S09.E04: Will's 5th Birthday

[BizBuzz]

In honor of Will turning 5, Jen decides to re-decorate his bedroom and let Bill plan the birthday party, but when she messes up her one job of sending out the invitations by sending out the wrong address, the family worries no one will come.

Thanks goes to walnutqueen for finding the episode description and notifying me.

[Zerographic]

Love that Jen specifically mentioned that they had a small family dinner (clearly sans cameras) for Will's 5th birthday. Those private moments are going to be really important as the kids get older.

Edit - anyone know what car seats they use?

Edited June 17, 2015 by Zerographic

[Honey]

That blonde, curly-haired kid is trouble.  I can just see it.  ;)  After the party when Bill and Will were lying on the floor looking up at the balloons, I kept thinking what a nice moment that was.  Will was sucking his thumb, all tired out from the party, and lying with his head on Bill's arm.  I wonder if he fell asleep there?

 

I laughed when Zoey just flopped over on the floor, and closed her eyes.  She.was.done.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Honey

[camom]

Nice to see Jen making an effort to be less controlling.  Will's birthday cake was adorable, and so perfect for him.  Between this and the vow renewal, I think maybe Bill is the real party planner in that family.

[Dot Com]

Makes me smile every time Zoey calls Will William.

[Honey]

I can't believe how clearly Will is speaking.  He has come so far in just the past year.  Amazing.

 

I've realized that I could sit through an hour long show just sitting, and looking at Zoe.  That child is truly gorgeous.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Honey

[woodscommaelle]

Cute kids party.

Will is an example of someone whose smile 'lights up their entire face.'

[pinguina]

I so enjoyed this!!  Will's speech has become so much clearer and he is speaking in complete sentences (yes, they are short, but still clearly sentences).  I often hear kindergartners who are English Language Learners speak in this way - part of it is the differences in the sounds in their primary language and part is that they are focusing on learning the new language and processing it.  

I loved how Will had so much fun playing at his party!  And Zoe sooooo cute!

[Lillybee]

I loved seeing Will play with his friends. It did seem that a lot of them were girls. That boy is a charmer.

 

I am impressed with how the kids are growing. It seems like Zoey is making up for lost time.

[Wellfleet]

That blonde, curly-haired kid is trouble.  I can just see it.  ;)  After the party when Bill and Will were lying on the floor looking up at the balloons, I kept thinking what a nice moment that was.  Will was sucking his thumb, all tired out from the party, and lying with his head on Bill's arm.  I wonder if he fell asleep there?

 

I laughed when Zoey just flopped over on the floor, and closed her eyes.  She.was.done.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Curly there is going to be trouble - God bless his parents and teachers. :>)

[LIGirl]

Will's verbal and cognitive skills seem to be growing leaps and bounds when you consider how recently he came over to the U.S.  I loved how he said they'd need a fireman with the firetruck ladder to get the balloons down from the ceiling without Bill's prodding to come up with a solution.  I'm not a teacher or anything, but that just melted my heart because I just thought, "He JUST turned 5; he is so smart!"  I simply can't get enough of him.

[Lnmop]

This is my feel good show of the week. I get such joy watching those children and how they have truly become a family. Not only are they developing so well, they're well-behaved and loving. Jen has calmed down a lot, and Bill is so great with the kids. Too bad there aren't more shows like this.

[walnutqueen]

I loved that party.  Not only was the Mad Science Museum a brilliant venue for the kids, but Bill was such a guy - planning the party by delegating everything!  Then he had as much fun playing with Will's presents as Will did - cherry on top.  :-)

 

That curly haired little shit WILL be trouble, no doubt about it!  He is a baaaad influence.

 

Not only does Will have friends, apparently many of them are girl friends (quelle surprise).  :-)

 

 

 

Will's verbal and cognitive skills seem to be growing leaps and bounds when you consider how recently he came over to the U.S.  I loved how he said they'd need a fireman with the firetruck ladder to get the balloons down from the ceiling without Bill's prodding to come up with a solution.  I'm not a teacher or anything, but that just melted my heart because I just thought, "He JUST turned 5; he is so smart!"  I simply can't get enough of him.

