Both of our winter birthdays felt a bit unusual this year. Months before his birthday (in November), Owen declared he wanted no celebrations at all: no cake, no presents, no candles, no dinner out, no grandparents, no nothing. I agonized for just as many months, trying to decide whether to plan things anyway, on the assumption that he'd change mind eventually. In the end, Isaac hid a present "just in case," and I made sure we had ingredients on hand for a cake if needed.
And, of course, it was needed. After approximately two years of being two years old (he never did accept that he had turned three in 2013), Owen woke up the day of his birthday and wanted a cake because he was now four! His request: a sun shape, made with red, yellow, and orange frosting. Manageable.
I was quite pleased with my fiery frosting.
We filled up the day with things Owen loves:
painting . . .
hot dogs and "soft" (cooked) carrots . . .
candles and jammies.
My parents had seen him earlier in the week, so just Isaac's parents came over to celebrate. They got him a new set of Duplos (a very good thing, since our one box was no longer satisfying the needs of both big boys), and we got him a sketch pad so he could draw pictures in his very own book (that Levi wasn't allowed to touch or color over . . . not that that had been happening frequently or anything).
Fast-forward to January and Toby's first birthday. He threw up first thing out of bed and continued all day long. The next day, everybody else followed suit. The day after that, my parents cancelled their planned trip down because they were both sick. I was nearly ready to give up altogether -- I mean, he's one, he doesn't know the difference -- but then I thought about one day in the future, my sweet fourth boy asking, "where are the pictures from MY first birthday?!?" and I knew I had to do something.
So, I whipped up a carrot cake (great recipe, by the way), in a Pampered Chef batter bowl for something interesting, decorated with gum drops because that's what I had in the cupboard. (Note: I have the old-style batter bowl. The new one is not quite this shape.)
It's hard to see, but the gum drops spell "ONE."
With my parents sick and Isaac's mom helping out with her other set of grandkids, Isaac's dad was the only one able to come and celebrate with us. But that's okay; I like my parties intimate! Too many people and the kids get overwhelmed. (Who am I kidding. I get overwhelmed.)
What is this new thing in my hand?
Trying it out.
(My apologies for the human body poster in the background. It's first-grade biology.)
Isaac loves pudgy hands covered in frosting.
Still sucking the frosting off. Later, he would refuse any cake that wasn't slathered in frosting.
The birthday dinner table.
While we were celebrating New Year's with our friends, Toby fell in love with a little light-up ball they had, so Isaac picked up one for Toby's birthday present. He also picked up another copy (we lost our first one) of Sandra Boynton's Going to Bed Book, which has been one of our favorites since Levi was tiny!
Next up in birthdays: my great-grandma's 90th birthday party in February!
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