Run over by a birthday truck

Deep breath. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind – culminating in not one, but two lovely parties for Master Noah. Both were well attended and sufficiently celebratory – so I think we did a bang up job. The toddler house party seemed a bit too ambitious – what with 12 toddlers, 3 infants and 22 adults attending – but it proved to be an excellent idea in the end. The kids were well behaved and the parents were very excited to hang out with other parents, talking and drinking beer. And best of all Noah really enjoyed himself – I had visions of him clinging to me the entire time wondering why all these damn people were ruining his birthday – but he had a blast. I think it was a plus for him to have the home team advantage. He had a couple of moments of wanting to be held or far off in a corner playing on his own, but for the most part he was totally interactive and enjoying himself. And that is SUCCESS. The family party was an interesting proposition because my mother hosted not only her immediate family, some friends and her in-laws, but also my Dad (they were divorced when I was five), my half-brother and his kids. A truly blended family makes for some awkwardness, I was concerned about my Dad feeling comfortable and Mark was concerned about his Dad, but generally it was a hit. As always we worry far more than we need. Everyone was there to celebrate Noah and that is the real icing on the cake. We’re really blessed with a group of loving, supportive people who know how important it is to us that we all be together.

The best part of all of it is that this year Noah knew the parties were for him and was so excited to see his loved ones and know they came for him. Oh, and they brought presents.
And good lord – THE TOYS! I have so much gear here that I could open a daycare center. Of course the morning after his first party we asked him what he liked about it the most and he said “Happy Birthday cake! I blow on it.”

I could say SO much more – but I’m beat and have no focus, so I will spare you for the moment. We thank you all for your warm birthday wishes.