 

Ha!  As soon as I saw those balloons way up high, I was thinking they need to call those Washington State Treetop Cat Rescue guys (another one of my favorite shows, but on a different channel). 

 

This show is a total delight.

[flyingdi]

I kind of thought Zoey knew she was bothering Will by being on his bed and taking his book. I thought she was trying to egg him on. Just another example of how normal these kids are. Will also looked like he was trying to protect Zoey when she was up on the counter and then just gave up and decided to join in. I thought that was cute.

[xldb2004]

I too thought Zoey was trying to tick Will off. She already knows how to get to him. I love Will saying Zoey is tiny, but he is not tiny, he is big. I love Zoey calling him William.

[IndianPaintbrush]

I want to have my next birthday at the Mad Science Museum!  I don't think I'll ever outgrow my fascination with dry ice.  Loved the look on Will's face when his hair was sticking straight up with static electricity.  Jen is beginning to learn that she will never be able to compete with any electronic toy. 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

LOVED it when Will put Bill in timeout and then hit him and got away with it!  Hitting is now ok!

 

LOVED it when Jen tried to blame Bill for the wrong address on the evite, that woman HATES to be wrong!

 

LOVED it when Will gave as good as he got with the blonde curly haired kid!

 

LOVED it when they took the presents home to open them instead of at the party so Will couldn't thank his friends or yell MINE!

 

LOVED Bill and Jen allowing Zoey to walk the kitchen counter in her barefeet like Josie does on 19K then allowing Will to do the same!

 

LOVED Bill continuing to lift the kids off the counter and out of the vehicles but makes them climb stairs.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Foghorn Leghorn

[Honey]

LOVED it when Will put Bill in timeout and then hit him and got away with it!  Hitting is now ok!

 

LOVED it when Jen tried to blame Bill for the wrong address on the evite, that woman HATES to be wrong!

 

LOVED it when Will gave as good as he got with the blonde curly haired kid!

 

LOVED it when they took the presents home to open them instead of at the party so Will couldn't thank his friends or yell MINE!

 

LOVED Bill and Jen allowing Zoey to walk the kitchen counter in her barefeet like Josie does on 19K then allowing Will to do the same!

 

LOVED Bill continuing to lift the kids off the counter and out of the vehicles but makes them climb stairs.

It must suck to be tied to a chair, and forced to watch a show you hate so much.  Lol

[xldb2004]

The Kleins are far from perfect but this family makes me smile. I love that this family is so happy. Seeing happy make me happy.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

It must suck to be tied to a chair, and forced to watch a show you hate so much.  Lol

 

I'm in timeout!!  LOL

The Kleins are far from perfect but this family makes me smile. I love that this family is so happy. Seeing happy make me happy.

It make me happy too!!!

[Honey]

I'm in timeout!!  LOL

It make me happy too!!!

Bad, bad. 

I'm glad it makes you happy too.  :)

[Literata]

LOVED it when they took the presents home to open them instead of at the party so Will couldn't thank his friends or yell MINE!

 

My guess on that one: Maybe they tried to do a present-opening during the party and Will and the kids just weren't interested and couldn't be persuaded to focus. Present-opening is pretty boring for little ones who aren't the ones opening the presents.

[iamkarski]

Why is it necessary to open gifts at the party? You can thank your guests and those who gave gifts to the celebrant by merely looking at the gift tags one by one and if you want to announce it to your guests then do so.

[winsomeone]

When Bill got himself out of time out, and Will plowed into him and tried to push him back to the chair, my thought was, that if he had done that to Jen, she would have ended up flat on the floor. I wonder if she is ever home alone with the kids? How would she have coped with Zoey on the counter? No way could she have gotten her down by herself.

