This past Saturday in the middle of my Sister's visit Kayla had a birthday party. Her friend Cole, who we met when they were in Kindermusik together as babies is turning 5 as well. He was one of her "first friends" outside my circle. Up until now I've always dragged my Mom with me to birthday parties when J was unavailable to help me police the food and monitor Kayla when Alysa is with me. But as Kayla gets older and her awareness and responsibility grows I have to expand my comfort zone. It's not an easy thing to do, but I take things situation by situation. My girlfriend Jodi is really great, the party was at her house, so being familiar with the surroundings helps. She also has always avoided cheesy foods - doritos, goldfish, etc. I knew the menu and it was all relatively tame - any foods that may have contained dairy were mild and lower risk (like chicken nuggets, etc). So I made this party our solo debut. And I'm happy to report it was a success. Alysa enjoyed the potato chips and pretzels at the party while Kayla ate the snacks I brought.

They had a air and bubbles show which the girls absolutely loved! Kayla handled the whole partly beautifully (especially since I didn't realize I had no icing and had to bring her a cookie instead of a cupcake). She did well avoiding the food and joined the singing while staying far enough away from the cake. She even swung on the swings with her cookie while I helped Alysa have a piece of cake. She was patient and understanding and she made me so proud.

The only thing I did avoid was eating myself. I'm still not comfortable leaving her long enough to get food and then taking that much time to eat it. So for now, I'll stick with watching the other adults enjoy the food. Baby steps, right?



Next party...Kayla's!