We ran out of frosting. Seriously. And forgot to run the spellchecker on the cake. Somehow, it was perfect anyway. Kevin and I both reflected after the event how much fun we have at our children’s birthday parties. There’s a bit of food prep and planning involved, but basically, the family party we throw for each child on his or her birthday is pretty simple. Eat, drink, play, cake and candles, and a couple of gifts. We have a slightly different mix of guests every time, but it’s generally aunts and uncles, a grandparent (my parents are divorced, so we’ve come around to the imperfect but liveable compromise of every-other-birthday attendance), and a few family friends. It’s always great to toss some extra kids into the mix. Last night, the younger party-goers disappeared to play together, and the grownups were able to linger over the meal.