table with a treasure map table cloth, a lantern with Tinkerbell inside, a plush crocodile with his ticking clock, a compass and other little pirate trinkets, cocktail spears shaped like swords, and watercolor prints of Peter Pan characters from an artist on Etsy.

Besides wearing costumes and pretending to get into character, I think the other highlight of the party was the big treasure chest. There was always at least one child running around with it, or it would be the center of a crowd of children. It got hidden and found over and over again. People dueled with swords over it. I had no idea there would be so much love over one wooden treasure chest. It was fun to watch!

Meo's cake was half chocolate, half vanilla, and topped with a homemade buttercream frosting. I decorated it so it looked like Neverland and the sea topped with some favorite characters from the movie.

I got a kick out of all the kids licking characters and waiting eagerly for a slice of cake and a scoop of ice cream.

Link took his role as Captain Hook very seriously and was always in character. He was so funny!

We are so, so very thankful to everyone who came to celebrate Meo with us. He had so much fun. It was wonderful to see all the kids running around, happy and having such a great time all together. We have such a loving, kind, and fun community and to us it really felt magical. Thank you all!

After the party, Meo made a fairy house while waiting for dinner and to be able to open the presents his guests brought him.

Party Gifts

We waited until after dinner to open gifts so that Meo could take his time and enjoy the process at his own pace. Plus, that way he could have more time playing with his friends. He got so many wonderful and thoughtful presents. We made thank you cards for everyone, but wanted to just say thank you one more time. Move loved his gifts and is very grateful.

I didn't take photos of every single present, but I'll share some of my favorite photos here:

Birth Day

On Meo's actual birthday we let him decide what he wanted to do. Robbie took the day off from work. We asked him if he wanted to go to Storyland but he said that its too crowded and full of excitement. He wanted to play with some friends, do some relaxing (he had just finished two full weeks of theater camp and had 4 plays that weekend), and do a little school work. He invited a couple of his best friends to go play with him at Fort Williams for the afternoon.

He chose to add a wolf charm to his birthday crown

We brought Merry too.

Meo's closest friend Soren is also a lover of wearing costumes, and they had a blast running around all dressed up in their own little world of make-believe.