Big Bites

So Declan turned one on Wednesday.  And aside from all the emotional transitions we were absorbing, there were some physical ones too.  The phrase "biting off more than you can chew" comes to mind.  Because we're so adept at time management, Rich and I spent last week cramming to finish painting Declan's new room upstairs, which we didn't finish until Wednesday night.  And that was just the beginning.  We had a party to throw.  

Declan's party was at 2:00p.m. on Saturday and we worked right up until it started.  After moving all the nursery furniture upstairs, we then transformed three other rooms in the house.  We'll just say that as of Friday at noon, our main living room contained piles and piles of, well, crap and our basement was in disarray.  If it weren't for my friend Becky who spent an hour helping me move around the furniture in my living room, I think I may have had a mental breakdown.  This is when you know you have PMS, people.  Rich, he knew since Tuesday, but I passionately refuted his absurd ideas.  Needless to say, I added way more stress to my baby anniversary than was needed.

In all my whirlwind of house transformation madness I neglected to really prepare for the party.  So Friday night I was scrambling to make the food, punch, and, my first priority, the adult punch.  I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to have adult punch, but by then I really didn't care.  

Amazingly, everything came together and I don't think anyone really noticed the placement of my wing back chairs...

Declan, meanwhile, had his first case of people overload.  I could just see the inner dialogue.  With every new face at the door there was recognition, slight panic, and then relaxation once he spied Mommy or Daddy.  To be fair, Declan was really great.  I think it was all the sugar.  In addition to some seriously sugary punch, Declan loved his cake.  I really know when he loves something when he points and grunts.  And there was a lot of insistent grunting and pointing at the cake.  Success!

My friend Trisha put it best.  She said that a first birthday party is like your wedding.  It whirls by and you don't get a chance to talk to everyone as much as you want.  We had a blast though.