Eight years ago today, my middle son was born. One day past his predicted due date, on my maternal grandmother's birthday. She never had the pleasure of meeting any of my boys, as she died right before I found out I was pregnant with M1. She would have loved them all so much and they would have adored her. I would have been especially fond of her because my grandmother was a great hugger and she loved to laugh. :)

Last weekend, we had an Army themed party for IB and he LOVED it. Most boys love all things military at this age, especially when their father is in the military. A few weeks ago, I dropped a hint to my mom that IB had a growing wish list at JMCremps.com, so she bought him a gift card. Since we were having an Army party, it only made sense to get IB some new BDUs, WWII replica rifle, wallet, and medic bag. He wore his BDUs for three days before the party day!

Keeping it real...this is a real boy's party. When I announced it was time for cake, there was a mini stampede to the kitchen door (AKA the Mess Hall).

The most expensive part of the party was food, especially the bakery cakes. I usually make my own, but I thought I'd give myself a break this time. They were simply two white-iced cakes that the bakery keeps on hand for last-minute people like me, that had been sprayed to look like camo. I had planned on setting up plastic soldiers on each cake facing each other, but there was no time for that once I mentioned cake. As any smart mom does, I planned the party between lunch and dinner, so I could just serve snacks. Mostly green ones, of course. Broccoli, celery, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, pickle spears, pretzels, chips, and  ranch dip. 

WalMart has camo plates, cups, napkins, and party favor dog tags for less than a dollar per pack, which is a steal compared to the party store prices. It took just a few minutes to print signs to hang up, like "Latrine", "Mess Hall", and "Restricted Area" (for the big boys' rooms), and Certificates of Completion. Party favors were in plain brown lunch sacks and contained goodies from the Army Recruiter, camo band-aids, and an Army coloring sheet.

The backyard was the happening place with an obstacle course and shooting range. No real guns were used, just plastic pellet guns, under close adult supervision and with proper gun handling instruction. Papa Bear set up the obstacle course with old tires and boards. The neighborhood boys stayed long after the party was over. I have a feeling that we'll have another Army party in the future.

Just in case you were wondering, here are a few sites I visited for inspiration:

GI Joe Birthday Party

Boys Army Party

Army Birthday Party

Little Soldiers

We've been preparing for IB's army themed birthday party for this weekend and the boys are gearing up. Yesterday, I stopped by the local Army recruiting office and asked if they would be willing to "donate" some promotional items for us to give away as party favors. They were more than willing and gave us more than we needed, including some really cool items for the birthday boy. Thank you, Recruiting Officer F!

When I saw how excited the boys were with all of the free Army loot, I decided to let IB have part of his gifts early. He has been wearing his new BDUs all day. I won't be surprised if  he wants to sleep in them. Thank you, JM Cremp's! Of course, since he was outfitted, the rest of the boys had to join in. Well, except for M1 because he's too old for that now. :( NG and LJ put on every bit of army garb they could find and they even had M2 sporting a cover (that's a hat for the civilians). Little did their neighborhood friends know that when they knocked on our door this afternoon, they would be recruited and immediately put through rigorous training exercises. NG set up an obstacle course and weapons table in our backyard and proceeded to instruct the rest of the boys on weapons safety. Papa Bear is so proud!