Pitch Perfect Party for Pax

At Preschool: "Who wants a second cupcake?"  "I do!!  I do!!"

We celebrated Pax's 4th birthday with a music-themed fete, and in the words of my father, it was a pitch perfect party!  Guests received this little ditty of an invitation, to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

Happy birthday, Pax our boy,
Turning four is such a joy!

Singing songs and drums we'll make,
of course we'll eat some birthday cake!

How much fun can music be?
Come and join us, then you'll see!

It was, in fact, TONS of fun.  Oodles and poodles of fun.

Some photos from the party:

I totally scored big on decorations for the party.  Our church recently had a yard sale, and the preschool donated a huge box of children's records to be sold.  I snatched it up and voila!  Decorations and party favors abound.
Above:  old records and album covers provided a nice backdrop for the musical instrument array.  For the Happy Birthday banner, I copied sheet music onto card stock, then cut into triangles, glued on black letters from cardstock, and glued the whole thing to black satin ribbon.
Below:  a xylophone "cake" with pretzel mallots.  In hindsight, I wish I had baked this cake in a series of small loaf pans, then frosted each one individually.  I could have made 8 bars of cake, and could have even made them descend in height.  For party favors, I made record bowls by melting old records in the oven at 250 degrees over a metal bowl until they started to flop and bend.  Then, I removed them from the oven and shaped them securely over the metal bowl, molding them until they cooled (a quick and easy process).  I filled the record bowls with music-related goodies (like bell shakers and a harmonica) and left room in them for guests to add the crafts they made during the party.

Birthday boy, ready to party!!

As guests arrived, they worked on creating simple music notes by cutting out a pre-traced note from a black paper plate, then attaching the stem and stickers for decoration.

Here we are, row, row, rowing our boats, gently down the stream.  We even sang this one in a round - so harmonious!

Selfie.

Preschool musical chairs:  the number of chairs always equals the number of kids.... no tears!!

So fun!

Playing Music FREEZE.  This is her freeze face -

More FREEZE faces...

Music Jam to Rusted Root's Drum Call... good stuff!!!

More jammin'.

Reading "Our Marching Band" and getting ready to create our very own marching band...

Marching band shoes...

Making kazoos and shakers...

Parachute play!

Happy birthday to you, Pax!!

Make a wish!

The grand finale:  The Marching Band Parade.  I do think a good marching band instuctor is needed for this particular group.  Their heel-to-toe rolls left much to be desired, and the interval between marchers was horrendous.  Sigh.  Where is Mr. Bianchi when I need him most?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAX AUGUSTUS!  WE LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK.

YOU ARE THE ONE WHO COMPLETES OUR FAMILY AND MAKES US WHOLE.

HOORAY FOR YOU!!!