Just how old IS Daelyn

I know this is highly unusual for me, writing twice in one day. But my in-laws will be here tomorrow morning to celebrate Don's 40th birthday, my house is an absolute wreck, so I seem to be in that "final exam tomorrow, what else can I do to procrastinate" mode. Besides, Daelyn said something today that was so cute, I had to write about it.

One of his best friends, Kolbe, turned 4 today. His mama, Kelly, usually keeps birthdays low-key and has a small special dinner with just the family, sometimes inviting godparents. For this one, however, she decided to go all-out. She had a Pirate Party. She sent us invitations that were absolutely darling that she made herself. They said, "Ahoy, Matey, come to a Pirate Party" or something similar.

The party was to start at 12:00 and run to 2:00. Moms were invited (it's hard to keep 3 & 4 year olds under control without a lot of moms to help run the show) and she was serving Papa John's pizza. When we arrived, the Pirate theme was in full force. A couple of the boys were bedecked in pirate paraphenalia. Each boy had a treat bag on the table with their name and a mylar birthday balloon attached. In the center of the table was a huge, gold treasure chest that I later found out was a pinata. The boys rushed to open their bags, each containing a pirate's eye patch, a blow-up Spanish-looking sword/scabbard, several plastic gold or silver coins, a single gold dangly earring, and a kerchief head covering.

My, were those boys in Heaven. They had a wonderful time. They all put on their stuff, then ran outside to play in the yard. Later, we had pizza, hit the pinata in the yard (which was full of more coins and candy), then opened gifts and had a marvelous chocolate torte Kelly had made with chocolate ice cream on the side. It was an absolute blast. One of Kolbe and Daelyn's friends, who plays often with the boys, was a little mopey while Kolbe opened his presents. We asked him what was wrong. "I don't get to open anything," he fussed. We elbowed each other, smiled, and said, "Oh, yes, you did. You got to open your treat bag. Wasn't that fun?" Aunt Kelly thought of everything.

As the smoke began to clear and we began repacking each boy's treat bags with their "stuff", Daelyn came over to me and wrapped his arms around my leg. "Did you have fun, son?" I asked. He smiled. "Do you know how old Kolbe is today," I continued, a little uncertain if Daelyn realized Kolbe was turning 4 ahead of him and his friends. "Four," Daelyn responded and held up four fingers.

"Great, son," I responded, pleased he understood. "And how old will you be on your next birthday?"

"I'm thwee now," he said, thoughtfully, "and on my birthday, I'll be 10."