HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRIFFIN!
We still can't believe how fast it flew by but Griff is now a whole year old! We celebrated with a small family get together at a local "playnasium" (I never knew there was such a thing PK (pre-kids)). For those who are unaware of this concept, a playnasium is a brilliant/goldmine concept of renting some really cheap warehouse space and filling it permanently with bouncy houses, inflatable slides and other such contraptions. These places also have party rooms or tables you can rent for birthday parties and some of them allow you to just pay for the day and play for no good reason. We found a place in FAR south Austin (but totally worth the drive) called Goin' Bananas that will allow you to do "free play" on Saturday for $7 a kid and bring in all the food you want. Since cousin Russell's birthday is just a couple of weeks after Griff's, the Fort Worth Phillips clan drove down for the weekend and we took all three cousins, made our own cakes, brought in our own balloons and had a great party with very little fuss or hassle factor. Just what every 1 year old needs! Goin' Bananas also has small plastic play houses and play equipment so even the littlest guys can find something fun to do there. Cal & Russell had a blast in the bouncy houses, etc. but Griff was not quite ready for them and didn't really enjoy it when mom & dad took him on a few of them. He did really like the small slide just his size and a playhouse more his speed. He loved climbing the stairs up a small plastic slide, walking through the platform and scooting himself down the slide over and over. SUPER cute. Everybody had a blast at the party and the parents managed to enjoy themselves as well. Mom made Griff a chocolate "1" cake and Gramma made Russell a lemon "3" cake. Both tasted great. Thanks to the Fort Worth Phillipses for making the drive and making it a great party!