Birthday Boy

Simon turned one this weekend. To celebrate we had a perfect party at the Children's Glade, a relatively new little corner of Central Park that is still not well known, meaning we had it mostly to ourselves. The first time I walked through a year or two ago walking the dog, I was immediately enchanted. It looks like a little English glade, maybe a kind of Secret Garden. There are actually three glades, connected by trails with lush shrubbery and trees all around. It is a stone's throw away from The Great Hill, where picnickers flock by the hordes this time of year. But the foilage between us and them meant we had quiet, shade and our own lovely little clearing in the woods.
In all, we had 26 people--kids, moms and dads. We had fruit and veggies and hummus and olives and all manner of munchies, and I made my first gluten free cake, which turned out wonderfully and was rapidly devoured.
Simon stuffed himself with strawberries and grapes, popcorn and cake. He napped up until the party started and fell asleep again on the walk home, the naps making tidy little bookends on his content little party self.
We bought a bunch of big plastic balls, and ping pong balls, and they kept him pretty entertained while the big kids ran around and played all sorts of games.
We think this might have been our favorite birthday party for one of our kids in the whole history of our kids' parties...it was that nice.

And now, magically, upon turning 1, Simon has the personality of a toddler instead of a baby. He is FAST and LOUD and he knows what he wants, and it isn't always what you want him to want. His rare moments of snuggles and quiet sweetness are incredible. And in between, well, he shrieks and explores and opens and closes and pinches and breaks and complains and bends and wiggles and kicks and dumps and throws and rolls and squishes and demands and talks and imitates...He is one busy little person.