Aiden didn’t quite know what to make of his birthday cake today. (He wasn’t sure why everyone was singing to him, either, but that’s another story.) He stuck his hands in the frosting and then immediately tried to shake the stuff off. He didn’t even try sticking them in his mouth, which is unusual for him. Ordinarily everything goes into the mouth.

He did eventually figure out that you’re supposed to wipe the sticky stuff in your hair. After he did that, he dumped the cake onto his highchair tray and started sucking on the paper plate. Then he was happy.

Not that he wasn’t happy all day, especially for a one-year-old with a sore throat and all kinds of other ailments. He was at the doctor’s office yesterday, getting tested and poked at, and the good news is that he’s as healthy as a baby can possibly be. The bad news is that he still didn’t feel good, but he was game for a party today. Good thing, too, because just about everybody he knows was there.

He doesn’t quite have the concept of presents yet, but he does know when there’s new stuff to play with. And he knows when something is his. That probably comes from having two older brothers. He wasn’t belligerent or obnoxious about it, but he did let it be known that he would prefer no one else ride on his new rescue truck.

He got books, which he loves, and lots of clothes (which he couldn’t care less about, but which his parents appreciate). Mostly, he got a lot of love. He gets that every day, of course, but the party was kind of an outlet for all the overflow. The regular schedule will resume tomorrow.

It was also David’s birthday (his 24th), but at his request that aspect of the day was downplayed. We couldn’t ignore it completely, of course, but he opened the few cards he got while Aiden wasn’t in the room. The party today reminded me of some of the best times we’ve ever had. David’s birthday is at the beginning of summer, and every year when he was a kid, his parents would give him a big multigenerational blowout party, including many of the same people who were at Aiden’s bash today. He might not remember how much he enjoyed being the center of attention then. It’s all different now, of course. It’s all about the baby.