[truebluesmoky]

I have young children, and gift opening at parties has become a lot less frequent than it was when I was a child. Sometimes that's due to time... it's best to keep parties at two hours or so max, especially for napping aged kids. By the time the kids have whatever structured activity might be involved, plus some free play, food, and cake, the time is up. Sometimes the party is officially over by then, and sometimes the kids are just too tired, and extending the party for gift opening would lead to meltdowns and a grumpy end to what was otherwise a fun time. At our own parties and parties we've attended where the gifts were saved for later, the birthday child typically thanks the gift giver when the wrapped present is brought in and also sends a thank you note. With the under 6 crowd, I'm actually better able to keep track of who gave what and make sure my kid is aware of it than I would be in the chaos of doing it at the actual party. Now that my first son is older, he and his friends are more likely to open the gifts at the actual party. They're old enough to do it more calmly and read the cards themselves. The friends have had a larger role in picking the gifts out, so they're excited to see their friend open it, and both sides are old enough to be cool about the whole thing... the friends understand the the gifts belong to the birthday child, and the birthday child understands that even though the friends are touching the gifts, he's the one who gets to take them home. As long as there is appreciation shown, I don't think there's a right or wrong way.

Edited June 17, 2015 by truebluesmoky

[bichonblitz]

Zoey telling Bill to stay in Time Out. So funny!

[farmgal4]

Words can't express how much I love this family and those kids! I am over the moon in love with Zoey especially, although Will is precious too.

[farmgal4]

Just thought of one of the things that tickled me the most on last night show:

When Zoey was sitting in the corner of Will's bed with his birthday book and wouldn't give it back, saying "No, no way!" I cracked up!

[DkNNy79]

Will's verbal and cognitive skills seem to be growing leaps and bounds when you consider how recently he came over to the U.S.  I loved how he said they'd need a fireman with the firetruck ladder to get the balloons down from the ceiling without Bill's prodding to come up with a solution.  I'm not a teacher or anything, but that just melted my heart because I just thought, "He JUST turned 5; he is so smart!"  I simply can't get enough of him.

I thought the same thing too!!  School is just doing wonders for Will.  He is such a social kid so I was a little surprised that he was miserable at the beginning.  But I knew it wouldn't last too long.

 

I was a little worried for him with all the "wrestling" by the other children at the party, but he seemed happy so I guess it was all good.

 

I was surprised that kids can get so territorial over their rooms at such a young age (thought that was more pre-teens/teens).  I never had my own room growing up so I can't relate.

[Wellfleet]

I kind of thought Zoey knew she was bothering Will by being on his bed and taking his book. I thought she was trying to egg him on. Just another example of how normal these kids are. Will also looked like he was trying to protect Zoey when she was up on the counter and then just gave up and decided to join in. I thought that was cute.

 

I thought Zoey was deliberately egging Will on too. Or at least asserting her Spunky/Sassy side. I see some awesome brother-sister scraps ahead in the Klein home. My niece and nephew have the same age difference as Will and Zoey - except my niece is the older one - and they often whaled on each other. Big time. Especially between the ages of four and ten. We often had to stifle our laughter - they were so cute.

[JennyMominFL]

I can't be the only one who laughed when Bill said he wanted to PT so that he could play with his kids and then said he also wanted to be able to play with his wife. 

[Wellfleet]

I have young children, and gift opening at parties has become a lot less frequent than it was when I was a child. Sometimes that's due to time... it's best to keep parties at two hours or so max, especially for napping aged kids. By the time the kids have whatever structured activity might be involved, plus some free play, food, and cake, the time is up. Sometimes the party is officially over by then, and sometimes the kids are just too tired, and extending the party for gift opening would lead to meltdowns and a grumpy end to what was otherwise a fun time. At our own parties and parties we've attended where the gifts were saved for later, the birthday child typically thanks the gift giver when the wrapped present is brought in and also sends a thank you note. With the under 6 crowd, I'm actually better able to keep track of who gave what and make sure my kid is aware of it than I would be in the chaos of doing it at the actual party. Now that my first son is older, he and his friends are more likely to open the gifts at the actual party. They're old enough to do it more calmly and read the cards themselves. The friends have had a larger role in picking the gifts out, so they're excited to see their friend open it, and both sides are old enough to be cool about the whole thing... the friends understand the the gifts belong to the birthday child, and the birthday child understands that even though the friends are touching the gifts, he's the one who gets to take them home. As long as there is appreciation shown, I don't think there's a right or wrong way.

