After an extremely low-key 1st birthday last year, we are really going for it with the girls’ 2nd birthdays in December. We’re having a big celebration at our house – we must be mad! We’ve sent out (actually e-mailed) invites to all and sundry and despite our poor planning in having pre-Christmas babies (thanks to my horrid ex-boss for that comment), quite a few people are coming. Yay! We’re having what is essentially an open house day on 12th December and have told everyone that they can arrive any time from 11am and we’ll keep a steady supply of party food and drinks flowing. The more the merrier, I say.

We thought it might be nice to invite some of the girls’ friends from nursery along, perhaps a couple of close friends each. Dh asked their room leader for a shortlist and after careful deliberation, she came up with 14 names. 14! 8 boys and 6 girls. Apparently R and G are extremely popular (I bet she says that to all the parents) and play with almost everyone at nursery (including the preschoolers and the babies) but the named 14 are their ‘closest’ friends.

Dh and I are deeply smug that the girls are apparently quite popular but equally quite baffled as to where they have acquired their outgoing natures from. I’m pretty vocal now, as an adult, and have a fair few friends but as a child I was pretty quiet and shy. Dh very much keeps to himself and has a small but close circle of friends. We aren’t the sort of people that light up a room. Maybe I do by leaving it... ;)

The girls’ birthday is just the start of nearly a month of celebrations at the HoT. We’re hosting the family Christmas this year and both sets of parents (and extremely chuffed grandparents) and dh’s sister are coming along for the festivities. The notable absentees will be P, our niece (who is sadly visiting her dad) and my sister, who is in South Africa following the England cricket team as part of the Barmy Army.

On the 27th I turn 30 but I’m in denial about that...