Part-ay!

And so ends the long holiday weekend. Well, for the rest of the world, for me the vacation just keeps on going. Neil had yesterday off too, so our weekend didn't end until last night. We had a busy weekend, marked by not one but two first birthday parties. I've mentioned before that there was a rash of fertility among our friends roundabout December/January of last year and all those babies are now approaching their first big birthday.

The first party was on Saturday at the home of one of Neil's oldest friends. Their daughter, Mady, is so adorable and precocious. (That's her being held by her daddy, John, over Neil's left shoulder. John is a photographer and he has a collection of photographs that are far superior to mine on his blog.) Despite the fact that I actually spend quite a bit of time with other babies approximately Sophie's age, it is still so interesting for me to see how other children are developing. At no time in my life have I been more aware of the fact that we are all individuals with our own schedules and traits and these start pretty much at birth. Neil was kind enough to wear the baby for a good chunk of the party giving me the rare opportunity to eat without little hands grabbing at my plate. Sara, John's wife and Mady's mommy, could probably start a career as a party planner if she ever gets tired of her current job. Everything was perfect, the food, decorations, everything. She's also thin and beautiful. I should hate her but unfortunately she's actually really nice. Amazing bit from this party: we saw a baby squirrel!! I wasn't even sure such things existed. I've only ever seen the full grown variety. I swear I thought they sprung from some font of squirrels as adults.

Party two took place on Sunday at the shore house (that's what folks out here call houses on the water, but not the beach) of the birthday girl's maternal grandparents. It was actually a double birthday as our friends, Chrissy and Russell, have a three year old as well as a one year old. The sun was shining and there was a perfect cool breeze coming off of the water. You couldn't have asked for a better day. Sophie did a little swimming in a kiddie pool and worked her way from one set of arms to the next. That is one of the great things about being at an event where you know so many people. You don't even worry if you haven't seen your kid for a while because you know the person who has her will take good care of her. Interesting tidbit from this party: Clowns are a mixed blessing. Although all of the kids loved him, the same could not be said for all of the adults. There was a contingent that cowered in the house while the clown was doing his thing. I would make fun of that, but I saw IT as a teenager and frankly clowns scare me, too.

We're still on the fence whether to have a big party for Sophie's first birthday. We're leaning towards just a small get together with family, but I may change my mind in coming weeks. I have joked that it won't be a birthday party at all but a "holy crap, the kid's still alive and we're still married" party. TBD.