Lately the Captain has entered a new phase of life in which his primary occupation is, “Birthday Party Guest.” He should probably have business cards made up. Every weekend we are either shopping for birthday presents or attending one (or more) parties. I guess it’s a combination of his social circle widening, due to preschool, and that he’s at the age when kids can start to really anticipate and enjoy an afternoon of games, cake, and presents. Mmmm…cake.

This past weekend I took the Captain to a party for a girl in his class, the first time he’s gone to a party where I don’t really know the parents very well. I stayed the whole time, which I thought was going to be the standard, but apparently, the 4-year-old party is the one when parents start dropping off their kids and saying, “Have a great time honey, see ya after we spend two hours catching up on our Oscar movie nominees.” I was the only other parent there, which was a little weird, but until the Captain is comfortable enough with his food allergies to know what he can and can’t eat, I’ll be staying with him at all parties involving food for a while at least.

Staying with him at the party was pretty eye-opening in one major respect. The Captain is pretty good looking, if I do say so myself, and something about his quiet and sensitive demeanor has made him something of a hit with the ladies. All of the girls there knew his name and the birthday girl in particular was very excited to see him. It’s not like they were hanging all over him or anything but I was just surprised at the attention he was getting, especially considering he seems completely oblivious to it, being only interested in playing cars or trains with his buddy Young Carl Sagan. Of course, his indifference probably only makes him more of a catch.

He’s a cutie pie!