Birthdays past

The approach of summer is so intoxicating right now.  Nothing can go wrong!  I’m going with the flow!  I just have to get through two more weeks and then it’s hot dog time!  My first order of business is to take a short train ride with Theo to Japantown for some shave ice, and my second order of business is to get a massage.   I’m taking two classes this summer, so we’re trying to plan a few things around that ball and chain.  I haven’t taken classes in nine years, yet I have absolute confidence in my ability to easily do my upcoming coursework.  I might be overconfident—what if my brain has atrophied?  Or maybe being in school with small children is much harder than without?  I will be sure to record my findings here, on this blog!

All of our family birthdays happen during the first six months of the year.  Charlie was up first, turning one at the end of January.  We just had cake, a few presents, and balloons.

Theo turned four in February.  4!  He’s a gentle little boy, who is risk-adverse and shy.  Some things about him right now:

He loves the colors pink and black

His favorite animal is the dog

He loves trains, elevators, and pipes

He is kind to his brother

His favorite number is 10

He can write his name, but the O on the end is much smaller than the other letters

We went bowling for his birthday (he downside of a winter birthday is that a park party is immediately ruled out) and had a Thomas cake made for him.  I also made a birthday crown that has gotten a lot of daily wear.

I took the day off from work to celebrate his birthday at school.  The whole class takes turns helping with the birthday cake

There's also a tradition of making a poster-collage of the birthday child with giant poster board to hang up in the room.  I've never seen this done anywhere else, so maybe it's an Israeli thing?  (he goes to a Jewish preschool with mostly Israeli kids)  In any case, I made one and it had glitter.

I read Moonbear's Shadow and gave the kids flashlights and little bears with which to make shadows!  It's an activity I learned about at the astronomy conference I attended in January.

After his school party we went to the doctor for the last of his shots for a while.  Fully vaccinated babies make me sleep easier at night.

Finally, my old man turned 40!  I filled 40 balloons with kind messages from his friends and he popped them throughout the week.   I also put 40 candles on his birthday lemon tart, which took FOREVER to light.  By the time I was done, some of the candles were almost gone (he's that old).