On Birthday Parties, and Turning One.

Today was Tristin's first birthday party! Despite a rough start to the day (I was unable to find one of the necessary ingredients for the frosting recipe I was planning on using, which resulted in a less-than-perfect substitute), we had an absolutely fabulous day! We went swimming for about an hour at the local Rec Centre, which has a wave pool (edit: amazing wave pool!) and a toddler pool (edit: fabulous toddler pool). Tristin had such a wonderful time swimming there that it has strengthened my resolve to get out swimming at least every other week this summer, more if possible! In fact, he was so tired after swimming that I'm kind of inclined to do it many, MANY times this summer as we work towards sleeping 6-7 hours at night. But I digress.

After swimming, we had a little party in the upstairs rec room, which was probably one of the best ideas I've ever had in my life. Despite the cake falling short of my hopes, and despite several last-minute cancellations, we still had a great time with 3 of Tristin's best friends (almost more like cousins really!), half-a-dozen aunties and uncles, and my parents and grandmother. Words can't describe how happy it makes me that Tristin's great-grandmother got to be there to celebrate his first birthday! All in all, it was a great time - and a learning experience: always, ALWAYS make a practice cake first!

On Little Boys and Puppydog Tails.

Went out to a friend's housewarming party this afternoon, which was also her son's 2nd birthday. Tristin had so much fun, but it was a reminder that most of our playdates have been with a) babies too much younger than him to be interesting or b) little girls. Not that there's anything wrong with having playdates with little girls, but today, Tristin got to go around the yard in a wagon full of other boys, chase a dog, crawl around in the grass/leaves/dirt, play on the slide (again with a bunch of other rough-and-tumble little boys), and just be 100% rambunctious little boy. It was pretty epic.

A little about the dog: if you know me in person, you know that I don't like dogs. I actually dislike dogs. In fact, it wouldn't be entirely unfair to say that I hate dogs. I think they're smelly, stupid, hairy, loud, obnoxious, and most of all, dangerous. Even dogs who aren't trained to be dangerous still are, because they can't retract their claws and they jump all over people or knock them down. I don't know a single dog that doesn't do this. Unfortunately, like most babies, my son loves dogs - and cats, and birds, and anything else he can chase/grab/growl at. So I grin, bear it, and poise always ready to kill any dog that actually hurts him. Some would say I should just never let him play with dogs, but the problem with that theory is that it can lead to phobias, and while I'd prefer if my son didn't like dogs I don't want him to develop a complex just because it would make my life easier. So I let him play with dogs. I also let him get dirty, fall down, and figure out for himself how to get where he wants to go. I'm that kind of mum.

On Baptisms and Birthdays.

So, the baptism has come and gone, and it was fabulous. Well, except for my forgetting to put batteries in the camera, so I am waiting oh-so-patiently for somebody, anybody, else to post some on facebook so that I can steal them.

I stayed up until two o'clock the night before, finishing up those little last-minute things like scrubbing the floors by hand (stupid cheap laminate flooring) and putting away toys. But the house was actually clean when I left for Mass, so I was satisfied. (Wess then proceeded to leave doors open that should have been closed, since the closets were quite beyond my powers of redemption, but that's another matter.) We went to Mass; we had a little break between Mass and the Baptism; everybody who needed to be there showed up; the ceremony was lovely; my son was anointed with chrism and welcomed into the Holy Catholic Church. My goal for the day was accomplished.

Then we had a party at my house! My stepmum catered it for me, which was amazing since basically all I had the energy to do after a marathon of cleaning and moving furniture (note: kitchen tables, even cheaply made kitchen tables, require a minimum of two people to move upstairs) was sit and eat! She made some fabulous little sandwichy things, brownies, poppyseed cake, cookies, and all kinds of great finger food. I had a wonderful time, and so did Wess (or at least, he was being a darned good sport about the whole thing). All in all, the day was awesome.

Next up: Birthday party, T-minus 12 days and counting (since his birthday is on a Thursday this year, we're having the party a bit early because weekends just work better all around). Wish me luck!