60+1 = A Lot of Reasons to Celebrate

We've always had a lot to celebrate in February. But, this February was extra special. Grand Da turned 60 on the 16th, and Hannah turned one on the 19th. Both momentous birthdays.

We started by throwing a 60th Birthday Party for my dad down in Pennsylvania. Given how complicated it was to get 30 candles lit, we decided to let him pretend to be 30 again. Our resident candle extinguishers, Matthew, Michael, Patrick, and Mikie, were clambering to get as close as possible in case something caught fire, so I don't have any pictures with Dad and the cake. And, of course, lingering so close to something enrobed in chocolate frosting, Mikie may have demonstrated his skills as Quality Control Analyst prior to cutting the cake.Outside of the singing and cake cutting, Mikie was scarcely seen during the party. He was so excited to hang out with his cousins, he peed his pants (okay, not immediately, but we did have an instance of not stopping to use the bathroom because he was afraid he was going to miss something).

Hannah unfortunately didn't enjoy herself as much as Mikie. She had a low grade fever the day before because she was cutting another tooth. And, what we didn't realize until Sunday, was that she had caught a stomach bug. The combination made her fussy, clingy, and unwilling to eat much.

For a birthday present, we decided to take Dad into New York for dinner and a play, similar to what we used to do when we were younger. We drove up to Weehawken and took the ferry across to Manhattan. After a late lunch, we saw David Mamet's "Race" with James Spader and David Alan Grier. I have to say, the topic sounded (and was) very serious. But, it was also incredibly funny. Okay, maybe funny isn't the right word, since it would imply I find racism funny. But, imagine the sarcastic whit of James Spader in "Boston Legal" coupled with the unedited comments of David Alan Grier and you can understand what I mean.Anyway, the play was excellent: funny, thought provoking. But, as we exited the theater at 5 pm, we realized we had an hour and a half to kill before our dinner reservation. And, being that it was Valentine's Day, none of us had high expectations of being seated early. So, we stood outside the theater to see the cast as they exited. Actually, Katie, Marta, Mike and I stood outside the theater. Dad sat in the bar across the street watching the Olympics and enjoying a beer. However, our wait paid off when we got autographs and pictures with the cast. And, it left us with ample time to join dad in the bar for drinks before dinner.The weather was clear, so we had a beautiful view of the skyline as we sailed back to New Jersey. And, thankfully, Hannah had flushed the majority of the stomach bug out of her system just in time for our trek back to New England.

Hannah was feeling much better in time for her party the following weekend. We kept it small (small = 16 immediate family members), dining on pizza and cake. Mikie came up with an innovative game: Pin the Crown on the Princess. Hannah was tickled by her life-sized duplicate. She tried to share her pizza crust, although she was less willing to share when it came to dessert. After a few nibbles of cake, she showed her innovative side, demonstrating that gel icing can perform double duty as a hair gel and even adds a bit of color and sparkle to your 'do (if you aspire to look like Jem and the Holograms). You can check out the video by clicking here.

Happy Birthday, Hannah and Da!Love, The Trahans