Wow - James' second birthday has come and gone in a whirlwind of family, presents, cake, mess, and noise. We celebrated quietly at home with spaghetti (one of Jammers favourite dinners - and a great way to get a ton of veggies into him :) and a gigantic ice cream cake. The weekend, however, was a different story. I had this great idea to invite probably everyone we know to come over for burgers, cake etc., and I think everyone showed up at the same time. My big plan was come and go anytime between 12 and 3, thinking people would come in stages, eat, and go home - not so much. I love entertaining but poor little James was beside himself with excitement. It probably didn't help that we let him eat the massive ball of icing that was the sun on his cake. He loved playing with everyone and showing off and was especially tickled with himself when a full house of his favourite people cheered and sang to him. When it came time for presents, he was pretty happy to hunker down with the first 2 or 3 and could have cared less about the rest. Needless to say, he once again got way more than he needs and was spoiled rotten.

This is one of the areas that Noah and I disagree about. I think that our family and friends probably love spoiling him as much as I do. In fact, its one of my favourite things to do - going to Toys'r'Us is just as thrilling for me as it is for him. I want EVERYTHING!!! Noah, however, gets embarassed by all of the gifts and extravagance. I get where he's coming from; its a pretty disgusting show of consumerism and unnecessary spending. The big BUT in my mind is the joy - these people love James as much as we do and they delight in seeing him excited, laughing, and giddy. No matter what you call it, I'm just appreciative of all of the things that we don't have to buy, or be sad that we couldn't buy. It gives us a chance to buy him the things he REALLY needs - diapers, food, outings, sports - without sacrificing the needs of our family. I can already see the fun we're going to have this summer with the bubble mower, slide, Toy Story ball, hockey set, etc.

I'm glad we had the party and also glad its over. I know my little boy felt loved, special, and like number 1 all day.