It was sad not to be able to celebrate Flynn’s birthday with family, but we threw a party anyway and he got to depart babyville for toddlerland surrounded by about 25 adults and even 6 little ones with whom he graciously shared his toys, even the new ones. One of the best parts of the party for me was seeing him really enjoying playing with other kids, which is new. He even gave the sweetest little welcome hug to a certain three-year-old girl he’s played several times before.

Looking back I think it’s pretty clear that we compensated for not being able to celebrate back home with family by bringing tastes of back home to the party. It was quite the American spread: cakes, cupcakes, Rice Krispy treats, Twizzlers, Jelly Bellys, M&Ms, Tootsie rolls, animal crackers, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream sundaes, mini pizzas, meatballs, chips and gaucamole and salsa, Goldfish crackers, Chex Mix, and so on.

Thank goodness we made tons of food because we ended up with one less cake than planned. Why? Flynn and Abbey teamed up to pull it off the dining room table the morning of the party. We found them like this.

That mishap aside, it was a lovely day. After the party we Skyped with grandparents and baked a new cake which Flynn got to smash in his face all over again, this time with no help from Abbey.

It’s still hard to believe it’s been a whole year since this.

But it has. Our once helpless little ball of baby can now walk, run, twirl in circles, somersault, eat real food, kind of talk, hug, clap, wave, build block towers, open doors, climb stairs and ladders, and get into all kinds of trouble.

Happy birthday Flynn!