the feeding frenzy

I feel as if I have sharks on the brain lately (rather uncomfortable, I must say!). I think, though, that the feeding frenzy is over for now. A's birthday has passed, 3 celebrations loaded with sharks and fish, blue icing and sugar, and tons of friends to enjoy it all with us! I am fried, but happy.

Right now, A is working on one of his presents, a "decorate-your-own treasure chest." It's very small, perfect for storing snoopy and his pals, and A is concentrating so much his tongue is sticking out. Unlike all the other times he plays, the constant stream of humming, songs, and conversations with himself have all stopped. He is completely quiet. I need to have him paint more often.

So a run-down of the festivities: the kid party was at Michaels craft store, where all his friends made cute sea-creature crafts--a mobile of model magic fish and so forth, and a little "aquarium" with sea creatures inside and lots of beads decorating the outside (all of which needed hardcore gluing to stay on). The kids were really focused, even in all the excitement, though they stopped everything when the cake arrived. My neighbors J and S, whose son was the vampire at halloween, pulled out all the stops. S's hobby is making special cakes and candy (molding chocolates, especially), and he made a shark-shaped cake for A. It was awesome! The kids all cheered when it arrived, and rightly so. The final surprise was cutting it open, to reveal RED cake!!! EEEW! So cool. I'm still cracking up over it. As if that wasn't enough, J made blue jello with gummy sea creatures suspended in it, which looked amazing too. We have very creative friends, truly. Good sports as well, as I know they had cake crumbs and icing bits all over their kitchen and dining room when it was over.

The family party was last night, for A's actual birthday. He woke up from his nap expecting everyone to be there already, and was beside himself for a while till everyone arrived. To pass the time, A and I looked at all my pregnant pictures, and his baby pictures. He's fascinated with the idea of babies growing in bellies, and hearing his own birth-day story. It's nice to tell him, too, now that he understands so much more and sees babies at church. Now that I myself have healed from all those traumatic events, I can tell him about it without crying. That in itself is a minor miracle. That was a dark time.

We had pizza, gifts, and one more cake (ugh, sugar coma) with sharks on it this time. It was great having everyone over, and now I'll be happy not to see another sugary shark for a long time. Thanks to everyone for making the birthday so special!

Thanks, friends, for an excellent birthday! (check flickr for all the juicy pics!)