Life with Baby McDonnell: Liam's First Birthday

Grandma Schultz came into town for Liam's first birthday, but she just barely made it, because even as I drove to the airport to pick her up, the flurries had begun. Nashville doesn't usually get much snow, so the city more or less shuts down when it gets even an inch. But the weekend of Liam's first birthday we got SIX INCHES! It kept us at home on Friday (ice + no salt = dangerous even for a chicago girl) so I didn't get to go out and get the birthday decorations I had wanted. No balloons, no streamers, no party hat for the birthday boy. I was feeling seriously bummed. I was committed to not going overboard for his birthday (ahem, no pony and clown etc). But still I had wanted to make it a fun and festive and memorable occasion. After all, a baby only turns one once.

And I knew also that the snow might mean that no one else would come. I thought our next door neighbors would brave the trek, but all of Liam's friends from playgroup seemed unlikely to come.

So it was with great happiness that I got a few emails that morning saying that some of his friends who lived nearby were going to brave the snow! In the end it wound up being a wonderful group of folks and just the right size that none of the babies got overwhelmed. Liam's gal pal Cora came with her mom Ariana. Dillon, a february girl from Liam's playgroup, came with her mom and dad. Quetzal Sol, a march baby from Liam's group, made the trip out with his mom and dad. There were babies crawling all over the place, chasing balloons, crawling under the coffee table and hiding out together, and shaking noisy toys. It was delightful.

Singing Happy Birthday (aka Flame Swallower)