Darth Walker’s Star Wars 5th Birthday

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, a little boy brought some passion and energy to our lives! It’s been a roller-coaster ride with him. I love him so much, knowing how hard he tries to be good and how naughty he can become. He gives the best most meaningful kisses and can be the most loving person. He knows exactly how to push your buttons, and what words can hurt your feelings (see story at the end of this). He’s trying to figure out his own feelings and honestly kind of dealing with being an outcast since he likes weird stuff and wants to do things a certain way. He is so smart that we see him struggle sometimes to relate to others. He has an interest in all things dark and mechanical, and his favorite character is Darth Vader; we knew it was time to walk on the Dark Side for his birthday.

Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Movie: The Empire Strikes Back
Favorite Toy: LEGOs
Favorite Song: Gummy Bear
When You Grow Up: Pirate

I used what I already had to decorate the eating area, and that was it! Black and white balloons that I drew storm trooper helmets on, the black tablecloth from Jer’s 40th birthday, red and blue streamers to represent the light and dark sides of the force, black cardstock I cut into tie fighters and strung up with string or taped to the wall, and a simple black and gold “Happy Birthday” banner and metallic gold cake plates we got from the dollar store. Plus some Star Wars legos we had that were already put together (W made his own version of an AT-AT Walker). Jer even helped me decorate one of his gifts with a special sketch that made us all laugh!

Jer made him special Belgian waffles for breakfast with berries. The birthday boy had Alexa play Darth Vader’s theme while he ate his breakfast. Jer made delicious BBQ ribs with potato wedges for dinner, and we had a Donut Cake! We had just finished the cake I made for F’s Dino birthday the night before so we were all caked out, hence the donuts. The kids played outside with friends for most of the day, and then with the LEGOs they got for their birthdays most of the night.

It wouldn’t be complete without some misbehavior with this kid. No joke, he ran with that and declared to perfect strangers while out at the library and the grocery store that they had to do what he said or share what they were playing with because it was his birthday. And that he “could do whatever he wanted” because he was “cute and little”. 🤦‍♀️ As we were selecting donuts for his cake, he came up to an unsuspecting couple next to us who were also picking out donuts, and told the lady, “You are fat!” then turning to the man next to her, “And you are fat, too!” It was almost in a laughing way, as if he expected them to be like, “Oh what a cute and little kid, what a funny joke!” I died of embarrassment!!! We never talk unkindly about people’s weight at home, and this was the first time an incident even remotely like this had ever happened, so I was doubly shocked at where these super rude remarks were coming from. I scolded him, apologized to the lady (who was super nice about it), demanded that he apologize… and he was very sincere when he very slowly told her he was sorry. I’m not sure why he felt entitled to treat anyone unkindly, especially when we were the ones about to eat a ton of sugar getting a bunch of donuts. Sigh. Another teaching opportunity for all of us, especially the Birthday Boy: We are all God’s children who loves us no matter what size or shape or form we come in, and we should treat them with kindness and love.