Birthday Parties

Next month I'm having a birthday party for the Baby, who will be one year old. A monumental moment for a child, especially when you factor what they learn in the first year. The Baby has learned to walk. He runs, really, with his arms straight in the air. He can go from person to person and is starting to walk to inanimate objects as well. And he has been doing this for about a month. The problem is, who do you invite to a party for a one year old? I want to invite people he knows, who make a point of knowing him, regardless of distance. Unfortunately, we have some family members who simply assume that we are going to have something and that they will be invited. Any other day they don't make the 60 minute drive to visit. Really, what makes the birthday so special then? It makes my heart tear just a little to be so calluous. But if it isn't worth the time on an ordinary day, why make an annual visit? They've missed watching him take the first tottering steps and subsequent falls. His first word (depending on who you ask) was "Elle," the dog. It continues to be his favorite as well. He can eat as much ice cream as his four year old brother and devours ravoli at the same speed. If someone is upstairs, he can climb them in the time it takes for me to blow my nose and throw the tissue away. He loves lift the flap books and playing with Thomas the Train. These are the things that are important, not watching him eat cake. One day doesn't make a difference. One day thirty times will.