The Neglected Middle Child Has Another Birthday Party

All reports are in . . . after Saturday, Zekers has officially consumed enough cake and ice cream to last him until his next birthday.

For party #2, at Grandpa & Grandma Miller's house, we did an Elmo theme. The cake came together without a hitch, and both Zekers and cousin Esther (who turns 2 this week) got to blow out a candle. It was much different than the Thomas cake - all I did was make the cake and four different colors of frosting, and followed the outlines. Ya gotta love Wilton pans! And the beautiful thing: this is the third time I've used the pan (Elmo has been the main attraction for Rachel's and Zekers' 2nd birthdays), plus a couple of friends have borrowed it, so I can finally stop losing sleep over the amount I spent on it.


Highlights of the evening included: overcoming his fear of baby Lucas, eating about 6.3 deviled eggs, reading books with Grandpa, seeing Ohio State win (a highlight for Mommy and Daddy!), wolfing down Elmo's nose (he called dibs on it before I even made the cake; and Rachel called dibs on an eyeball), and, of course, opening presents.




Before we left, all four cousins took a bath together in Grandma & Grandpa's tub - what a hoot. They all combed each other's hair and played with little plastic boats and sucked on washcloths and looked completely adorable.

One last thing: I would be remiss if I failed to mention the gift God gave Danny & me for Zekers' birthday . . .

Exactly one year ago, pretty much on his 2nd birthday, our sweet, sunshiny little boy turned into a completely different person. He's been grumpy, whiny, tempermental, and beyond stubborn, often consumed by fits of temper that last nearly an hour. I will never again shake my head at parents of children who behave this way in public, because the truth is, we've tried EVERYTHING we can think of with him - from compassion and encouragement to strict discipline - and nothing has worked. He cries and throws temper tantrums at church, refuses to go near people he's always loved, and makes rude comments to Danny and me (such as "Get out of my bed, Mommy" and "Go back to work, Daddy.")

But these past 2 weeks, since he's turned 3, it's as if some cloud that's been hanging over him all year has suddenly dissipated, and we have our little boy back again! He smiles and laughs, he acts like a total clown, he's cooperative and even helpful. I have no idea what brought about this change, but I'll take it! It's like there was some kind of "crabby spell" baked into last year's Elmo cake, and he had to eat another cake to reverse the effects.

Also, the most unexpected gift Zekers received: this book, from what we used to think was a fine, upstanding family in our church . . . I just pray he doesn't request the action figure.