Saturday was a crazy day. The three year old parties have well and truly begun for the summer and Saturday brought two parties and one very exhausted toddler (and mum).

The first was held at an outdoor pool at a private club which was really nice although we really didn’t make the most of the pool. Kei stayed home to paint and I am not quite ready to get into a bathing suit yet. It didn’t matter because Thomas wasn’t at all interested in the water – except to freak me out a little by playing too close to the edge. He chose to play with his friend Evan from daycare doing…well…the same thing they do every day at daycare.

The first party finished at 1pm – naptime. So Thomas fell asleep in the car as I predicted he would. I set up the picnic blanket on the front lawn when we got home, opened all the windows in the car and just let him sleep while I read a book. The car was parked under a tree so it wasn’t too hot. I have done this a few times lately because Thomas just isn’t dealing with the car to bed transition at naptime lately. Better to just let him sleep where he is.

The afternoon party was held at a toddler gym and, after taking some time to warn up. Thomas had a LOT of fun. He wasn’t really interested in the managed play – he preferred to freestyle. So as soon as they let them go on the play equipment he was off! This photo shows him copying the way the teacher crawled across the bars. I was very impressed with his flexibility and balance. Maybe he’ll be a gymnast. 🙂 Instead of a gift for the birthday boy, we were asked to bring a book for a book swap which is such a nice idea. So each child left with a gift from their friend’s party. That never happened when I was a child.

This is just the beginning of party season. Now that Thomas has more than one circle of friends, the party schedule has become a little nuts. There are at least 20 kids who could conceivably invite him to their birthday party this year which is just crazy. My solution is to be choosy about the ones we attend, stock up on books from Costco to use as gifts and try not to get too stressed out. Oh, and Thomas is not having a party this year. Instead, we’ll celebrate with family in Australia. That is one event I would rather avoid, especially when he’s unlikely to remember it in a couple of months.