Our Last First Birthday

Our youngest is now over a year old.  In fact, he’s nearly two months past his birthday.  But isn’t that the Third Child Gig?  Parents are delayed in the baby books, and the blog posts, and the printing of photos.  But hey, whether first or last or tucked in the middle, these kiddos are loved and cared for, no matter how lacking or robust the pages of their baby book are.

The Third Child Gig is what real life is like.  You have stripped off the pretenses of what you thought parenting would be, you’ve leveled out your over-expectations and kicked naiveté to the curb (cuz whose got time for that with three kids in tow?!).  Case in point: Cormac’s party had some fun ups and downs.  First, I managed to bake the most horrible cupcakes ever, that imploded and then promptly sealed themselves to the pan.  This is me feasting on what was salvageable at 11pm the night before the party because even imploded German’s Sweet Chocolate should still be eaten if there are good bites hidden in the crunchy mess.

Next, we had some interesting bouts of sickness surrounding the party.  A third of the guests had to cancel last minute because of illness, which was VERY fortunate.  Turns out, half of the people that could attend the party ended up sharing a GI bug which circulated through the system’s of our friends and family for the next week.  Our immediate family was not spared.  Let’s just say, the after party was unpleasant and leave it at that.

But the party itself?  It was great.  Low-key, with a sandwich bar and store-bought cupcakes, while the afternoon was filled with great conversations and catching up with loved ones.  At one point, there was a table filled to the brim with little cousins just laughing and hanging out.  One of those little moments in the big scheme of things that melts your heart and makes you think Life is Pretty Great.

Pretty remarkable how three kids can change in a year.

And just for the record: I didn’t totally bail on the third kid for photos.  None of the other kids have a monthly picture montage thingie, which seems to be a requirement these days.  But the third kid I did!  So here is Cormac, our Hope Baby after a loss, our very last baby, our lucky charm.

Happy birthday, sweet boy.  You are deliciously awesome like a freshly opened box of Lucky Charms.

Love, ~Momma, Daddy, Quincy, and Eloise