one of the more interesting things to face in a life of parenting is, look you see, that thing when those very children happen to have birthdays around the time of Christmas. it's quite a thing to not so much manage expectations around both as it is to get the balance right.
fate, circumstance, some ambitious plan for us all or pure chance has, but of course, dictated that my (considerably) better half and i need to consider this not once, not four but twice every year. so far, i would venture, so good, and this year was no exception.
indeed that is one of them Dean Ambrose t-shirts that James has on in the above picture, and absolutely that was one of the things which he expressed a wish for, with the wish being it manifest in such a thing being his.
just south of two weeks after his brother's birthday, then, James celebrates his birthday. it comes later in the year, for sure, but obviously he's been celebrating it a good deal longer. well, not maybe a good deal, but still. in relative terms i suppose, and look this is all distracting this approach.....
of the many wonderful cards to come his way this one was something of a favourite. it's off of New Zealand, no less. i have every reason to believe that it's the shiny, glitter like nature of it which made it so enthusiastically received. shiny things are, after all, very nice. shiny things make everything better.
William, as is the way of any sibling, was of course on hand to give absolutely any help he could in opening up presents. this kindness extended to being prepared to sacrifice his own time to open them if need be, and of course play with them too. well, the more interesting ones at the least.
that would indeed be the look of excitement when he clocked that Mummy and Daddy do, from time to time, listen to his wishes and wants and get him more or less what he asked for. if left to me he would have got something off of all that wrestling stuff what related to Honky Tonk Man, for he was, is and always shall be the greatest. but, it wasn't my birthday, and James seems to think this Ambrose fellow is the best.
after briefly pausing to show off the t-shirt in the above, it of course went straight on and pretty much stayed on. well, i would have been the same at that age if someone had given me, let me see, a Frankie Goes To Hollywood or Mad Max t-shirt for that birthday. no doubt i got something just as smart, mind.
one more picture of present opening, friends and family around the world? sure, why not. beats reading my text, after all!
that is indeed "smiley face" or if you like, and i have remembered this right, "emoticon" wrapping paper. i don't get why you wouldn't just write the word you mean rather than put a picture, but it all seems to be what the kids these days are in to. no doubt someone somewhere is busy taking apart a classic of literature and will be publishing it entirely in this "emoticon" format, but that's someone else not me.
we, as was with the other, asked James what he wished to do for his birthday. whereas William wished to have a small party at home - to which he invited only the very loudest of his friends - James wanted only to go off to Burger King with his family. this was so that he could have the most massive burger that they do what has loads of bacon shoved in it.
that is indeed the two boys patiently waiting for their meals to arrive. yes, it has gone all sort of bespoke in Burger King of late, you have to wait for them to remember how to make what you ordered rather than, as fast food would normally imply, them simply going ahead with what's on a well established menu.
cake was and is, as this post started, an important aspect of any birthday party. this was, as it happens, one of the most controversial parts of our day, as James was most eager to have a cake which went against the English way of doing things, kind of.
to all intents and purposes it's that the English way of doing things for a birthday cake is sponge, normally vanilla, with jam and cream through the central like middle of it. James really, really does not like this sort of cake. to this end, then, he elected to select one of them smart battenberg style cake sort of cakes, which has lots of lovely coloured bocks and no cream or jam in what he considers to be inappropriate places.
it was a most splendid choice and a very fine cake indeed, as it turns out. but, hey, i am somewhat biased, and as you might have worked out from my physique it's not like i've ever met a cake that i didn't like. except ones what have coconut in them.
and so that's that for another year, as it were. James, i would suspect this goes without saying, was most pleased with his present haul, and his absolutely massive burger.we are, then, as a family, on a countdown proper to those other present related celebrations a week from today.......
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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