It's great to be 8!

We celebrated Peter's birthday last Saturday.  It looks like he may have turned 71 but that is just our version of "8" with what we had on hand.  So is the pile of crepes, I dropped the ball on a cake and the felt birthday crown.  But I was later told by the birthday boy that those were the best crepes ever (I suspect it has to do with the rich duck eggs I threw in).

In the past Peter's birthday always included Indian carry out.  You see my first two children arrived more than a week early and it was so frustrating to have Peter's due date arrive with a baby still nestled inside me. Paul had bribed me with the spending rights to whatever extra tax refund would come if he was born before the year's end.  I spent a week jogging on the treadmill and eating spicy Indian food to help facilitate the process.  Nothing happened except a bit of heartburn.  Peter came in his own time and what a thrill it was to finally hold him.  It was also exciting to later discover he loved Indian food.  He still does so I suppose we'll have to continue the celebration with some carry out or frozen Deep Foods sometime this week (or the weeks to come if I end up passing by my due date). 

But there was no complaining about the treats served on this year's birthday.  Paul took the kids into Jackson to the Parlour for a banana split big enough to feed the whole family.  This was followed by a stop at the Toy House where Peter picked out the Hogwarts Express Lego set.    

They spent the rest of the day lost in the joy of Legos.  

The celebrating continued into today when our kind neighbors brought by a personalized cake.  

And what made this birthday so special was Peter's baptism.  We kept it very simple and were grateful for family and friends who were able to attend and participate.  I'm still a bit sorry that my low energy prevented me from hosting even the simplest of gatherings after but perhaps that is what made this event all the more special - I got to focus on and enjoy the baptism without the distraction or pressure to entertain.

Peter is a great kid.  Full of enough energy, funny faces and funny commentaries to throw a whole crowd of children into "the goofs".  And just when this mother has had enough of "the goofs", this growing boy wraps his arms so tenderly around my giant belly and reminds me of the phrase I often chanted when he was smaller, "nothing could be sweeter than my little Peter".  A few years ago he suggested we start counting our hugs, we lost count beyond a couple 1,000 so now when we hug we make up some ridiculously large number like 1,004,562,001.  Oh how I love being the lucky mother who gets to share so many laughs and hugs with this special boy.