Cake first

We celebrated Andrew's second birthday at Monkey Joe's on Saturday, April 10. It was the biggest party I'd ever attended, let alone hosted. Twenty-seven kids joined us, including five babies who didn't climb on the equipment but who had a great time hanging out. I didn't know we knew twenty-seven kids.

Let me just say: I never thought I'd be that mom. The one who plans birthday parties months in advance and makes cute invitations. It's not me. Except apparently it is. I love it.

We'd been talking about birthdays for a while, about how we were going to go to a special place to jump and how our friends would be there and we would eat pizza and cake. We got a test run with Grandpa Joe's birthday on April 6. Cards were given. The song was sung. Cake was eaten. A second piece of cake was demanded. Mom said the cake was all finished (at which point Mom received death glares from her family for being a mean mom). Andrew looked down at the end of the table at the half-sheet cake that was still sitting there because we were not bright enough to hide it, then looked up at me. "Surely you don't think I'm that stupid," he said, pointing at the cake.

Saturday arrived. Party day. We munched on bagels and cereal bars at the house and then went to visit Sivi at the nail place. Andrew met Kim, our sweet manicurist, and her daughter Kathy. Andrew now thinks all women named Kathy are Vietnamese, because he knows two of them, and they both are. He ate his apple slices and people-watched.

Apple slices. Proud mom moment here (that would be sarcastic). When driving to the nail place, we passed a McDonald's that we used to frequent but we haven't been to in a month or more. I didn't slow down or otherwise indicate that we were going there. So you can imagine my surprise and guilt when Andrew exclaimed, "Food! Eat!" when he saw the golden arches. I need no excuse to drink a gallon of Diet Dr. Pepper before noon, so I drove through for a drink and apple dippers (minus the caramel sauce).

After leaving the salon, he said he was still hungry. I figured I should amortize my fast-food guilt, so I drove through Sonic and got him a grilled cheese sandwich. But I got a banana for his side instead of tater tots. He ate half his sandwich and talked to imaginary doggies as we drove home.

In case anyone's keeping count, Andrew's food total for the day so far is:

-- half a whole-wheat bagel with cream cheese

-- strawberry cereal bar
-- 5 or 6 apple slices
-- half a grilled cheese sandwich
-- a couple of cups of milk
-- a couple of cups of ice water

The stars aligned for me: Andrew was asleep by 12:15, slept for nearly 3 hours, AND woke up in plenty of time to get to the party. He quite often doesn't go down until 1 and sleeps close to 4 hours, so I figured I'd have to wake him up. He must have sensed the imminence of cake.

We watched George and Jerry for a little while, then began our daily Greek tragedy of changing diapers and getting dressed. I packed some little containers of chicken breast and steamed broccoli for the road since it was snack time. He ate some of the chicken. I held off on the broccoli because my car has enough bizarre smells without adding the odor of microwaved broccoli.

Finally we got to Monkey Joe's. Auntie Ali was already there. We checked in, Andrew endured a wrist band's being affixed to him, and then it was time for some pre-party play. I managed to lose Andrew in the maze of inflatables before the guests even arrived. It was the first time that day, but it wasn't the last.

5:00. People! Here are some of the guests:

Cara and her mom, Paige (baby Hailey and dad Saul escaped the camera):



Emmett:



Trey:



John, obviously not having any fun at all:



Matthew S., gone (from Andrew's class) but definitely not forgotten:



Matthew's baby sister, Rebecca, and their mom, Nina:



Petra:



Nisha and her mom, Maria (who works with me):



Carter, who had the misfortune of suffering both an eczema breakout and an allergy attack shortly before he arrived and was itching like crazy but was a real trooper:



Conner, whose smile says it all:



Conner's baby sister, Cecilia, and their mom, Valerie:



Luke, our neighbor, whom Andrew loves and who loves Andrew. Luke is 10 months old and threw down with the 2 year olds. He also made his way through a piece of pizza pretty well.



Grant:



Grant's big sister, Georgia:



Juliana and Lucas, SuperTwins:




Hannah (whom Andrew now calls "Hhhhhhhhhhannah" instead of "Nana"):



Hannah's baby sister, Maya:



Brielle:



Callie:



Phillina (mom), Madelyn, Barry (dad) and Cameron. Cameron and Madelyn are twins. Cameron is about 400% bigger than Madelyn.



Charlotte:



And I can't forget our Andrew!








Andrew: "MIIIIIIIINE!!!!"
Conner: "Chill out, man."
Grant: "Dude, Davidow, what's up?"

Then there's me. Exhausted but happy.



Everyone played for more than an hour. By this time, Andrew was capital-H-hungry, so we covertly fed him chicken chunks about 20 feet away from the Absolutely No Outside Food or Drinks Permitted sign. Then we herded into the Green Room (as opposed to the Purple Room or Red Room or Blue Room, all of which were also full of partygoers -- have I mentioned this place is a cash cow?) for pizza and cake. I walked around the complex (which is capital-H-huge, by the way) rounding everyone up, so by the time I got to the room, this is what I saw:



We had 10 large pizzas and not one bit left over and I think some of the grown-ups didn't get any. Man, kids can eat. Mine included. That slice never left his hand, except when he put it down to double-fist his cake. This shot was taken while we were singing Happy Birthday. I thought, and about 12 people have told me since, that Andrew's smile was priceless. He was ecstatic but shy at the same time. He was trying to hide his smile but he just couldn't. Even when his mouth was full of pizza or cake, he was smiling.



Speaking of cake:



The kid barely responds to Andrew anymore. What else could I do? The cake was designed by an up-and-coming, single-named pastry chef you may have heard of. Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream icing and a vanilla cream cheese filling. And a caterpillar.

Andrew ate two pieces and would have eaten more had he not gotten distracted by the Monkey Joe's employee stomping on the empty pizza boxes.

Oh, and the title of this blog? At first when we talked about the party, Andrew would say the names of the people who were going to come. Then he talked about pizza and cake, and the friends fell by the wayside. Then it was just cake. Then (and now) all he would say is "cake first."

It's a pretty good approach to life.

When Andrew was born, my dad's announcement email said he was born into a room full of love and Davidows. Same thing this night, plus tons of good friends. I think this picture sums it up.



UPDATE (May 17, 2010)
We donated all the gifts to Texas Children's Hospital.  Here's the thank-you card.