Jack's Party

Today we had Jack’s 5th birthday party. It was supposed to be where he goes to gymnastics, but a freak October nor’easter took out the power at the gym, so we had to cancel it. I did have the option of rescheduling the party, but seeing as how I’m 36-ish weeks pregnant (I honestly can’t remember; I’m due November 29) and November is the official start of the holiday season, I canceled it. It was pretty disappointing since this was to be Jack’s first “friend” party, which I plan to have only for a select few birthdays. I was double disappointed, because I was looking forward to meeting his school friends and their moms, but what can you do? Who would have predicted a snowstorm on October 30?

However, although we’d invited seventeen kids, ten of those kids were his cousins, so we had them over to our house to make sure we wouldn’t be stuck with an entire half-sheet cake. And also so Jack wouldn’t have to go from “I get to have a party with a bouncy house and a tumble track and an obstacle course! WOOOOO!” to “I get to… hang out with my Mom and Dad and not have any presents because they already gave me theirs! Woooo?”

It actually turned out just fine. Jack and Nora love their cousins, and, if you’ll indulge me a minute, I’d like to say that this group of kids are just about the sweetest, most well-behaved group of kids I’ve ever had the privilege to know. We had ten children here aged nine-and-under, and you would never have guessed it. There was no screaming, fighting, or thundering around the apartment, and the older kids included the little ones in all their games. Everyone waited patiently for cake and ice cream, and my four-year-old nephew was heard to say, “I’ll take whatever piece you give me!” What sweethearts they all are.

As for presents, can I just say that five-year-olds get WAAAAY better stuff than babies. Playmobil, Transformers,Perfection… Andrew’s favorite though was from my parents. When my mom told me what she got him, she described it as “Mario Kart, but without the wheel.” I was confused, so she elaborated with, “You know? The old Mario Kart? Without the wheel?” I wondered if she perhaps meant Super Mario Brothers? She did. Andrew’s pretty psyched. (Well someone is going to have to teach Jack how to play it.) (And in my mom’s defense, we did not have Nintendo when I was a kid, so her first introduction to the Mario Brothers was Mario Kart. As far as she knows, Mario Brothers equals Mario Kart.)

In unrelated news, last night we had a family Movie Night and watched Babe. Nora sure knows how to ruin a Movie Night. First she whacked Jack smack in the forehead with the door of the medicine chest, then she whined and cried - loudly - about wanting more popcorn (among other things), then she just would not stay seated! Man, sometimes she acts like a two-year-old. But in one of her calmer moments, she rested her head on my belly. The baby gave her a good kick, and she sat up and said to me, “Why you DO that?” while rubbing her cheek.

“That wasn’t me, that was the baby!” I said. “The baby kicked you!” She told everyone today how the baby kicked her in the head, and she’s been trying to get him (or her) to do it again ever since.