BIRTHDAY BOY

There should be a law against children growing up so fast. Except when they’re being cranky, miserable, or just plain obstinate, that is.  There should be a formula, much like baby panadol, that we can just pop down to the chemists for whenever they show symptoms of growing up. But, then again, perhaps its best there isn’t. Otherwise I’d be tempted to slip some into their milk each morning so they’d stay forever young.  Forever sweet and innocent. Up for adventure, curious, uninhibited, believing in the impossible, possessing unquestionable faith in me. But then they’d never get to experience all the fun that us grown ups have, right.
In saying all this one of my biggest sources of joy is watching them grow, being there when they discover new abilities, interests and passions, and I encourage them as much as I’m able, as much as that scares me at times.  But this would explain why for Jaedon’s birthday recently we  bought him a pair of boxing gloves and a punching bag, and then took him rock climbing. Isn’t that the stuff little boys are made of.
And big boys.  🙂

Needless to say, both boys, big and little, had a blast. The birthday boy especially.  After a few rounds in the lounge room ‘ring’ with daddy, we headed to the local indoor climbing centre, where we met up with a few friends.

Time to harness up (and, yes, they are as complicated to put on as they look…)

Attaching the ropes

Having a practice on one of the easier walls

And out comes the inner monkey

He was much more interested in the ropes after all that. He’s certainly not afraid of heights (or much else for that matter)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee

And just to prove I’d never encourage him to do something I’m not prepared to do myself (I even made it to the top…)

Once mummy was peeled from the top of the wall, it was back home for the best part of the day. The cake. Chocolate cake.  mmmmmm

(while I’m happy to take credit for the actual baking of the cake. and for the ever-so-so delicate placing of the green icing that’s supposed to look like grass, the icing on the cake – so to speak – was all Matt’s handiwork. He graciously stepped in and took over when I threatened to throw the whole thing out the window. Cake decoration is not my forte…)

Jaedon thought it would be a good idea then to burn off all the cake we’d just eaten (not to mention the sweets from the recently tortured pinata), so once the guests all left we headed out to the trampoline, taking some of the balloons used for decorations with us.  Talk about fun.  About chocolate, fairy-bread, cadbury eclairs, smarties, columbine and cake fuelled fun.

That’s just four of my favourites from the slightly over a thousand I took. Yes, you read right.  In a moment of madness I decided I’d give this stop-motion film thing a go.  So I shot 961 frames, in succession, then bundled them into a slideshow (a very fast one) and added some gorgeous music.  I’ve never tried it before, and – technically –  it’s far from perfect.  To me, however,  it’s totally perfect.  It’s captured a wonderful, fun-filled evening, celebrating our boy and his life.
Feel free to watch it (pause it until it loads) but it’s kinda long, and filmed with mummy goggles on. But that’s ok. I’ll never know if you quit halfway through.  🙂

(Just a little note here to add that the music I used in the background is from a fab, fab, fab group I recently discovered called Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem. I totally fell in love with their songs, and everything about the way they sing them, as soon as I heard them.  I’m hoping they’ll decide to venture over this side of the Pacific some time.)

It’s taken me all day to post this.  I could have done it in one sitting, but then I’d have missed the cuddles on the couch, sharing a strawberry milkshake (through three straws), a trip to their favourite nut shop, a bounce on the trampoline, and playing trains at Sodor Island. Who’d trade that for sitting at the computer, honestly? 

Happy birthday, my sweet beautiful boy. Thanks for a wonderful day.