I worked from home that day so when Jason's train arrived, I picked up Liam (left Nora behind with Cathleen, much to Nora's major disappointment) and we swung by the train station to pick up Jason. From there, we went to a bowling ally for Liam's first bowling experience. Even though they didn't have duckpin, and he could barely lift the ball, he got way into it and legit beat me. I didn't let him win. I suck that bad. Also, it's so rare that he has both of his parents and their undivided attention, he barely knew what to do. He kept hugging us both - it was very sweet.
After bowling we took him out to dinner at the Melting Pot. Neither Jason or I had ever been there before. It was certainly an experience - partly because of the food and partly because our waiter was an actor and sang Liam a show-tune version of Happy Birthday. Jason and I left very full. Liam, on the other hand, probably went to bed hungry. As we sat at the table, and his regular bedtime came and went, he got pretty zany and really didn't feel like eating. He didn't like the fondue much and ate mostly shrimp and played with the little football players Jason and I gave him as a gift. In the car, Liam fell asleep during the ride home. Then Jason carried him straight upstairs, changed our drowsy boy into his PJs and plopped him into bed.
The next morning Liam woke up ready for breakfast and with renewed energy. And he had a present waiting for him from Nora's nighttime babysitters, his Grandma and Klaus!
But wait... there's more: On Saturday, following his birthday and Thanksgiving, we threw Liam a big Spider-Man extravaganza with family and friends. Jason had the brilliant idea of having it at the community center in our development. We rented the rock wall there for two hours and a few staff members to herd the 20 plus kids we invited. I have to admit I was worried the whole thing would be disastrous because only three could climb at a time and I envisioned a lot of downtime with a boat load of bored kids. But instead, it worked out perfectly. The kids were all really well behaved, waited patiently for their turn, enthusiastically climbed, made super hero masks, and seemed to have a great time. The staff were really amazing with the kids and really kept them engaged. And Liam sported his Spider-Man costume the whole time. In his mind, on this day, he was Spider-Man (not Liam) scaling buildings (not walls). We ate pizza and special Aunt Bar, Spider-Man cake, Liam opened a gajillion presents, we gave out goody bags, and then we took our happy and tired Spider-Man home.
Brace yourselves. Picture overload happening now.
I love celebrating our little Monkey. His birth was absolutely life changing in every way and I am thankful every day that I get to be his mother. But once per year it's really fun to reflect on his birthday and how special he is to us and spend a day (well, a week) going all out for the occasion.
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