Birthday Party Mania

This month is the ultimate toddler-birthday-party month. It truly started last month when we attended the first birthday party of the summer when Scarlett's "oldest" friend turned two in June but this month, we have six birthday parties that we've been invited to and we probably won't be able to make all of them. Last year, it was fairly mellow since we had a group birthday party for the 12-14 or so babies in our mommy group. This year, every kid is having a party of his/her own (and I don't blame them because it's so fun for them to have all their friends over). We just attended two parties this weekend and it's been as much of a party for the adults as it has been for the toddlers. The adults get to eat a buffet lunch (courtesy of the hosting family), eat tons of cake, and watch their toddler bounce off the walls and run around in a frenzied pace from all the sugar and stimulation. It has been wonderful though to have such a good group of friends and to watch our kids play together and share these wonderful birthday memories. The best scene I think I will remember for quite a while was yesterday, when one of Scarlett's friends swiftly blew out her two birthday candles, plucked both candles out of the cake, flipped them upside down, and licked the frosting off of them. She did it like she's been doing it for years!

This weekend, I felt like we just got home from one of my professional conferences, loaded with swag, except these are Scarlett's swag from the birthday parties: stickers, party favors, candy and lollipops (we hide them as soon as we get home), sombrero hat, etc. Heck, I don't even need to buy Scarlett a gift for her birthday a month and a half later. By then, she'll have acquired enough swag to not notice if I don't get her any gifts. Sadly (or not, depending on how you see it), we've decided not to throw her a giant birthday party this year. Since she's the 3rd youngest one in her entire group, by the time her birthday rolls around, it'll be birthday party overload anyway. Besides, we're having a "group" birthday party at another kid's house two days before her actual birthday. So this year, we'll have a quieter family birthday celebration. Maybe next year, we'll throw a bigger party for her.