The Really Belated Birthday Blog

We are awful parents. Zoe’s birthday was over a month ago, and we still haven’t written about it in the blog for posterity. In our defense, the week of Zoe’s birthday (which is also the week of our anniversary) opened a floodgate of activity at both home and office. More on that in a later post. First, let’s focus on Zoe and her special day.

Two-year birthdays are always a little bit of a gamble. The kids are just on the cusp of moving from independent play to playing with one another. So do you attempt the kids party? Or do you just plan a party for the adults and let the kids do their thing? We decided to go with the former choice and invite Zoe’s peers to join us for a day at the farm.

We have a nearby farm that opens to the public prior to Halloween and has a pumpkin patch, corn mazes, kid rides, farm animals, and all manner of fun distractions. The kids really seemed to enjoy it. Although as I said earlier, since almost all the kids in attendance were 2-years-old and younger, they all sort of did their own thing. The one exception was “other Zoe”. I don’t think we’ve mentioned it in the blog before, but our Zoe has a friend around the same age that is also named Zoe. The two girls seem to get along pretty well and were the only two kids to spend time together at the farm. One of the more notable moments was when the two decided to hold hands for the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. Awwwww.

There was a “train” that the kids loved and the parents hated. The “cars” were essentially plastic water barrels turned on their side with holes cut in them and wheels attached. These are all hooked together and towed along the bumpy farm grounds by a fast-moving tractor/ATV. Yes, its as uncomfortable as it sounds.

Then we all walked around to view the animals (and in some cases feed them) before heading back to our picnic area for some cake. This was followed by the aforementioned ride out to the pumpkin patch.

Everyone had a great time. When we got home, we opened Zoe’s presents. It really is amazing how different she is from her older sister, and how people have already picked up on it. Whereas Haley’s birthdays are princess and fairy filled affairs drenched in pink and lavender, Zoe’s birthday must have doubled the (admittedly small) number of trucks in our home. One of her favorite gifts was a toy garbage truck from Bunny. (You have no idea what a big deal the weekly arrival of the “Trash Truck” is at our home.) Our big gift for her this year was a Dora “mososaikel” (motorcycle) similar to a Big Wheel pedal trike from our childhood.