For his birthday this year, Oliver planned out a simple party – go to the park for cake and then see the Lego Batman Movie. He had seen the preview and knew it was coming out in February sometime. We talked to him about all kinds of different options just in case the movie wasn’t out by his birthday, but he insisted that was what he wanted to do. As luck would have it, the Lego Batman Movie came out in the English theater here the day before his birthday, so he got to celebrate just the way he wanted!
We met our friends at the park on a sunny, but somewhat cold day a little bit before the movie. We are so glad the sun came out, this has been a pretty cold and cloudy winter. The kids had fun playing even though it was cold, and Oliver was so excited about his chocolate cupcakes with cookie dough frosting!
It was a little windy, so it took us a couple tries to get all the candles lit. At last we were successful and managed to keep them lit all the way through the Happy Birthday song. Oliver is going to have seven girlfriends. Even with the wind, it took him three tries to blow all the candles out!
I love this picture of our kids with our friends the Mitchells. These kids were friends when they were teeny tiny, and it is so fun that they are good friends again now that they are older. This has been such a fun few years of reuniting with old friends in Vienna.
The kids took up an entire row in the movie theater. It just made me laugh seeing that huge row of children, and it was fun to see them all passing popcorn back and forth and just laughing and laughing at the movie. We really enjoyed it!
Great friends and a good movie! Birthday party was a huge success! When I bought tickets for the movie it said no age limit for who could see the movie. The next week it said ages 6 and up. Perhaps they were overwhelmed by our crew at the theater, or maybe we were just super blessed to see it before anyone thought to put an age limit on the website. Either way, we are glad we could take this fun crew out to the movies.
The next morning was Oliver’s actual birthday and he got to have pancakes and presents! He was so excited about his new Star Wars lego sets and Star Wars wall decals.
Even more exciting, with the money he got from Nana and Grampy and Grandma and Grandpa, Oliver was able to buy the big lego set that he has been saving up for. He spent the afternoon building and has been playing amazing Star Wars games ever since.
I can’t believe how grown up this little guy has gotten. As I try to explain Oliver, I find that I can’t. He loves lullabies and hugs as well as swords, pirates, and magic. He is shy and yet boisterous. He is so attentive to detail and also completely distracted. He takes in information in ways that astound me, unless I am asking him to clean his room and then he just doesn’t hear me. He fills our lives with adventure, imagination, and music. He lives in his own little world, writes amazing adventure stories, plays, operas, and performs circuses, concerts, movies, and conferences. He is silly, loving, and sweet (unless his brother touches his legos). He loves Vienna public transit (and knows everything about it), Star Wars, Harry Potter, Legos, trains, sharks, Mozart, Strauss, cooking, ramen, bread, and anything that makes him laugh. He wants to be a policeman and a composer when he grows up and he wants to live in Vienna forever. The city of music has captured his heart, and he has captured ours. I am so grateful for the beauty and fun Oliver brings to our lives every day. Happy Birthday Oliver!