 

I thought my brother and SIL had a great idea for birthday party gifts. They did not throw big "friends" parties every year for their kids. It was just too time-consuming and too expensive, especially since my SIL is a Martha Stewart wannabe and always went all out with parties. Also, they didn't want to buy into the whole suburban "keeping up with the Jones kids' birthday parties etc" thing. I'm guessing that they threw the traditional birthday-party-with-friends maybe 3 times per kid. When they did they requested donations to the local animal shelter in lieu of gifts, or if the party was held at the museum or planetarium, donations to that institution. She even started a trend in their Catholic school for that type of party. It was a nice way to teach a little charity and concern for others in the world, and there were always family cake-and-ice-cream parties every year for each kid where they very definitely got lots of new toys, books and clothes.

[MusicFan85]

I just love Will's enthusiasm.  He's just happy rolling on the floor.  Cracked me up when they were lighting his birthday candle and he blew it out too early.  His smile and laugh is infectious. 

 

It's great to see Will and Zoey getting along so well.  They really have a special bond. 

[Kathira]

I have young children, and gift opening at parties has become a lot less frequent than it was when I was a child. Sometimes that's due to time... it's best to keep parties at two hours or so max, especially for napping aged kids. By the time the kids have whatever structured activity might be involved, plus some free play, food, and cake, the time is up. Sometimes the party is officially over by then, and sometimes the kids are just too tired, and extending the party for gift opening would lead to meltdowns and a grumpy end to what was otherwise a fun time. At our own parties and parties we've attended where the gifts were saved for later, the birthday child typically thanks the gift giver when the wrapped present is brought in and also sends a thank you note. With the under 6 crowd, I'm actually better able to keep track of who gave what and make sure my kid is aware of it than I would be in the chaos of doing it at the actual party. Now that my first son is older, he and his friends are more likely to open the gifts at the actual party. They're old enough to do it more calmly and read the cards themselves. The friends have had a larger role in picking the gifts out, so they're excited to see their friend open it, and both sides are old enough to be cool about the whole thing... the friends understand the the gifts belong to the birthday child, and the birthday child understands that even though the friends are touching the gifts, he's the one who gets to take them home. As long as there is appreciation shown, I don't think there's a right or wrong way.

This is true around here also. Kids will open presents if the party is at home and there's more time, but at an outside venue with a set party time frame like Mad Science, gifts are usually collected to be opened later. In addition to giving more time for the party fun, it eliminates problems like kids being openly disappointed with a gift. Kids that age are too young to guard their reactions, especially if there's a duplicate. Also, everyone wants their gift to be the best one and not opening them at the party cuts back on both competitiveness and jealousy. Yes, kids need to learn to behave socially, but this gets easier naturally with older kids. 

 

I thought the party was great and Jen certainly isn't the only person ever to mess up directions for something like that. I gave out wrong directions to our wedding venue! Will does seem to be doing much better in terms of speech and social interaction, although I wonder if he will be ready for kindergarten this year. Maybe another year in pre-school will give him the boost he needs.

[Absolom]

Another ratings drop although not a big one:  1.591 M viewers and a .4 rating.

[Kohola3]

That Zoey is a wily one - she definitely knows how to drive Will crazy.  But I bet he will continue to be a protective older brother as he was the very first time he met her with some "mine, mine" moments thrown in there.

 

I thought the opening presents at home was brilliant.  A room full of cranky 5 year olds all coveting those toys is a recipe for disaster.

