In exactly one week the Bean turns one. ONE! Mr P&P and I have been taking turns all weekend to come up with cliches like:
“Christ he’s going to be one next week”
“This time last year he wasn’t even here yet…”
“OMG he’s almost not a baby anymore”
"I feel old..."
What we haven’t done, however, is plan a first birthday party. We haven’t bought him a present or even decided what, if anything, we will give him. Does that make us really, really mean parents?
“Christ he’s going to be one next week”
“This time last year he wasn’t even here yet…”
“OMG he’s almost not a baby anymore”
"I feel old..."
What we haven’t done, however, is plan a first birthday party. We haven’t bought him a present or even decided what, if anything, we will give him. Does that make us really, really mean parents?
The truth is that I just don’t know how to celebrate this. Yes it’s a massive milestone, but it’s not one he’s aware of. Any type of celebration would really only be for us. If his grandparents were nearby we would probably spend the day with them, which he’d love, but they’re not. We could invite friends over instead, but again, that’d be for us not him.
On top of all that, Mr P&P is in the very final weeks of thesis-writing. Every now and again he surfaces from behind his screen, a slightly diluted and hunted-down look about him. Even the most simple of everyday requests, such as “could you take out the rubbish when you have a moment” are met with an expression of confusion. I don’t think he could cope with as weighty an existential conundrum as “how shall we celebrate the Bean’s birthday?”.
So I don’t think we’ll be having a party. What I hope we’ll do instead is all the everyday things that the Bean loves.
Go to the playground
Blow bubbles
Scoot around in the laundry basket
Bang some blocks together
Play peekaboo with the curtains
Have lunch out and charm the waiters into giving us free focaccia again
Curl up and watch videos on Youtube
And you know what, I’m perfectly happy with that. A party would have been fun but he doesn't really need loads of people coming round (and a mummy stressing about what to feed them). He doesn't need lots of presents. What he needs is for us to take a break from the humdrum, to show him how much we like spending time with him.
And when daddy's thesis is finally done, we'll have a MASSIVE knees-up.
On top of all that, Mr P&P is in the very final weeks of thesis-writing. Every now and again he surfaces from behind his screen, a slightly diluted and hunted-down look about him. Even the most simple of everyday requests, such as “could you take out the rubbish when you have a moment” are met with an expression of confusion. I don’t think he could cope with as weighty an existential conundrum as “how shall we celebrate the Bean’s birthday?”.
So I don’t think we’ll be having a party. What I hope we’ll do instead is all the everyday things that the Bean loves.
Go to the playground
Blow bubbles
Scoot around in the laundry basket
Bang some blocks together
Play peekaboo with the curtains
Have lunch out and charm the waiters into giving us free focaccia again
Curl up and watch videos on Youtube
And you know what, I’m perfectly happy with that. A party would have been fun but he doesn't really need loads of people coming round (and a mummy stressing about what to feed them). He doesn't need lots of presents. What he needs is for us to take a break from the humdrum, to show him how much we like spending time with him.
And when daddy's thesis is finally done, we'll have a MASSIVE knees-up.
