There are three great loves in my son's life: things that go, things that growl ("ROWR!"), and things that bounce. There used to be a fourth, but he quit that habit at about 19 months. (Sigh. My baby is growing up.) In light of his third love, we celebrated his second birthday last week at the bowling alley, which technically speaking, isn't so much about things that bounce as it is about things that make A Very Loud Noise when you drop them. (Come to think of it, maybe he *does* have a fourth love...)
My children's birthdays are always a bag of mixed emotions for me. I tend to wax nostalgic around those times. K wonders why I insist on making a big deal about the earliest ones when it's clear that a) they have no idea what's going on and b) it's unlikely they'll remember them. What he doesn't realize is that their birthdays are as much about *me* as they are about them. Milestones in their lives = milestones in my life. And besides, I am what I am. And what I am is a person who makes a Big Deal about everything. (After almost nine years of marriage the guy should get that, don't you think?)
Anyway, I made these flip books (adapted from instructions here) in honor of The Birthday Boy:
I figure they are an homage to all that is Asher--reflecting both his quirkiness (indoor basketball with his trusty spatula-sidekick, aptly named "This!") and his two-year-old state of perpetual motion. Oh, and lest I forget...his shall-not-be-swayed opinion that pants are strictly optional. (His father agrees.)
I sent the books out to our extended family through the mail today. I hope they enjoy them. It's times like this when we miss our families the most. After all, what's a birthday without the traditional Spanking Machine? (For the uninitiated...picture a gauntlet of 20+ pairs of legs--some hairy some not--through which one must crawl to receive his obligatory birthday swat...nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a bruised ego and a sore bum, at least not in this family.)
Pout. Whine. Sob.
(See, I told you I make a big deal out of everything.)
