Party Moses!

We are recovering from our fun-filled weekend. Grandma and Grandpa arrived from Brussels on Friday night. We had pad thai waiting for them - actually, we couldn't wait and had just started in on the noodles when the doorbell rang. Jonathan turned around in his highchair and waved through a mouthful, but the hugs had to wait until after dinner. We spent an hour or two watching Jonathan, and then Grandma and Grandpa crashed with jet lag and headed to their hotel.

The next day was birthday party day! Our house was a bustle of activity starting at about nine AM. Jonathan spent all morning outside with his Grandpa, pushing around the "big truck!" and running through the leaves. Mom and I chopped fruits and veggies and marinated chicken wings, while Chris rearranged furniture. Somehow we all managed an hour-long nap after lunch, but there was too much excitement for Jonathan to stay asleep too long. Too quickly, he was up in his crib, asking for "outside!" again with Grandpa. He took a little detour into a mud puddle, and Chris gave gim a quick bath right before all the guests arrived.

All four grandparents were there, and Jonathan had a good time figuring that one out. He'd point to each one in turn - "Grandma. Grandma! Two grandmas!" I think using the Korean terms for Chris's parents will help in the long run, and he started to get those down by the end of the evening. We also managed to have three other toddlers present, with their parents, and had not a single meltdown! There was a kids' table set up in the kitchen and I was inordinately happy that I have finally graduated to the adults' side.

Jonathan loved opening the presents and showed he was a fast learner - when he saw the first wrapped box he shouted "Grandma!" We had to explain that presents come from other people too. He and Sam especially liked dancing to the tune from the Fisher Price bulldozer, and getting a round of applause at the end. Dave and Michelle's present contained a sprinkling of lollipops as decoration, and it was incredible how much quieter it was once all four kids had "plops" firmly planted.

We all came in to the dining room to sing "Happy Birthday" while I held Jonathan in the middle of the crowd. Just like last year, he soon realized he had all eyes on him and a song being sung - two of his favorite things in the world. As soon as the cheers died down he asked for "More? More!" But he accepted some bites of ice cream cake as an acceptable substitute.

After a sound sleep, we drove over to Grandma and Grandpa's hotel the next morning and stuffed Jonathan with a giant breakfast from their buffet. He still does the "Oooohh!" when he sees a spread of food. We bid the grandparents goodbye and drove up to Baltimore for a fraternity gathering. Jonathan slept for a good portion of the trip, sedated from all the waffles, eggs and sausage.

We got there and were amazed to see how much procreation has taken place in a ten year period among our group of friends. There were kids and toys everywhere. Jonathan shrugged out of his coat and found the room with lots and lots of toy cars. Even though he was one of the younger ones, he held his own, waiting until the red pushcar was empty (for a nanosecond) before pushing his way in. We coaxed him to take a bite or two of pasta but he was more interested in playing every second he could.

Finally, after a long afternoon, it was time to come home. Jonathan gave his usual goodbye hugs and kisses to all our friends and we strapped him into his carseat. Mr. Spicy was asleep before we hit I-95. When we made it home, he kept his head snuggled into us as we carried him upstairs to his crib, and curled up on his tummy with arms and legs tucked in. We did convince him to get into some pajamas, and he remembered to ask for his two blankies, but he didn't want any dinner. Not even a cookie could tempt our little "Cookie Moses."