Birthday babe.

Mr. Littles turned one on January 31st.

I had originally not wanted to have a party for him because, well, he's one. He won't remember it at all except for photos and presents that he got.

But then I started thinking...it is his first birthday, a major milestone in the many milestones he has yet to have. And my desire for him to have the best damn childhood ever outweighed the stress and cost of throwing him a party.

We threw the party at Matt Dishman Community Center. For a small cost you can rent a room, they set up tables and place settings for 20 kids. Included was the gym where they put out a bunch (and I mean a bunch) of cars and scooters and short basketball hoops and balls. It was awesome. We had 17 children and their parents show up. There would have been no way to fit all of those people in our tiny house without me having some sort of medical emergency. Kids were able to run around like, well, kids. It was perfect.

The best thing about the party was the fact that my sister, Janet, my brother, Robert, and my cousin, Nancy, came up from California to celebrate. I couldn't have done it without them, they were a huge help. Ben was ababa extraordinaire, calm and cool as always (balances out nicely with my OCD and craziness). He made a huge cake: vanilla with chocolate frosting, decorated with a robot.

We were overwhelmed with the generosity of all of our friends who took the time to come celebrate with us. I'd say that it won't happen again next year but I have a feeling that come the beginning of January I'll be looking for a way to top this year's festivities.