The morning after...

I've survived. The leftovers have been put in Tupperware containers, decorations taken down, gifts unwrapped and the growing pile of trash taken out. The weekend was mostly a blur of activity for me and I am sure everyone else I roped into aiding and abetting. Between getting the kids' pictures professionally taken Saturday morning, Samantha's party at the house later that day and Ian's party at My Gym on Sunday, it was a huge adrenaline rush for me and I anticipate the crash will come sometime tomorrow when the last of our company leaves to go back to Florida. My to-do list is longer than ever, but I refuse to stress over any of it. The posting of pictures, writing thank you notes, journaling baby books with new milestones, completing annual photo books for each of the kids and other miscellaneous items will all be done in their own sweet time.

All the time and effort in planning was more than worth it watching Samantha and Ian enjoy their parties. I really do believe that Sam knew Saturday's party was all about her. She loved being around all the family and the pictures of her eating cake for the first time will be a timeless souvenir of how cute she looked with chocolate frosting smeared all over her face. She even somehow knew to adjust her naps that day to be wide awake, fully alert and smiling for when it counted most.

Ian had a blast at his party. From the moment he ran in the front door to the last second of the party, he was a 38 pound ball of non-stop energy. He loved being the center of attention and ate it up. Ian sure knows how to have a good time.

Having two kids born just a week apart (and 3 years) I thought was going to be hard to figure out the birthday party thing. But I came to realize this past weekend that it was nice to have the parties back to back in the same weekend. Family was able to come in town to celebrate and get a 2 for 1 deal on the kids' birthdays and I can now take almost a full year off before having to start this over again.

The highlight of the weekend for me was taking a few moments at each of the parties and to watch it through the kids' eyes. It was heartwarming and made me feel so good to see how much they were enjoying themselves surrounded by family and friends who loved and cared for them so much.