Bro-thday Bash

One year and one week ago, I was miserably, hugely pregnant with our 3rd. I didn’t care when he came out or how he came out, just that he came out.

So on the night of our firstborn’s 4th birthday, I didn’t even care when I started feeling signs of impending labor as I play skeeball at Chuck-e-Cheese.

And I certainly didn’t care when our baby finally made his grand entrance the next day, making him and his oldest brother 4 years and 1 day apart.

I still don’t care that their birthdays are back to back.

It’s fitting, actually, seeing as my husband and mine are 2 days apart…at the beginning of August.

With 4 out of our 5 family members’ birthdays this month, we’re all *very* birthdayed out by September. (Well, all but the toddler.)

In our house, during this month, dual-celebration is necessary.

And last weekend we did just that.

We invited our friends and family over for the first annual Bro-thday Bash.

BRO-thday Bash (broh-th-dey baSH): noun
one party with two themes for two brothers with birthdays one day apart

Did you follow that?

Me either.

Construction theme for one kid, BABY vs. WILD [brothers] theme for the other.

9 families, 30 children.

It was mass chaos of the most festive kind.

For the big kids, the excavator and wrecking ball won the day.

(Shoutout to my brother who sells tractors and brought this bad boy home from work.)

For the babies, the teensy tiny canteens and kid corral were solid gold.

(As were the pictures on the mantle that displayed all the ways our favorite one year old “survived” the year. Between brotherly “love” [read: torture] and the little clavicle mishap, he is a true survivor of the suburban wild.)

Heaven knows I love a good party theme.

But even more than that, I love a good reason to celebrate.

When I look at my freshly-turned 5 year old’s face, I see 5 years worth of love and joy and memories and personality to celebrate. I see God’s goodness so clearly in this “big” boy, and I am overwhelmingly thankful He would give us such a precious gift.

And my freshly-turned 1 year old? Oh, mercy. I never experience God’s faithfulness more than when I see these big brown eyes. This little soul came so far out of left field (according to our plans, anyway); yet just a short year later, we cannot imagine a home or a heart without him.