 

Oh, Zoe, those eyes!

Edited June 18, 2015 by Kohola3

[SandyToes]

Will is an example of someone whose smile 'lights up their entire face.'

 

Will's whole body just smiles!  Those little arms and legs a-flailin'!

 

The time-out thing was hilarious. We had the same thing happen at our house. I was out of town, 5-year old daughter reported "Daddy was very bad", and told him to sit in time out. He did.  I was on the phone, with tears down my face trying not to laugh. My colleague thought I was having a heart attack.  Kids learn "the rules" and I love watching them apply them.

 

I really appreciate that while this family/show may manufacture some events to be filmed, they are at least the kinds of things most of us would do (or have liked to do) at some point. And I totally would have snuck back in and rearranged the truck and car stickers, too. At least some of them.  This family is just goofy enough and makes enough mistakes to be real and relatable. Especially considering what an extraordinary family they really are.

Edited June 18, 2015 by SandyToes

[mbutterfly]

My guess on that one: Maybe they tried to do a present-opening during the party and Will and the kids just weren't interested and couldn't be persuaded to focus. Present-opening is pretty boring for little ones who aren't the ones opening the presents.

I thought that was a great idea. Little kids like to play and eat cake more than sit quietly and politely while another kid opens a whole bunch of presents. Now -- and I have no doubt of this -- each child will get real mail in the form of a cute thank you card from Will. 

[Honey]

Did you notice that Will only had a handful of presents?  He had A LOT of kids at that party, so either most parents blew off bringing a gift, or Jen wrote "no gifts" on the invite, and some people just brought one anyway.

[DkNNy79]

That Zoey is a wily one - she definitely knows how to drive Will crazy.  But I bet he will continue to be a protective older brother as he was the very first time he met her with some "mine, mine" moments thrown in there.

 

I thought the opening presents at home was brilliant.  A room full of cranky 5 year olds all coveting those toys is a recipe for disaster.

 

Oh, Zoe, those eyes!

It was so cute how they were holding hands in the parking lot when they got to party.

 

Opening presents at home was a much better idea.  I mean Zoey was trying to open some of Will's gifts, so I can only imagine what would happen with 10+ other kids in the room.

[farmgal4]

I thought Zoey was deliberately egging Will on too. Or at least asserting her Spunky/Sassy side. I see some awesome brother-sister scraps ahead in the Klein home. My niece and nephew have the same age difference as Will and Zoey - except my niece is the older one - and they often whaled on each other. Big time. Especially between the ages of four and ten. We often had to stifle our laughter - they were so cute.

My sister and I used to have some knock-down-drag-outs! I had to walk thru her bedroom to get to the bathroom that she and I shared. She would get mad at me and put tape on her bedroom floor and I would have to walk inside the taped off area, otherwise there would be a fight. Good times! Lol

Did you notice that Will only had a handful of presents?  He had A LOT of kids at that party, so either most parents blew off bringing a gift, or Jen wrote "no gifts" on the invite, and some people just brought one anyway.

I'm betting that Jen requested No Gifts.

I can't be the only one who laughed when Bill said he wanted to PT so that he could play with his kids and then said he also wanted to be able to play with his wife.

I actually look forward to Bill's TH. He is so comical and has personality plus! Jen hit the jackpot when she snagged Bill.

[camom]

Bill seems to enjoy Will's toys more than Will does!  He really is a great dad.

[BitterApple]

I wonder if some of the older kids there were siblings of Will's classmates. It might explain why the pile of gifts seemed small for the number of people at the party.

[flyingdi]

That Zoey is a wily one - she definitely knows how to drive Will crazy.  But I bet he will continue to be a protective older brother as he was the very first time he met her with some "mine, mine" moments thrown in there.

 

I thought the opening presents at home was brilliant.  A room full of cranky 5 year olds all coveting those toys is a recipe for disaster.

 

Oh, Zoe, those eyes!

I think part of Wills`s protectiveness is his mine, mine feeling. My toys, my room, my book and it extends all the way down to my Zoey!

