***************************************************************************
The Gemini Crickets Official Club Blog has moved to: http://gcblog.typepad.com/gemini_crickets_club_blog/
Please visit us in our new home for the latest posts. See you there!
***************************************************************************
It’s birthday party season! The sweet aroma of cupcakes fill the air, colorful balloons decorate homes and party venues, children’s laughter and shrieks of delight can be heard miles away, smooth wrapping paper and bows are quickly ripped into and the taste of sweet apple juice and creamy ice cream leave us with sugar highs. One set of twins in our playgroup of 8 sets of twins has already turned two and my twins are turning two this Friday. For the next few months, a set of twins will turn two every couple weeks.
Where are you going to have their party?
What’s the theme?
What will they wear?
What kind of food are you serving?
Are you making the cake or buying one?
These are the questions that the moms in my playgroup have discussed at each play date. These are the questions that have kept me up at night since Christmas.
Why does planning their second birthday party stress me out so much? For me, my twins are my first kids and will be my last. On the day of their first birthday, I cried while vacuuming the floor because I realized I am only going to plan a first birthday one time. There will only be one first birthday, and one second birthday, etc., etc. I suddenly felt the pressure to make every milestone and every event a really big deal because after all, I was only going to do it ONE time.
For their first birthday, it was easy to limit the guests to close friends and family. The kids weren’t even walking yet and they were happy to have a balloon and dig into a mound of sugary birthday cake. The idea of planning a second birthday where we could invite their toddler friends and let them run around and play together, share some snacks and eat cake felt like a wonderful task if a bit overwhelming. Those questions haunted me again, “Where will we have the party? Will we serve food? How many kids should we invite?” Even more importantly, I worry one or both kids will get sick right before their birthday or they won’t sleep well the night before their party and be cranky the entire time. The party will be in the morning (aren’t all 2 year olds happiest in the mornings?) How in the world are my husband and I going to get them fed and ready, get our selves ready and get to the party site on time while loading and unloading the car full of food and decorations? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is what stresses me out these days!
It’s amazing how much all the kids in our play group have changed over the last year. And what a big difference birthday parties will be from last year to this year. The kids are running around, eating independently, singing, dancing, holding hands and learning new words at an amazing rate. Birthday parties have taken on a whole new meaning. When my son sees anything that resembles dessert, he shouts, “CAKE!” He is quickly learning that birthday parties equal cake and he is loving that. My daughter just wants to hold all the balloons and open all the presents – even if they are not hers. In preparation for their own birthday, we have been practicing how to blow out candles. And you should see their faces light up when my husband and I sing Happy Birthday – two times, of course!
So as we make our way through the birthday party circuit in the next few months, I will treasure each moment and each milestone not only for my own kids, but for all the kids we’ve come to know and love in our twins play group. I know that we will be celebrating birthday parties together for years to come and every year we will be saying, “Can you believe how much they have changed?” But tonight I won’t be thinking about how much they have changed, instead I will lay awake in bed wondering what to put in the goodie bags and did I buy enough Sesame Street plates and napkins?
Posted by Amy T. (February 21, 2008)
