Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

This past weekend I was somewhere I hadn't been in several long years. Any guesses as to where? Well, here's a clue...
Yes, I was at Chuck E Cheese! I bet you weren't expecting that were you? It definitely felt different and a little smaller than I remember. The ball pit is no more. The huge animatronic band is also gone. Instead there's one lonely Chuck E, that's attempts to sing along to the music, but the lip syncing isn't quite there.

No don't worry, I didn't just decide to hit up Chuck E Cheese for fun, instead it was the boy's niece's 4th birthday party.
She had never actually been to one before, but thanks to their awesome commercials decided this was where she needed to have her birthday. I guess I shouldn't really be one to talk, because I'm pretty sure my 4th birthday was at a McDonald's. Talk about being swayed by commercials right?

Anyways, because I'm a little obsessed with children's books, and I like to share to hopefully help someone fall in love with a new book, the books we bought as a present were...
Blueberries for Sal by Robert Mccloskey
This is one book that I remember loving as a kid. It's a story of a little girl who goes picking blueberries with her mother and a baby bear who goes out eating blueberries with hers, and as you might expect a friendly mix-up occurs.
Elosie by Kay Thompson
I actually don't remember reading this book growing up. But now know and love the story of little Elosie who grew up in the Plaza Hotel.

But even though it may not have been "My Super Sweet 16"-esque it was still a cute party and she had a lot of fun. It's so weird to see her grow up so quickly, and it feels like yesterday that she was born. I'm sure if I feel like the boy's niece and nephew are growing up quickly I can only imagine what it will be like with our future children.

Did you ever read these books growing up? And did you ever have some type of "commercial" birthday party too?