Nolan's 3rd Birthday Trash Bash!

If you know him, you know Nolan is obsessed with any kind of truck- construction trucks, garbage trucks, pick up trucks, bucket trucks... anything.  We went back and forth on what type of party theme to have, and I would ask him week after week which he preferred.  Of course it differed every day, but the one that took majority was garbage trucks.  Every Thursday, we watch eagerly for our trash guys to drive by and pick up our garbage, and Nolan has been fascinated with them for the longest time.  It was only the right thing to do by throwing him a 3rd Birthday Trash Bash, and it was the best time!

Nolan was stoked to get to wear his own garbage truck shirt, and was so excited all week to be turning "Freee!"  

We welcomed our guests to the "Trash Bash" with, of course, some fitting decor at the front door.  When the kiddos came in, each one got to grab a claw grabber (for a later game) and a orange worker vest.  It was adorable seeing all these little orange vests running around all afternoon!  Their favors also consisted of some cute trash cans they filled with candy and toys from a game they played (later), and a chocolate garbage truck lollipop!  

We had "road" tables, and some of Nolan's garbage trucks for decor.  The food table was full of all kinds of trash to fit the theme, and Pinterest helped come up with some creative food labels for all of our treats and snacks.  There were Sanitation Sandwiches (Capriottis), Veggie Compost, Filthy Fruit, some garbage truck cut out PB&Js for the kids, placed in bags to serve as Sack Lunches, and even some P-U Pasta Salad!  

We did some simple cupcakes for everyone and Nolan had his own little tiny cake with his own garbage truck on it.  This was one of the things he asked for and seemed very excited about- to blow out his candles on his birthday cake!  He was super excited for a few days leading up to his party that everyone was going to sing "Happy Birthday" to him, and kept asking throughout his party day when it was time to sing!  Everyone chowed down on their cupcakes, double fisted candy and cake, and smeared green and orange frosting all over for the win!

We played a few fun, simple games that the kids really looked forward to and enjoyed! (I wish I had more pictures of game time- we really didn't get too many action shots through the day because we were so busy and having so much fun!)  The first game was Pin the Garbage on the Truck, where each person literally got a piece of paper with their name on it to pin onto the truck, blindfolded.  It always amazes me how absolutely simple and silly us adults think this game may be, but how much the kids love it!  Most of them asked to do it more than once, so we played a few rounds.  We also had a Build a Trash Tower game that was left out for the kids to build their own tower, which a few did on their own throughout the party. 

The next game we played was Dumpster Diving Trash Grab.  Each kid grabbed their claw grabber that they were given when they came in.  There were prizes hidden throughout the box of trash, and they were able to grab each item out of the box.  Nolan had a hard time using his claw to get the prizes because he was too excited, and kept diving in with his hands, so we had to remind them every now and then to use their claws, but otherwise, it was a super simple and fun game they really enjoyed!  Once they all pulled the prizes out, they were able to gather them into their garbage cans to take home.  Easy peasy!

We opened gifts last, and Nolan was spoiled with the best gifts from his family and friends.  Thank you everyone for sharing your day with us (and for those sending love from far away!) and giving him the best party he could imagine, he really did have a blast!  

Later that night, we celebrated with a few small gifts from us and his main gift- a Big Dig Excavator for the backyard!  He was thrilled and has been using it with his blocks in the house since it's still a little chilly out.  We ate some more birthday cake and he requested we sing to him another time... so of course, we did.  You only turn three once! 

A few days after his party, since Monday was MLK Jr. Day and Jason had the day off, we decided to take Nolan to The Learning Center at Republic Services- a recycling facility!  Nolan loves watching videos on YouTube Kids of garbage trucks dumping their trash at recycling facilities and watching the sorting process... so when I learned about The Learning Center, I was SO excited to take him.  We set up a "tour" and headed down, where Nolan was a little nervous in the beginning, but after showing him what he was going to see, eventually calmed down and watched the trucks drive down the huge ramp at the processing center across the street while we waited for our tour time.  

When we entered for our tour, we first got to see and play in an actual garbage truck!  This. was. heaven. for Nolan.  He was a little timid for a second stepping up to it (it's huge, so I'd be intimidated too if I were small!) but once Daddy went in with him, he was thrilled!  The setup in The Learning Center was so cute and perfect.  The clouds above the garbage truck were made out of recycled milk jugs, the plants made out of recycled newspaper, and the chairs were wood logs and aluminum, from recycled Coke bottles!  SO. COOL!

Because it was just us and another little garbage truck lover, the same age as Nolan, we weren't given the "full" tour, but still was an awesome experience to get to go out on the deck and see the full operation of the recycling center.  We saw the trucks drop off the bulk trash, the belts sort, the quality control workers pick, and the end product get baled.  Nolan was amazed and loved watching each part, and Jason and I really enjoyed seeing and hearing about the process from the guide, also.  We spent a good amount of time watching each part, and before we left, Nolan was gifted with a few goodies from the Center and we took some more pictures to remember our fun day!

I know Nolan will probably look back at all of this when he's a teenager and think we were crazy for having a "Trash Bash" and visiting the recycling center, but this is what represents his three year old self, so we are totally embracing it!  He couldn't have had a better weekend and has been talking about it all nonstop, so to put a smile on his face and give him fun memories is all we could ask for! 

 I can't believe my first baby is already three!  Time really does fly way too fast, so taking moments like this to celebrate and live in the moment of what makes our kids truly happy is the best feeling.  Happy Birthday, Nolan!  We love you so much and are loving seeing your personality grow and all the new things you are going to do and accomplish as a big three year old!