The Bowling Ball

As we mentioned last week Owen & Gus would not let Amy and I bypass our birthdays without celebrating it just like the professionals do -- in other words, like a four year-old would celebrate it.

On Thursday night we took the kids out to eat and had the staff come out to serenade Amy with "Happy Birthday." They brought her ice cream, which was quickly devoured by Owen, Gus, and Tess. Then on the way home I stopped to get the birthday cake that I had ordered. So dessert #2 was held in our kitchen after which there were three children with sugar levels rivaling a female East German sprinter's testosterone level.

Rather than try to squelch the kids' energy by telling them that they shouldn't chase each other around the downstairs at full speed, Amy & I encouraged the kids to run faster to get all the energy out before we even contemplated baths & bedtime. All three children happily obliged, and even Tucker got in on the action of chasing each other around and making noise.

Unfortunately for Gus, Tucker moved over in front of him during a chase sequence sending Gus tumbling head first into the hard floor. I had always thought that lumps on the head were things of Popeye and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. But no, they are very real as a lump the size of a buckeye protruded from Gus's forehead for the next several hours. In true hardheaded fashion, Gus took the lump like a champ and considered it his badge of courage.

When we celebrated my birthday on Saturday, Amy took the boys out to the dollar store so they could buy some balloons and the boys could get Dad one present each. When they allowed me back in the house to see the decorations and open the presents, I was treated to a slingshot gun that propelled rubber space shuttles and a plastic toy gun that shot ping-pong balls -- in other words, exactly what a dad needs and purely a 100% coincidence that the boys might also enjoy them.

I didn't even get them out of the packages before the boys snatched them and ran off with their new acquisitions. It reminded me of this episode of The Simpsons from season 1.

Birthdays are great when celebrated with little ones that love to celebrate.

Cheers!