Robin Artemis photo gallery

Robin's First Birthday, 11 April, 2012

It's party time! We've survived one year with Robin, and a delightful year it's been too. At least some of the time. We planned a small party for him for Easter Monday morning, two days before his real birthday. And then he was sick, and then Sparrow was sick, and then he got sick again, and most people weren't free to come (which we expected) and those that were had got sick too, and we just said "Let's cancel it and have a quiet little celebration ourselves. And that was lovely and peaceful.
First event of the morning: balloons. On the bed.

Turns out that six balloons is more than enough for two children to charge through.

Robin was ecstatic at getting to play with balloons.

Sparrow was having truckloads of fun.

There might have been some clowning around.

Everybody got in on the fun.

Mummy, why are you looking at the camera instead of throwing me a balloon? Can I look too?

Quick, catch it!

A little later on, after we'd had a chance to all eat breakfast and get dressed, it was present time. Robin got straight into the spirit of things.

His present from Sparrow. The week before I asked her what she thought he would like and she said "Pink". On re-asking, she said "Black". Eventually we refined her verbalisation of this concept to a pink or black box containing "things" that were possibly "treats". So I was a little blank as to what to direct her towards, but thought something musical might be good. Australian Geographic had these ladybird castanets so we bought three of them and Sparrow helped me wrap them up separately and then we put them in the black bag. Robin was less good with the idea of unwrapping lots of little things, but he did like feeling around the ladybirds with his fingers and working out what they did.

Robin is unwrapping his present from Mummy and Daddy, or at least starting to - James playing the castanet was more interesting than something he couldn't yet see. A ladybird in the hand is worth two in the bush, or something like that.

We've helped him open his present from Grandma - a little shovel and two digging forks. He is always digging in the dirt in the garden so this means I will be able to find my trowel when I want it now. James is borrowing one of the forks to open the present from Oma and Granddad, while Robin clutches the other two digging implements.

Right. I know how these go together. Both kids thought the alphabet block thing was great. Sparrow is at the stage where the alphabet and numbers are interesting, Robin's a long ways from that yet but likes that they turn around when he fiddles with them.

Playing with the present from James and me. I had some dinosaur finger puppets stashed away to bring out when it seemed suitable, and this seemed like a good time. We'll be able to use them in the car when we drive to Perth in a few weeks.

Sparrow loved them and could name the Triceratops. Robin was a little more vague about them but liked the interaction and the conversation.

And finally, cake. After a little playtime Sparrow and I went to the kitchen and made Robin some birthday cupcakes. It was my old banana bread recipe which I know without measurements, but had to tell Sparrow what the measurements were when I haven't looked at the recipe for over ten years. So between my hazy recollection and Sparrow's haphazard measurements they came out a little funny. But she and I had fun making them. Robin had no idea how to blow out the candles but liked that they were there. Sparrow sang Happy Birthday all the way through with us instead of falling silent and listening like she usually does. We all had a bite of cake and then that was enough. Both kids were still too sick to want to eat much, and I think nobody liked the bicarbonate-of-soda flavouring :-). And about twenty minutes later one little boy asked to go to sleep and then passed out, exhausted. So he had a wonderful morning.