Hey, Hey - It's Your Birthday!

Springtime in our house is about more then seeing the sun for the first time in months, or watching the daffodils start to bloom, or planning for the Easter Bunny. Springtime in our house is all about birthdays. Three of us have our birthdays in about a 3 week span of time. Which means lots of: "Happy Birthday!", cupcakes, ice cream and dinner out.

If you know me, then you know I LOVE my birthday, with a capital L-O-V-E. I like to blame it on being a middle child but I just really love my birthday. Which may lead to the question, why did I have two kids with birthdays on either end of mine. Doesn't that kind of put a damper on MY birthday? Yes, it does not seem like good planning. Especially when I am one of those people who say: "Do not have a Christmas baby. How can you not count 9 months and figure out the due date??!!" Well, I wanted spring babies, I got spring babies and only later did I realize that my birthday was at risk for being overlooked with the excitement of my kids' birthdays.

Jack starts our birthday season. This year he turned 5, I can not believe my baby is 5 years old. And before you ask, he is not going to kindergarten next year. That is a post in of itself but I just wanted to get it out there. Jack has always been a puzzle to me. I so love my birthday I feel that everyone should. That is not so the case with Jack. Last year we spent the day locked in constant conflict and what I thought would be fun to do was not what he thought would be fun. By the time we met his dad for dinner we were both tired, cranky and near tears. Lest you think I am exaggerating let's remember that the only cake Jack wanted was carrot cake. I tried and tried to get him to choose a different one, but that is what he liked. Well, it's not. We learned that the hard way.

This year was going to be better, we would let him choose the activities. He had a playmate over earlier in the week, watched a movie, had dessert, and loved it. Then comes his actual birthday. Breakfast was pancakes, then we worked frantically to clean the house and bake his cake (yellow this year, my sister was bringing her famous chocolate-chocolate) and let Jack stay in his jammies all morning. Things were mostly okay until I decided he needed to get dressed. Still in mostly casual clothes but the shirt had buttons and the shorts were not sweats. All you-know-what broke loose and by the time he was dressed we were once again both in tears. This did not set us up for success and Jack spent most of his party under a chair opening presents.

Next came my birthday. I took the day off of work, planned breakfast, a playdate, lunch with my family and then Molly Moon's ice cream for dessert. It was a lovely day. I had phone calls all day from my family telling me "Happy Birthday" (which is actually a requirement), never had to cook or do laundry and just enjoyed my day. Had a salted caramel waffle cone with caramel sauce poured on top. Perfect way to end the day. The sad part about loving my birthday is how much I am melancholy when the day is coming to a close. The good thing was I still had a birthday dinner at my in-laws, a date out with my husband (steak!), and then my traditional birthday meal and dessert at my moms. I only had 1 banana cream pie this year and that was very hard. I think I am ready for my second one!

Two weeks later we were once again celebrating a birthday. This time Micah. He had to live through all of our birthdays and each time said, "Is it my birthday now?" Finally it is his day. But every time I tried to sing "Happy Birthday" to him he said "No, not yet!" When my sister called to say "Happy Birthday" I said, "But it isn't my birthday, oh right, you are calling for Micah." Still was in a little birthday withdrawl!

Micah spent his birthday at the zoo with his dad and older brother, having a picnic on the front lawn, and then dinner at Tutta Bella with Miss Mandy. He loved his birthday and the party the next day and now is very clear that he is 3. He is a big boy, he tells me every day.

Jack is not yet 5, he will let us know when he feels that he is 5. Until then is he is 4 years old. That's fine, Being 5 seems to big and as I tell my boys each day, I want them to stay little! I can't believe I almost have a 5 year old, 3 year old, and a 1 year old.

Time to start thinking about the next one, right?