Loudest And Most Off-Key

One of Haley's neighborhood friends had a birthday party at a nearby park this weekend. Almost all of the kids were under the age of 3. Haley had a great time, as is almost always the case whenever cake, juice boxes, and goodie bags are present.

One of the things that amazed me the most was that Haley and the other kids actually played a game correctly! This may not seem like such a big deal, but at this age, the kids usually have a tough time understanding the rules of an organized game. For example, we tried to get them to play "Duck Duck Goose" awhile back, and never got past the first instruction of "sit in a circle". This time however, one of the mothers taught them "Animal Charades". She would show a picture of an animal to one of the kids, and they would act out that animal (including noises) and the other kids would guess. The kids loved it! And they were all really good at it too.

The highlight of the day for Nicole and I came when it was time to sing Happy Birthday. Most of the kids still have trouble singing this, but Happy Birthday was one of the first songs Haley memorized. So when the singing started, it was mostly mumbling... except for one voice that was louder and more off-key than all the rest. "Happy BIRTHDAY to YOOOOOOOU...." Nicole and I were doubled over with laughter.