The birthday bonanza is once again over for another year. Last week, we celebrated my daughter’s seventh and The Toddler’s third birthday. I wondered why on earth I didn’t do everything possible in the labour ward on January 21st 2006 to stop The Toddler from arriving to share his sister’s birthday. I should have pleaded with the midwives, got down on my knees and begged them to give me large doses of Oxytocin. I simply had no idea what it would be like to celebrate two children’s birthdays on the same day post Christmas in the middle of bleak January.
This year was also more made more difficult because The Toddler now fully grasps the concept of birthdays and presents, having had much practice the previous month. We agreed that they would both open their presents at teatime in one mammoth opening session, accompanied by a joint chocolate cake with carefully divided candles to allow for individual blowing. We sang two rounds of Happy Birthday and our son kept a brave face as he watched his two siblings jointly celebrate their day.
Then we came to The Party. Thankfully, we managed to persuade The Toddler that he would absolutely love to do a spot of pottery painting, or splodging, with a couple of close friends, whilst his siblings were at school. He went along with it still oblivious to the world of Musical Bumps and Statues, surrounded by a mass of tearful pre-schoolers all accompanied by their tea-sipping parents. My daughter, who spends the entire year building up to her big event, decided she wanted a disco. She also wanted to invite her entire class of 24. Therefore the celebrations continued throughout the week and the excitement levels escalated. With flashing lights, loud booming music and Wayne from Groovemix at the helm, the children danced their small legs off. My husband was as excited as the children and enthusiastically joined in alongside my daughter shrieking, “It’s like the 21st I never had.”
That evening, we were exhausted and barely managed to keep an eye open to watch Casualty. It had been a week of birthday jubilation with an abundance of presents, cakes, cards and balloons. My daughter now felt a little deflated although instantly pulled a notepad out and began party planning for 2010. Meanwhile, The Toddler looked up from his bed and sleepily said, “Mummy, why didn’t Father Christmas bring me my stocking?”
