Tonight's post is all about the lovable, huggable (well, immediately after a bath), no-longer-a-toddler [clutches chest] in our lives: Michael.
But maybe I should back up. The shindig was on Saturday, but the birthday was on Friday. Michael started the morning, before school, opening and reopening a birthday card that sings while catching his morning 'toons. Yeah, it was pretty awesome for the rest of us that early in the morning, too. A "happy birthday!" call from the cousins before heading off to school was just the thing to fully set the tone for the day.
After school, the kids got to Skype with Nana and Rocket. "I'm fee, today!"
Saturday morning was a bit of a blur. Somehow, the kids got dressed, we picked up the rest of the party perishables at the store and we made it to the Little Shop of Stories just in time to set everything up before - as Ella calls them - the "customers" showed up.
Remarkably, we had about 10 minutes to kill before our friends showed up, so Michael took the opportunity to try out some of the party digs.
It wasn't long before friends arrived and got the real party started.
Storytime begins (all dinosaur- and pirate-themed, of course.)
Now for the really good stuff: cake.
The most important part? Michael declared the day a success, and followed up the festivities with a nice, long sugar-coma-induced nap.
If there's anything I've learned from being a parent for nearly six years, it's that everyone's right, it really does go by faster than you can imagine. As quickly as Ella's first three years came and went, I believe Michael's went by in half of that time. I remember Nana telling me how she wanted to sit on me - her third baby - as a child to keep from growing up any more. While it made me laugh at the time I heard it, I'm now going to search the Internet for anti-aging solutions for the rest of the evening. These babies just don't stay that way for nearly long enough.