Bow's Birthday Party

Today is Bow's birthday. He is fifteen years old. But we had the party for him yesterday.

As usual, we sang the birthday song, blew out the candles, had cake and ice cream and opened presents. The video, once edited down, takes only a minute to watch, but the party took quite a bit longer.

Highlights for Bow were the cake and ice cream.

He also enjoyed seeing so many of his friends there all at the same time.

There was Sword and Charla, as well as a friend of Sword's, Brian.

There was Lawrence's daughter Lori, and Lawrence himself. Bow is not very materialistic, so besides the food and the companionship, he showed a lot less interest in his present, a new hammock seat with bright colored cushions.

Before the guests left, Bow asked to go to the outer pen, where he showed everyone, including our dogs, how high he could swing.

Bow's Birthday Party 2016

Today,  Bow turned fourteen. But yesterday, since it was a holiday and a day off from school, we held his annual birthday party.

The birthday cake was decorated with candles shape like a one and a four. It was a cheesecake, as usual, pre-sliced and in a variety of flavors.

There was also Bluebell Dutch Chocolate ice cream. What more could anyone want?

Seeing all the preparations in progress, Bow waited impatiently for his party to start.

 Present at the celebration were Sword, her boyfriend Orion, Lawrence, his youngest daughter Lori, and of course, myself and Bow. Bow was disappointed that his friend who brings bananas was not able to come. He kept a lookout for her even after the party began.

Enjoying the birthday cake

The birthday song was sung, the candles were blown, and Bow had a slice of chocolate cheesecake followed  closely by ice cream.

Presents  were opened.

Bow got a red winter hat and matching gloves.

 Lawrence helped Bow to wear the gloves like socks on his feet.

Bow also enjoyed interacting with Lori.

The played chase and jumped together, but they also enjoyed quiet moments communing through the grid.

All in all, it was a happy birthday celebration.

Bow's Ninth Birthday

Today was Bow's birthday. He is nine years old. He had a party, and balloons, and cake, and presents and guests. It was his choice. I actually wasn't sure whether he wanted to have a party this year. He isn't always that happy when people come over, and he isn't always that nice to guests, so I hesitated. Both Lawrence and I asked him specfically whether he wanted a party, each separately. Bow said he did want a party. He even told me that he wanted presents.

Yesterday afternoon, Bow made specific suggestions for who the guests should be. He had some particular people in mind.  Nothing was settled well in advance, but it was definitely the party that Bow wanted.

He was very excited all day long. He could not wait till the party would start. It was scheduled for three pm. He wanted it to start earlier, and he was impatient, but he waited. When the time arrived, and we had our quorum of two adults, three children, and two teenagers, he was so excited and sang along with the birthday song. However, when an additional guest arrived late, after the cake had been served, and some of the presents distributed, he was not as cordial to the new arrival, making territorial displays. When attending a chimpanzee birthday party, punctuality is a must!

Bow had a great day, but he hasn't opened all his presents yet. He usually draws that out over several days. He certainly enjoyed his balloon, though!