On Daniel's birthday, we started at the doctor's office, but never fear, it was for well-child checkups, which confirmed that both children are quite well. Edward continues to be quite average for height/weight (near 50th percentile for age) and Daniel is tall for his age (90th percentile) and proportionate for weight. No wonder he feels like a tank when you pick him up. Also, no wonder people ask us all the time if they're twins. Only about four inches and six pounds separate them.

Thankfully, neither of the boys needed shots at this visit. When I made the appointment, the receptionist asked if I was sure I wanted to schedule it on Daniel's birthday. Our doctor only sees well-child patients on Tuesday mornings so as difficult as it is to get appointments, I decided to run the risk.

After that it was off to school and work and then quite a busy afternoon, as I attempted to get the cake baked and the soup prepped for dinner before picking up the boys from school. Then, as it was amazingly warm (55 degrees!) of course we had to stay and play for a while on the school playground. I told Daniel it could very well be the only time in his life he plays outside without a jacket on his birthday.

Then it was home to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa who came to celebrate the big day. They kept the boys busy playing while I made dinner. Daniel requested "bacon soup" for his birthday dinner--a favorite recipe, but one that can't easily be made ahead of time. (Note: it's actually baked potato soup, but at one point Edward declared that he wouldn't eat it because he didn't like potatoes. We rechristened it "bacon soup" and both boys have devoured it ever since.)

At one point while I was cooking, Daniel came into the kitchen to report, "Mom, Grandma's playing with my garbage truck, and I didn't want her to!" Oh, those dastardly grandmas and their garbage-truck-stealing ways!

Another gem that was loud enough for me to hear from the kitchen while the boys were playing pirate in the living room: "Arrgh. You can not chop off my head. It's my birthday!"


When John got home it was (finally!!) time for presents. Daniel had been asking all afternoon, but I assured him that Dad would not want to miss him opening presents. Once he opened this present from Gram and PopPop, there were no more vehicle disputes with Grandma--his-and-hers garbage trucks.

He did learn not to play too rough with it though. Shortly after it was removed from its box he managed to yank hard enough to pull off the back tailgate. As he held the truck in one hand and the piece in another, he said in his best crestfallen Charlie Brown voice: "Broken on my birthday." Never fear. The toy is actually designed to withstand this type of preschooler aggression and was fixed immediately.

I did take out the fancy champagne flutes again for birthday dinner and my prediction almost came true. Daniel took his first drink and set the glass down, but ended up with the base of the glass on the rim of his plate, sending it toppling to the table. I made it worse by trying to catch it, which ended up splattering milk all over the kitchen. But at least the glass stayed on the table, so it was only milk to clean up and not shards of glass and a devastated birthday boy.

After being in charge of the lights while Daniel's birthday candles were lit, Edward said he was too full for cake and ice cream and bolted for the living room. What he really wanted was time to play with Daniel's new toys (including aforementioned garbage truck as well as a car transporter from Grandma and Grandpa) solo. We were impressed enough with his maturity and relieved he wasn't freaking out about Daniel being front and center that we did not hesitate to send him off. Daniel himself ended up eating his ice cream first along with a treat bag of M&Ms from Grandma and only had about one bite of his own birthday cake. He was serious about those M&Ms though. When one dropped on the floor John made a move like he was going to try to grab it. Daniel leaped down from his chair and literally body checked John to beat him to the rogue M&M.

The night after his birthday, I was "telling his day" (our calming ritual before bed) and included the detail that we ate left-over birthday cake for dessert. "I really liked my cake, Mom," he said, which was very sweet. (It was chocolate with pink frosting--cherry-flavored.) But then he was worried that Gram and PopPop didn't get to have any and suggested that we "put it in a box with lots of wrapping so it won't get broken and send it to them." He accepted my alternate plan of stashing half a cake in the freezer until their next visit. Will be interesting to see if he remembers.

These are not birthday stories, but still vintage Daniel:

Distracted at dinner, he was clinking a glass and plate together and delighting in sound of "metal." Told that these two items are not, in fact, metal:
D: "Well, what are they then?"
M: "Um, the glass is GLASS, and the plate is, I guess, maybe ceramic?"
D: "What's ceramic?"
M: "It's, well, it's kind of like clay."
D: waits a beat "Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of CERAMIC!" HA HA HA HA

One Tuesday afternoon, as I was helping him gather his things to take home, he stopped to tell me about one of his art projects, which involved dissolving sugar in water and then making crystals on a tinfoil-covered paper plate. He asked if we could do it at home and gave a very specific, step-by-step account of how they made them. While he was talking, his teacher, who was cleaning the classroom as the other kids and teacher were on the playground, stopped what she was doing to listen. When he was done and I'd exclaimed over the beauty of his creation, she said, "You know, Mary, we did that project on Friday." She was amazed at how much detail he remembered four days later.

Final quotable moment requires some back story. When we were visiting my parents after Christmas, we stopped in at my mom's library one afternoon while she was working. A friend of hers who is a fan of this blog and thus eager for the opportunity for in-person interaction with its heroes, came up to the Children's Department to visit. She's a tech specialist, so when Daniel selected a DVD to take home and "watch with PopPop" she invited him to her office to ensure it was clean and smooth for best viewing.

Out of the blue one afternoon while walking home from school last week, Daniel asked, "Mom, what was the name of Gram's friend at the library?"
"Becky?"
"Yeah! Becky. Remember when I got to go to the basement with her to clean the DVD of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer? That was fun!"

Speaking of fun, we finally have snow and the boys enjoyed an afternoon of sledding after school on Friday. Woo hoo! They also learned the finer points of walking to school in a snowstorm, including when the wind is blowing directly in your face, look down at the sidewalk since the top of your head is better able to withstand the chill. Only their eyes were exposed, as both boys got these facemask hats for Christmas, which they promptly dubbed "ninja hats." (I actually think they kind of look like hijabs, but regardless, they're warm!) Edward also had trouble with foggy glasses. Life lessons.