Ethan's birthday was last weekend. Hard to believe our little guy is seven. It seems like just yesterday we were careening over speed-bumps in the ambulance as he made his dramatic bum-first entrance into the world. I'll never forget the expression on his face when they handed him to me- "dubious" is probably the closest I can come to describing it. He glanced from me to Lance and then over at the EMT as if to say, "Seriously? These two?" We've seen that look a couple of times since then, and I'm guessing we will become even more familiar with it as we approach the teen years. All the more reason to enjoy his little-kid sweetness while it lasts. He is at an age where it's possible to have genuinely interesting conversations with him- he is particularly expansive and chatty at bedtime- and we're enjoying getting deeper glimpses into the inner workings of his mind. During one of these discussions a few weeks ago he was describing to me some aspect or other of his grand plans for the future, and I asked him whether he'd come to visit us after he was all grown up and on his own. "Yes!" he said without hesitation- and then after a moment's reflection: "If you're still alive." Nice.
Here are a few pictures from his party- we had it at an indoor-play place as Ethan had quite an extensive guest-list and I didn't think I was up to hosting 18 7-year-old boys without professional assistance.
He opted for a volcano cake this year. I think he would have preferred fiercer dinosaurs, but these were the only ones they had at the cake shop and his plastic ones were not to scale.
Note their cheerful expressions as they admire their nest, oblivious to the fiery death bearing down on them.I wanted to use a sparkler to get the full volcanic effect, but they are banned at the party place- apparently the sprinkler system is easily triggered and the smoke is too much. So we took it outside in the parking lot for that part.
It looked okay with just the regular candles, too.
While waiting for lunch to be served, the kids decided to do a little table-dancing, confirming my decision to hold the party off-site.
We had to draw the line when the shirts started coming off.
Here's Avery taking careful notes and filing it all away for future reference.
But for her the true highlight came the next day, when she discovered the off-cuts in the kitchen. (you can also see the remains of the volcano in the background.)
I went to put something away upstairs and returned to find her busily cramming fistfuls of cake into her face.
And now on to Easter! I was relieved to see that Easter will not be this early again until 2228, or something. By then it definitely will not be my problem, barring any major medical advances. (I love Easter, I just need a little time to breathe between celebrations.) But we have a yard full of daffodils and the neighbors' tulip trees are in full bloom just outside the study window, so at least it feels like spring. So far the London weather has been a pleasant surprise...
