Happy Birthday, Buddy!

I was one proud mama yesterday. Tired (having spent the weekend in Seattle at 2 different weddings), but very proud. Yesterday, September 6th was not only Labor Day, a monumental day on it's own, marking the unofficial end to summer and the official beginning of another academic year for those of you with school aged kids and/or in the teaching profession (or like myself who just get all nostalgic about starting another school year), but it was also the day that Steve and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary AND my son celebrated his 2nd birthday!


My mom mentioned that she was surprised we were even up for having people over yesterday for Peyton's birthday, after the exhausting weekend we'd just experienced. It made me think for a moment before I realized that I couldn't imagine NOT doing anything. "Besides," I said. "You did all the work." Which the grandma's did so I must give credit where credit is due. Thank you Nana and Grandma for bringing all the food. It also wasn't a big gathering. Just the grandparents, which is basically Peyton's whole world anyway. While we would have loved to celebrate with all the aunts, uncles and greats, this small gathering was about all we could handle and at least at this point in Peyton's life, was just perfect.


Like any good 2 year old party, Peyton's began with a nap. Peyton is between 1 and 2 naps these days and just when he naps is a bit unpredictable. We chose to have our parents arrive at 12:30 for lunch. A gamble that he could still be sleeping, but we took it. Sure enough, when the guests arrived, Peyton was sound asleep. In fact, Peyton slept until 2:00! So, Peyton's party was kicked off without the honoree. Like the novice parents of an only child that we are, we even established, and enforced I might add, a volume rule so as not to wake our sleeping child. Talk about a fun party (kidding). As is common courtesy when you have company, we did offer to feed our special guests (so long as they brought the food with them as mentioned above - another thanks can be inserted here). It was lunch time after all. Besides, a full mouth is also a great way to keep voices at a low volume (still kidding). Or maybe that only works in theory. All kidding aside, it was nice to enjoy some adult conversation and quality time with our parents on such a special day.

Once Peyton did wake up, he was a bit uncertain about the energy and transformation of the house (we hung a "happy birthday" banner and had a bouquet of balloons, not to mention the few presents that caught his eye). This Little Dude notices every little change I make in the house when he's not looking. Although balloons and a banner can hardly fall in the "little change" category. Details aside, Peyton was well rested and ready to experience what a birthday was all about.


In the weeks leading up to his big day we would occasionally talk about birthday's, but there wasn't much understanding. He'd never had cake so that was a lost concept for him. Whenever we sang the birthday song he would add "Nana" to the end of each phrase, because we taught him to sing it for our last family birthday back in May, which was Nana's birthday. Since then it's been "Nana's Song". I think, however, that after yesterday's celebration, our kiddo has a pretty good idea of what a birthday party really is and we'll probably spend at least the next year trying to explain to him that when we go to a birthday party, it's not for him!


It took encouraging to get our little guy to open his first gift, but after that there was no hesitation before he started to rip and tear open a present. It was a joyful experience watching him smile and giggle with excitement and exclaim, "Oh, Wow!" as he saw each new gift for the first time. He had so much fun playing with each present once he opened it that it took forever to get through the opening of gifts portion of the afternoon. We even took a few unopened gifts and hid them for a later date, to expedite the process. Besides, he didn't notice, nor did he really need any more stimulation.




No, last years no sugar added, totally wholesome and healthy, carrot cake does not count as cake and I've successfully avoided and/or distracted him whenever such opportunity has presented itself. So, it is with shock and awe that I admit out loud that my son has never had cake. That is until now. This year was a baby step in the right direction. We made banana muffins, topped with chocolate frosting and decorated to look like a monkey face. (I got the idea from a crafty friend. Thanks, Heather). They were beyond cute and quite tasty. They were packed with sugar as all good cakes really are. Besides (I tell myself to suppress any guilt), it was his 2nd birthday after all!





Happy 2nd Birthday, Little Dude! We love you!


Oh, and for the 3rd year in a row our anniversary has been sort of forgotten and over shadowed by the birth of our son on the same day. It doesn't make the day any less sweet, but our focus is definitely different. Still, I can't write about September 6th and not also make a shout out to my dear husband. To quote the card I purchased that seemed to articulate my thoughts at this moment in time the best,

Someday, many years from now,
we'll look back on this crazy time
in our life together and wonder how we did it all...
and then, those ordinary, everyday moments
that we often take for granted
will shimmer like stars as we recount them...
I'll sit close beside you,
you'll take my hand in yours.
We'll look at each other and say:
"I'd do it all again...
and I wouldn't change a thing."
There's no one I'd rather go through life with
than you.

Happy anniversary, Steve. I love you.