The Small Family     

Well, as most of you know, Theo’s REAL birthday is April 5, not April 4. But close enough. And I was in labor all of April 4 (in fact, I was sure he’d be born on April 4, but then the little monkey took FOREVER to come out), so it really IS close enough to call our April 4th blog “Happy Birthday Theo!”

Besides, we spent the weekend of April 3rd and 4th celebrating Theo’s birthday, since Chris and I have to work on the 5th. (Bummer to have a birthday on a Monday, but at least Theo doesn’t know the difference.) So we have a TON of pictures this week, since there was much merrymaking all weekend (much needed by all members of the Small family, since it was a grueling work week leading up to the weekend).

We didn’t do a formal party for Theo, but we made sure it was a super-special weekend for him. As most of you know, I’m not a big party person--though I admit that I really enjoyed our wedding, and I’m glad Chris talked me into doing a “party” for that! But in general, I much prefer very small-scale things. In my family, we didn’t have birthday parties for a couple reasons. First, we lived across the country from all our relatives, so there wasn’t any family around to celebrate with. And as for parties with friends, my Mom was a firm believer that birthdays were to celebrate your birth and the fact that you had become part of the family--she felt like parties with friends could sometimes turn into a situation where it became all about the gifts and not about celebrating your birth. But that doesn’t mean birthdays were ignored in my family--far from it! I remember my birthday as such a special day every year. Everyone was super nice to me all day (not that they ever weren’t nice, but you get the idea--my parents and siblings went out of their way to make me feel special on my birthday), and my Mom would make whatever I wanted for dinner that night…even if my brother and sister hated it! That was the rule--the birthday girl (or boy) got to choose the meal. And after dinner, we opened presents and had cake baked from scratch, which my Mom very carefully decorated every year. My Mom has a real artistic talent, and she would draw great pictures on our cakes every year.  

So when I became a mother, I wanted that same specialness for Theo. I wanted him to be showered with love on his special day, and I wanted to let him know how so, so glad we are that he is part of our world. Of course, at two he doesn’t so much get all of that, but when he’s an adult, I hope he will look back at his birthdays as special days, like I look back on mine.

And so, we set out to have a weekend that Theo would love. Saturday the stormy weather cleared up, so we decided to drive down to San Francisco and go to the zoo there. And wow, what a gorgeous, gorgeous day in the city. Blue sky, breezy…beautiful! Theo had a blast at the zoo--he’s finally at the age where he really notices the animals, and when we got home Saturday night and mentioned the zoo, he listed off some of the animals he had seen that day. (He can’t say all of their names, but he makes their sounds for the ones he can’t say yet.) He even got to pet a goat in the petting zoo, which was really neat. I suspect his favorite part was the fraffs, since he mentioned them a couple times Saturday evening. And I knew he had a great time because at one point, when I picked him up to carry him over to another exhibit, he spontaneously gave me a kiss without any prompting. Awwww! My heart melted right then and there…

After the zoo, we headed over to the Ferry Building for lunch. I had a couple oysters on the half shell (while Chris looked on and tried not to gag!). Theo seemed very keen to try one, but alas, no raw fish for the boy until he’s much older. Then the three of us went over to Gott’s Roadside (formerly Taylor’s Refresher) for burgers and fries. We had thought to try Boccalone: Tasty Salted Pig Parts, but they were out of prosciutto. Next time! (I realize the name of that restaurant sounds ridiculous, but it’s actually supposed to have really good salami, prosciutto, ham, etc, and we were craving sandwiches. It’s run by Chris Cosentino, who I believe currently has a show on the Food Network.) We finished up with gelato (for me) and sorbet (for Chris and Theo), then headed home.

Saturday night I decorated Theo’s cake--you’ll see pictures in this week’s album. As my Mom always did for me, I baked the cake from scratch. Actually, it was my third attempt. Last week I tried a new cake recipe--red velvet. I wanted to test-run it before I made it for Theo’s birthday. Thank goodness I did--it was dry and gross. So Friday night I attempted to bake a family favorite--chocolate vinegar cake. But that’s a rather tough cake to bake (the edges tend to overcook while the middle is still uncooked), and indeed I ran into the usual problems. So Saturday morning, I baked yet another chocolate cake. And then Saturday night, it was cooled enough to frost and decorate.

I posted a picture of it on Facebook, and my very blunt and hilarious niece, Noelle, asked me if the brown things were supposed to be “big turds.” So in case you’re wondering the same thing, no. My thought was that they would be roadside boulders…but I suppose if you prefer to think of them as big mammoth feces, be my guest!

On Sunday, we headed to the Railroad Museum, where we met Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Tom. Theo was very excited to see his grandparents there and to run around looking at all the trains. It’s such a great museum for kids--lots of room for them to run around, and very little they can break. It was a stormy, cold day, too, so a perfect day for an indoor activity.

After the museum, we came back to our house for light lunch snacks and visiting. Theo coerced Grandma Kathy (a willing participant) into reading many books and coloring a picture, and he had a lot of fun stealing Grandpa Tom’s hat, too. I made white chicken chili for dinner, with cornbread on the side. Oh, and white sangria, which I’ve been promising Kathy for years. And of course, the cake for dessert--I’m pleased to report that it turned out well. Theo was very interested in the trucks on the cake and thought the green coconut grass was very cool. He ate a bit of cake, but was mostly interested in playing with the trucks on it!

I think one of Theo’s favorite presents is “Mow Mow.” Theo, Grandma Diane, and I went to Auntie Lynnie’s house on Thursday for lunch, because she wanted to give Theo his birthday presents. One thing she bought him was a talking lawnmower. I knew he would love this because he is obsessed with landscapers, lawnmowers, and all things gardening. And indeed, he was delighted with “Mow Mow,” as he calls it, and has been pushing it all over the place since he got it! For her trouble, Auntie Lynnie even got a kiss from Theo. Those are few and far between, so she was feeling pretty special! :-)

Theo also got a really nifty workbench from Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Tom, which he very much wanted to play with…but we need to build it first. And Grandma Diane got him some more utensils for his beloved kitchen, along with a set of Lincoln logs, which I can’t wait to play with! (I always loved Lincoln logs as a kid.)

We’re saving our presents for Theo (other than a couple books and a little backpack) for his real birthday (Monday) because he seemed a little overwhelmed by everything even without ours. Besides, it’s neat for him to have something to open on his actual birthday.

And so wraps up our weekend of fun. We’re so glad that we and Theo got to spend his birthday with all three of his living grandparents--what a treat! And now, I think I can officially say that I have a little boy. He’s not a baby anymore, is he? In fact, I believe he may have officially reached the age of “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe my kid just said that!” I’ll share a funny story from today to wrap up this post. Grandma Kathy will freely admit that she has always been quite well endowed. She’s not thrilled by this fact and would actually prefer to be smaller on top. But, you work with what you’re given, right? Anyway, I am not particularly well endowed--pretty average, really. So Theo has never seemed to take much notice of any of this…until today. On two separate occasions he wandered up to Grandma Kathy, pointed to her chest, and yelled loudly, “Whoa, WOW!” If it had been anyone other than close family or friend, I would’ve been mortified…but Grandma Kathy just laughed and said, “I’ve heard that all my life, Theo!”

Sigh…two years ago, I had a tiny baby struggling to make his way into the world. And today, I have a full-fledged “boob man,” apparently. :-)