Happy Birthday, Goldilocks!

Wow!  Goldilocks turned 11 years old today.  The years just fly by!  She requested a horse themed party this year.  We had eight kids at the party, including her younger brother and sister.  We had a relay race of carrying sugar cubes on a spoon, pinning the body part on the horse (hooves, eye, tail, ears) and the Cobweb Game.
 

The kids had more trouble with the sugar cube relay than I thought they would.  They really struggled to keep their hands balanced, so sugar cubes kept falling. Not to worry; I had extras.

It was interesting to see how the kids figured out where the body parts went.  Some felt around and had memorized where the other parts had been pinned.  I was impressed with the child who found the right place for the saddle.  I probably should have kept them all blindfolded, so no one could see where the previous children had put the parts!  Usually, my Mother gets roped into drawing the skeleton, castle, etc., for the pin on game, but my dh volunteered to do it this time.  He did such a good job that we may just let him keep doing the drawings for future parties (or so my Mom says)!


My kids really wanted to play the Cobweb Game that was a popular Christmas game in the 1870's.  Basically, you criss-cross thread around a room, using a different color for each child who will play.  Then you place toys and candy on the strings.  To play, the kids wrap up their string as they walk along and get their toys along the way.  Since other threads cross theirs, they have to be patient about getting past the other strings.  It was my first time creating this, which took about an hour before the party started.  My Mom helped and we got a bit goofy in the process of setting this up with eight different colors of crochet thread.  Mom got stuck in the far corner and had to commando crawl underneath the web. LOL  Setting it up was harder than you might think --  especially remembering whose string you had already put toys on.  We got cross-eyed trying to follow the strings to be sure everyone had a horse figurine, noisemaker, candy cane, etc.  Below are the pictures of the room all set up.

This is the entrance to the room where each child gets a roll of thread to re-wind the string.

My youngest daughter was kind enough to give up use of her room for a few hours, as I needed a place that was out of the main entertainment area.

We used clothespins to attach the toys.

The kids had a blast doing this activity!  They worked well together and moved slowly through the room.  There were a few times that one or another got stuck, but we were able to crawl around and help them out.  I wouldn't advise this for children any younger than 6, and I wouldn't want to do it with any more than the eight kids we had.
 

Our parakeet (in the cage) enjoyed the activity going on around her.

Each child got a bucket to put their treasures into.

 

We finished up with cake and present opening.

Happy Birthday, Goldilocks!  You are making so much progress.  This year you have made a few friends, learned to read much better, and fallen in love with dance.  You can spend hours on the trampoline and still have energy to go on a long walk.  You are writing so many cute short stories.  You love your sister and brothers.  You are always dancing, running, jumping and spinning.  You love clothes and would change your clothes five times a day if I would let you.  You think Princess Kate is the luckiest woman in the world, because she has to change her clothes so many times a day.  Here is a list of 11 ways to  describe you!

1. Curious
2. Enthusiastic
3. Helpful
4. Outgoing
5. Talkative
6. Energetic
7. Good cleaner
8. Eager to please
9. Happy
10. Giggly
11. Inquisitive

Update ~ This is for me to remember ... Goldilocks, who has FASD and Reactive Attachment Disorder, still suffers with impulse control issues and decision making.  Scissors have been a real challenge the last few weeks.  She almost cut the lining out of her winter coat because something was caught in it.  She has cut up all of her winter tights in an attempt to make them footless.  However, the cuts are so high and uneven that they can not be used.  My girl is always busy and always into something (usually something that needs supervision and guidance).  She still asks me often to make choices for her because making choices is too hard for her.  However, if I make the choice, then I am blamed later.  She is my best housecleaner and with careful guidance and training can make a meal, use the stove, unload the dishwasher, clean a bathroom, wash windows, and do a load of laundry through completion.  Organizing is still a real challenge and maintaining her room is impossible.  She is easily overwhelmed by her belongings and still struggles with how to entertain herself.  She is most successful in playing active games, coloring and doing very easy craft projects.  She is making strides toward obedience.  Goldilocks had vision therapy, speech therapy and neurofeedback treatments in 2011.  I have not seen any improvement in speech and may drop that for her soon.  She also took modern dance classes for the first half of the year and jazz dance for the second.  This year she performed in Beauty and the Beast and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
Blessings,
Dawn