A Tale of Two Parties

As usual, we did the at-home party on the boys' birthday and threw a party for school friends today. Instead of 8 kids like last year, there was 13 so lots of hooligans! The theme this year was Mario. All the adults that attended are exhausted – M. kept saying to the boys that they must be tired after things wound down but indeed they are not tired. Sugar is the energy that fuels their little furnaces at this age. The family party was a little more subdued:

In case you were wondering, Seth really was pretty intense about those cupcakes!

Today's party was... less subdued (at least I remembered to take a picture of the cake this year though):

The frosting gave them so much energy.

Nate's one true love...

... who gave him the best present of all.

The moustaches were popular.

Even with the girls! Work it, little Miss Thang!

The last three standing during a game of "Freeze Dance". The competition was fierce.

Check out those moves!

And a little family resemblance!

In the end, Miss Thang took the cake. Literally. To herself on purpose.
Seriously, what WAS in that frosting?!?

- L.

8:54 AM

For Seth, my last:

Seven years ago at this exact time you were born.

Your favourite number is 19 and your favourite colour is orange.

At age 7 this doesn’t surprise me because you like things that are “unpoplier” on purpose. You despise blue and regular “poplier” numbers like 7 for this reason. 7 years + 18 weeks and 3 days ago, I wrote this about you:

"Unfortunately we weren't able to get a profile shot of Baby B at 20 weeks, but not for lack of trying. I think we did everything short of having me stand on my head but he was persistently facing away from the camera and/or face down so no luck."

Of course, you were known as Baby B back then. You were also laying sideways for a long time and I still remember when you decided to finally get into a heads-down position because it was probably the freakiest thing I’ll ever feel in my innards that didn’t hurt. It was however, not “poplier.”

Last year you faced an unseen adversary because of anxiety and your less than “poplier” way of approaching things. I worried so much for you because anxiety has been my bugaboo my whole life. This year, your anxiety is gone and has been replaced with a physical outlet. Tics are not “poplier” at all, by the way. I’m just glad you can let it out now. You take me down some funny paths Baby B, Boogee, Seth-one but none of them are dull.

I can do grown-up things with you! When we went to see my friend Chris’ gallery last weekend, you helped me pick out art to buy while your brother only noticed Chris’ toys and candy (a hallmark of any reputable animation-type person by the way). You give everyone who knows you the best quotes for getting through life and it’s as much how you say things as what you’re saying. You love being cheeky that way and you still laugh the hardest at your own jokes.

You still love to draw and build things and you can create entire universes in a day. Character development? Check. Character design? Check. Landscape or location? Check and check.

This is just a little bit about you at seven. I hope you have the happiest of happy birthdays today, Seth. I hate this part now, but…

We cool.
Mom

8:53 AM

For Nate, my first:

Seven years ago at this exact time you were born.

Your favourite number is still 7, so this is a lucky year for you. Your favourite colour is still blue.

At age 7 you are still the life of the party. You love to jump and bounce about and you still chat a person’s ear off. The neighbours all know you well.

You have been gifted by the tooth fairy so many times this year. You lost them like you got them, in a hurry. A few weeks ago I heard you crying in the bathroom and went to check on you. You were worried you’d lose all your teeth because they all seemed to be falling out at once. You’ve got another wiggly tooth as I type this. Don’t despair little one – your brother is quite jealous and wishes he had your problems right now and you probably have at least a few school chums who feel the same way.

You are the first person turning 7 in your class this year – such is the luck sometimes with February birthdays. This year you have met people who “aren’t a friend” because you were met with unkindness. You dealt with it as anyone should  – you stood up for yourself and that made me feel good that you know how to do that.

You still love maps and calculators. Speaking of the latter, Santa brought you a new calculator this year because you wore out the one from last year – and speaking of Santa – I’m pretty sure that you KNOW because you have made some good arguments about Mommy being Santa and I can tell this idea isn’t upsetting to you. For now, I want to see how good my skills are at still being Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, et al, so I keep trying to “outsmart” you (not much longer I suspect). The main thing to remember is that when you stop believing, they stop coming to visit – all of them go away – so keep on believing and they will keep coming to visit as long as they possibly can.

You remain generous with physical affection and aren’t embarrassed in the least if we hug or kiss in public so I know it will be no trouble at all when I sign off thusly:

This is just a little bit about you at seven. I hope you have the happiest of happy birthdays today, Nate-one.

All my love,
Mommy
xoxo