When we decided to have a child, one of our pledges as potential parents was to never hold a birthday at our home. Observations and word-of-mouth over the years had told us everything we needed to know about in-home birthday parties, and I wanted no part of it. With this in mind, friends from far and wide descended upon Charlotte today to celebrate Miles’s second birthday with us at Discovery Place Nature. We arrived at the museum a little early to get set up, and Miles was immediately thrilled to see all of the animals (turtles, frogs, and a bearded dragon) in the party room.
At this point, Miles has a general understanding of how birthdays function, but he still seemed to be alarmed by the sheer number of bodies that crammed into the party room over the next hour. Once he warmed up to people and started seeing some more familiar faces, he really settled in and started having fun.
The center itself gave the kids plenty of options to stay busy and have fun, from straightforward animal observation to play areas designed to guarantee that children leave exhausted (always a hit!).
Cake time, of course, gave the kids a chance to ingest enough sugar to compensate for the exhaustion.
Miles’s favorite part of the day, however, was probably the butterfly pavilion, where he gleefully darted along the pathway hunting for the fluttering insects.
Overall, the center and the staff were outstanding. When people asked me about how we found/picked the place, I immediately deferred to Jaclyn, who did all the planning and pulling things together. What I’m really saying is that everyone other than me really did a fantastic job making today a success for Miles!
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 