[ZoloftBlob]

Did you notice that Will only had a handful of presents?  He had A LOT of kids at that party, so either most parents blew off bringing a gift, or Jen wrote "no gifts" on the invite, and some people just brought one anyway.

 

That might also be why the presents were opened at home - it was unplanned and why make the people who followed directions, and their kids, feel awkward about not bringing a gift.

[joanne3482]

I liked the party venue, but I thought that Will and his young crowd were maybe a little too young for that venue. I also hope off screen that some of the other kids got to do things like touch the magnet ball because while it was Will's party, I can't imagine it would be fun to be 4 - 5 and just sit and watch Will do ALL the cool things.

 

I remember being twice Zoey's size and climbing on the counter to get stuff down from high so her on the counter didn't really bother me too much. That's what cleaning supplies are for.

 

 

Just thought of one of the things that tickled me the most on last night show:
When Zoey was sitting in the corner of Will's bed with his birthday book and wouldn't give it back, saying "No, no way!" I cracked up!

I cracked up she went to the farthest away corner. I remember having bunk beds and doing that same thing although I think we headed for top bunk which was harder for them to get to.

[BW Manilowe]

Bill said somewhere, I think on his Twitter when he & Jen were Live Tweeting during the episode (but it may have actually been in 1 of his "Talking Head" type comments in the ep), that Will's outgrown afternoon naps now (though Zoey still takes them), so now he & Will get in a little extra "bonding" time in Will's old nap time. I think that's cool, for some reason.

[iamkarski]

I've watched this episode 4 times already. I can watch it all day, over and over. This show perks me up. The kids have grown so much, and two of the things I miss most seeing are the hugs and kisses. Oh yeah, I miss hearing the word, "Baba", too.

[Kohola3]

Oh yeah, I miss hearing the word, "Baba", too.

 

I noticed for the first time that Will is calling Bill "Daddy". I wonder why that changed.

[BW Manilowe]

I noticed for the first time that Will is calling Bill "Daddy". I wonder why that changed.

Maybe he simply learned the word--maybe that's what he heard his friends call their male parent--& decided to use it so he wouldn't be "left out" or possibly made to feel more different than he already is. Or, maybe he even picked "Daddy" up from Zoey, somehow, since "Baba" isn't very likely to be the Indian language word for "Daddy" (though Zoey also likely picked up "Baba" from Will & the family when she joined them). I miss it too, though.

I know he's been saying "Daddy" at least since the ep where the kids went to their first day of preschool. Remember when Jen & Bill were asking the kids, while they were eating lunch or something, how they liked the first week of school? Zoey sounded like she liked it, then Will said something about he missed Daddy (or "you & Daddy"), or he wanted Daddy/both of them to go with him, while answering Jen; & Jen then said stuff to him that ended with her & Daddy (but I think she might've said "Baba") were always going to be waiting for him to come home from school & they were always gonna be his friends, etc., &--basically--he didn't have to worry about whatever it was that had him worried about having to go to school/not liking school yet.

At some point, I think Jen (& maybe Bill) did a "Talking Head" where they said something about Will's problems with getting used to school maybe had to do with it somehow reminding him of when he lived at the Foster Home, & wherever else, before Bill & Jen adopted him & brought him to the States (because it was a similar "setting"--a building full of kids & adults who spent the day doing stuff with the kids). He somehow was maybe having a touch of misplaced "abandonment" issues.

Sorry for the tangent! I just wanted to explain how far back I remembered hearing him say "Daddy" (though he could've said it a bit earlier too).

On another note, I think he's/he & Zoey are at least still calling Judy "Nainai" (or however you spell it--I don't know how to speak or write Chinese/Will's native dialect of Chinese, so I apologize to anyone who does if I screwed it up; I spelled it like it sounds when they say it). I think they were also calling Jen's Dad "Grandbaba" (at least Jen used that to refer to him in the show before) & they may still be doing that too.