end of year? start of new?

Just when I think the holiday crush is over I remember...OH! It is my son's birthday! I am usually ill prepared to give him a party let alone plan a baptism! This was the big 8 this year and so I had Jan. 2nd in the front of my mind. That still meant that I didn't get any family members the information of where, when, etc... until two days before! I suck at this "mother" thing sometimes! Max was so excited, in spite of my ineptness. Let's back up, though. On Friday, the 1st, I spent almost 5 hours with 10 crazy boys at the Classic Fun Center. Though I was on my feet most of the time, wrangling, sometimes searching for lost boys, I had a GREAT time!I love little boys! Though they are sticky a good deal of the time...and various gross objects are often found in their pockets...I think boys are tremendously fantastic!
The CFC is a perfect place for energetic boys. They brought their scooters and scooted to "Move It" (the birthday boy's requested song from the CFC D.J.) They oooed and ahhhed over my "Lego" Birthday Cake. I put "Lego" in quotes because my cake adequately resembled Legos. It was a very novice attempt but Max was happy with it. It did please me that I got so many pats on the back for it. Strangers were taking pictures of it and my friends praised it. Smile.
Alan stayed home with the Lil so that Max's party would be unwrecked by her. That meant I was handling this party alone. Two and a half hours in we still hadn't cut the cake. Mom's started showing up and I was so happy to have them! My sister, Estee, my friend Jen (Petersen) and my friend, Katrina, stayed and helped. Boy was I happy for their help! Seriously, I want to hug them now, just remembering how happy I was to have them!
After the 5 hour party I needed to shift my attention to the baptism. Remember, this was New Year's Day. I wasn't sure what stores were even open. I needed to buy some cold cuts and the fixin's for lunch after the baptism. Costco was closed. Every other place I checked was OUT of food. I am not kidding. New Year's Eve had depleted the shelves. I got home late with aching feet. I still needed to put together a slide show of Max's life to play while we waited for him to dry off and change after the baptism. My friend, Lori, had done this for her son and I loved the idea. I got to bed at 1:00 a.m. and woke up at 6:00 a.m. to put together crock pots of white chicken chili for the "crowd?". I still wasn't sure if anyone but the Granparents would be at the baptism. Could they alone eat two giant double batches of chili?
The baptism was short but sweet. Little Max was so cute. I was so proud of him. Just 6 months ago we wouldn't have thought he was ready for this decision. He has matured a good deal in the last few months. We felt assured that he was making this decision with thought and information. We are so proud of him. I don't know what I would have done without the unsung heroes of planning these events. The Primary President, Terri Brown, and her counselor, Casey England, were invaluable! This wouldn't have even happened if it wasn't for their help in making sure I did everything I was supposed to do! I was also touched to see the sweet friends and family members that showed up to show their love for Max. Our friend Andy (Leslie was at a funeral), our babysitter, Morgan, and her sisters came. Roger, (Alan's oldest brother) and his kids (Beth showed up later from a wedding) and, my good friend, Jen Paris and her boy, Carter. Of course the Grandma's and Grandpa were there. We feel richly blessed to live here where we have such good friends and family. I complain about living in Utah but this is the reason we can't leave.The baptism didn't take as much time as we thought. By 10:30 everyone was back at our house. Yay!! Chicken chili for everyone!!! At 10:30 a.m.! Still...they ate. They were so nice to eat it all up! It was fun to spend time with family on such a special occasion. The day wasn't over though. We had dinner that night with Max's birth Mom, Celeste. It was such a nice night. Celeste brought gifts for Christmas and Max's birthday. She gave us this fun game, Pictureka (I think that is how you spell it.) We had a ton of fun playing that with Max. It is a great family game! I didn't remember to get my camera out and take a pic. of Max and Celeste.
Even though Max's birthday is January 2nd it still feels like the year hasn't ended until his birthday is over. Maybe that goes back to the 8 1/2 years we waited for him. That last month, before his birth, I was here waiting at Andy's and Leslie's home for Max to come. Alan had to stay in Connecticut for work. He came out just before Christmas Eve to wait with me. Seriously, don't we have the best friends to put up with us for a month? I don't remember the holidays that year...we were just waiting. So excited to become parents. I think that is why the year doesn't seem to end until we celebrate Max's arrival on this planet. But, his arrival meant the start of the biggest adventure of our lives, parenthood. No wonder Max is the ending and the beginning for us!