Silo Turns Two

Exactly one year ago we spent our evening doing this:

We were celebrating Silas's first birthday - without the birthday boy. It seemed fittin' to throw him a party in our hearts, and I figured it was as good a time as any to introduce him to our party style- cupcakes with sprinkles on paper plates.

Make no mistake, Pie Pot, we will love you every way we know how, but not with a fancy, store-bought cake or party hats.

I remember the kids and I talking about what we wished for Silas and darn it if their answers weren't the cutest things since miniature donkeys, but I didn't write them down.

What I wished was that Silas was being treated like a Prince on his Big Day. And that he would join us under our roof in a hurry.

Fast forward a year.

Silas turns two.

As sure as I'm sitting here in my sweatpants, he woke up promptly at the stroke of birthday midnight and started whooping it up. At first I thought it was a fluke. Then, I thought he was talking in his sleep. At 2:00, I heard him laughing at his own jokes. At 4:00, I thought I heard him spinning some tunes. At 4:30, Cory found him sitting upright, wide awake, in silence. He looked a little sheepish, having had the cops called on him and all.

Homeboy threw himself back to Korean time and lived it up, transcontinental-toddler-style. I've never heard a happier dark-of-the-night baby.

It made me laugh to myself, up in my bed.

As for today? Ain't no one laughing.

FYI, here's what a 2-year-old birthday boy looks like after partying 'til the break of dawn the night before.

He screamed for 90% of gift-opening.

It was his story. He was sticking to it.

I thought Betty Crocker might have a cheering effect on him, but tweren't so.

Or maybe he was just afraid of the looming claw hand....

In one particularly bright spot, Calvin took it entirely upon himself to make Siley a birthday card.

Before long, he caught on to the fact that if he wasn't going to play with his new things, there were six other small peeps who would be happy to share the load.

He marched around for the rest of the evening, pushing the buttons on a trove of new, button-pushing toys.

Silo, we love you so much, even on your grumpiest of days.

But please, pack up that disco ball and sleep tonight.