I have yet to find a way to deal with parenting regrets. Even the small ones. I realized this morning that we could have recorded Romi opening his birthday present, and the lost opportunity really made my heart sink. Yes, I will always remember it, but I really missed out the opportunity to share it. Really, how many times in my kid's life will he literally jump and down with pure joy and happiness after unwrapping an Easy Bake Oven? He likes it so much he kissed it, more than once. It's been less than 24 hours and we've already made chocolate chip cookies and cornbread. Next he wants to take on rosemary bread. He truly loves this thing. It's not so often you can make someone you love so happy.
The rest of his fifth birthday was pretty great too. He woke up at 6:15 and shouted happy birthday to Penny (they share the date). He had been driving us crazy, asking to open presents that had come in the mail, so we let him explore gifts from Nana and Papa, and Aunt Kim, Uncle Joe and Austin and Sabrina. While he was thrilled with the toys and clothes inside, it only wet his appetite for more, but we held the little guy off.
With much nudging, we got the birthday boy dressed, fed and out the door to school. That morning was a field trip to the BSO and Ima was the room parent. The symphony is housed in a magnificent building. We listened to a beautiful version of Peter and the Wolf, accompanied by narration and a puppet show, although I am pretty sure this one had been tweaked for 21st-Century sensibilities. (I highly doubt the original ends with the hunter taking the wolf to the zoo .)
On the bus ride home I was playing a game at the red lights with two of Romi's classmates. When they shouted, "Again! Again!" Romi pointed out that there were no more lights between our location and school. It always amazes me how aware our little guy is of the world around him. (Of course he was right.)
I kidnapped Romi from school and we went to Chipotle ("Pochile") for lunch, after which I introduced Romi to Cold Stone. He was happy to make the acquaintance. We then headed off to paint pottery, where Romi created a rendition of Penny. He was quite concerned about getting the coloring right, until he got bored with brown and white and decided she needed some blue.
We returned home to find Steven and Sho with more gifts in hand. I'm not sure who some of the presents were actually for since Steven seems as enamored, if not more, of them then the five year old. We played outside on the front lawn for a while before walking up to Walgreens for a light bulb for the Crayola Crayon Maker.
Upon our return we made crayons and when Abba got home Penny and Romi exchanged gifts. (We got the dog treats and a ball, she got Romi a Playmobile dining room set for his dollhouse. Both were happy.) We were thrilled when Devin and Paul arrived. They certainly added to the festivities, and they even came bearing more presents. Joel and Hallie sent a Kosherland game and Devin and Paul brought awesome ice cube makers (including guitars!) and Mad Libs.
We had told Romi he could have anything he wanted for dinner. I was only a little surprised when he didn't choose the waffle at the diner but instead went for the smoked salmon ALT at Neopol. The five of us walked to Belvedere Square and had a great meal.
When we returned home, Romi opened his game and oven, ate his Elmo cupcake, and preceded to melt down from all the excitement. He woke up today and still complained of being tired from yesterday, a sure sign of a great birthday!
