our foray into the toddler birthday party circuit.

Something very special showed up in our mailbox recently, addressed to Bennet! It was an invitation to his friend Maxwell's 3rd birthday party. This invitation contained all the right information for Bennet - party, cupcakes, Yo Gabba Gabba, Marley Bounce Party. It was an exciting day for him, and we quickly e-mailed Maxwell's mommy to RSVP.

As most moms who have ever had a two-year-old know, you can't really tell them anything until you're about to leave to go there, or else their little brains will spontaneously combust from all of the excitement. With that in mind, we tucked our invitation away, and the party was quickly forgotten.Yesterday was the big day, and we didn't mention a peep about it to Bennet until he woke up from his nap and we were packing to leave. I've never seen someone so excited about anything in my life. So much jumping, so much screaming, so much yelling about "Bounce Party" and "Yo Yo Ba Ba!" These are my favorite times as a parent - seeing my child so happy about something so simple.

This was the first birthday party Bennet has gone to that was for one of his little friends - and our first toddler birthday party. What fun! What craziness! To say that Bennet had fun would be the understatement of the century.

In the spirit of partying, I let him eat two cupcakes! (They were Yo Gabba Gabba cupcakes, I had no choice!) He drank punch, ate lots of cheese and crackers, and scored a sweet collection of party favors. He ran through Marley Bounce Party, playing and screaming and wearing off his sugar high. He saw all of his friends from our Moms Club. I cannot think of one other thing that could have made it a more magical, happy experience for him. We are so thankful to Maxwell's mommy and daddy for inviting us and letting us celebrate with them!

I had this teary-eyed mommy moment there, watching him run around with his friends and giggle and scream about the "Yo Yo Ba Ba" decorations. I feel like Bennet was Kennedy's age last week - where did the time go? All of a sudden, my baby is a little person - greeting friends, getting excited about birthday parties, playing on inflatables at the "Bounce Party." The only thing that keeps me from freaking out about the passage of time is how extremely proud I am of him. He is so bright, so smart, such a joy - and as parents, the knowledge that Andrew and I have produced such a special little boy makes every day with him - even the temper-tantrum-throwing, bad days - an overwhelming blessing.

If you're not a mommy yet - take this as a warning - crying, emotional mommy moments attack you at the most random times - even at crazy places like a bounce birthday party! With Thanksgiving approaching, I can definitely say that I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a mommy - to enjoy the passage of my kids' lives - and yes, even for the sugar-high-induced meltdowns that sometimes close out even the best of days. Because, without those, you'd probably get too full of yourself and think your kid was perfect, right?

Speaking of Marley Bounce Party - be sure to enter my giveaway to win a Mini Mid-Week Bounce Party of your very own!