2 BIRTHDAYS AND A PARADE

We started the morning with a brunch party to celebrate Manu's 2nd birthday. James had to point out all the "cah's" and "wu-eee-ul's" on the way to the party. (Jay is tilting to the right not because James is short, but because he hurt his back at work and has looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa ever since)

This photo is blurry (due to James' curious fingers on the camera lens), but I had to post it because I thought it was cute that Cora was so taken with Manu. (He's much too old for you, sweetheart)

Sophie and Alex got Manu an awesome train table for his birthday, and all the little party guests enjoyed it immensely.The kids were pretty good about sharing. Pretty good...The bridge was James' favorite part.I had a break from The Queen when Sandy and Christina took turns with her.Christina even managed to get Cora to take a little nap. I tried not to be jealous, but it was hard. Baby Doll NEVER sleeps like this with me. She looks mighty comfy though, doesn't she? And no, Christina is not napping along with her, admist the goings-on of the party. I just caught a blink.We had some fun with the balloons...

I think Cora's peach fuzz stood up a whopping 3/4 inch!

James ate his chocolate chip banana muffin. Then he ate Manu's as well.James had fun test driving Manu's mini ATV/tractor thingy. And his Cozy Coupe. And his tricycle. Though he tipped over on the trike and no longer liked it.Manu had an adorable train-shaped birthday cake. With blue frosting for the engine section, if you can't tell from his cute little lips.Brunch lasted through the start of James' naptime, so he fell asleep in the car on the way home, naturally. Unfortunately, he didn't STAY asleep once we got home, so he went all day on a mere 30 minutes of nap. This led to fussiness later in the evening. Naturally. (Please note that Cora didn't sleep at all in the car. Or at home during our intermission between parties. She went all day off just the 30 minutes she napped with Christina. No idea how she lasted until bedtime without a major meltdown.)Next up was Coltin's 2nd birthday. We were late getting there due to the repaving of the streets in our "neighborhood". They hadn't bothered to warn us they were doing that. (By the way, we drove both cars because we were meeting a potential buyer that evening, not because we didn't want to ride together)James and Coltin are in the same class at daycare, and Dawn and I are told they're buds. It was fun to see that for ourselves at Coltin's party. The boys played really well together.Cora decided to be a Mama's Girl and not let others hold her at the party. She loves when I wear necklaces.Last, but not least, was the Christmas Parade of Lights. James teetered back and forth between liking the bands and the floats, then crying/fussing. He definitely didn't like the motorcycles or the fire engines. I admit, they were darn loud. And like I mentioned, he had basically missed his daily nap.Since Jay hurt his back, he's been under doctor's orders not to lift anything over 10 lbs. That includes the kids. Even Cora (who weighs in well over 15 lbs now). So, when I had to break to nurse Cora midway through the parade, Christina offered to take over with James. She sure had her arms full with Will AND James.So we recruited Al to assist. James didn't mind a bit. In fact, before the parade, when Al helped us cart James up the (steep) stairs to the balcony party (hosted by Jen, the new renter of the awesome downtown apartment that Sandy used to rent), James laid his head down on his shoulder and closed his eyes. For a minute I had thought the kid might just drift off and miss the parade!

James is getting so heavy. And Cora's not much better when lugged around in her carseat (she tricked us earlier in the day by falling asleep in the carseat). Many thanks to all of you who helped me schlep my babes around today. And Happy Birthday again to Manu and Coltin! We feel very lucky that James has some friends his age to hang with. Thanks for inviting us - we had a great time at your parties!