Niranjana, Melissa and Andy Perdue

We had two birthday parties Saturday. The first was at 11 a.m. at the Richland Fire Department's main station on GW Way and Swift. The second was a "bring your swimsuit for sprinklers" at 3 p.m. at a Richland home.

Leif's fire station party scored high for all the kids, but the surprise at Zoe's house overshadowed those big red trucks and friendly firefighters. It was a twisty water slide! http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2918314

Zoe's family had borrowed this from a friend. Given the price tag and the mixed reviews, I won't be investing in one of our own.

Zoe is a classmate at preschool, where the norm is to invite your entire class to your birthday party -- in addition to any friends in other classrooms or non-preschool friends. Since we're new at this school, I appreciate the opportunities to meet the kids and their parents. I already knew two of the moms at Zoe's, so it was nice to have a real conversation with them.

I am a tad jealous of Leif, Cate, and the other summer birthdays we know (five parties within three weeks!). Niranjana has been singing "Happy birthday to January" and I was explaining that she's now 4 and a HALF. We had a low-key birthday this year, but I'm thinking ahead and knowing that we'll need a plan for this winter. All of these people will not fit in our house in January (in the back yard in summer, yes).

The next party we go to is at a kid-friendly gymnasium, which is a front-runner. I guess you'll all find out in January where we go.