Happy (?) 1st Birthday Sabrina

As a parent, you want to make your child's first birthday a memorable event.  I've heard of some over the top Happy One Year Birthday Events, complete with circus animals, magicians, and the cast of American Idol on hand to entertain the guest of honor.  This wasn't the party we planned. 

We decided to spend Saturday, the day before her birthday, at the Phoenix Zoo.  It was a little warm but still enjoyable, and she had a good time.  She was a little quieter then normal, but had fun and was her normal playful self when we got home.  We should have suspected something...

Calm before the storm

Birthday Sunday started off a little strange.  She woke up around 8 AM.  Strange, she never gets up until 9 on weekends... Well she must know today's the big day...turning one!  Downstairs to open presents.

Hmm, she seemed more into opening gifts on Christmas...  She had two big boxes to open, and with some help from the Daddies, got her gifts.  We let her play with them for a bit while we set about the final preparations for the party.  Since she got up early, we thought maybe an early nap was in order.  Perfect, since the party starts at 2 PM.  It took a little longer then normal to get her to go down but she finally drifted off to sleep.  Is it hot in here, or does she seem a little warm?  Well she's acting happy.

So here's the plan.  We reserved a ramada at Red Moutain Park.  I was going to go over around 1:15 and set up and decorate, Gregg would show up with Sabrina and most of the food at 2 when our guests started arriving.  While setting up, my phone rang.  It was Gregg.  "She's screaming uncontrollably, and she's got a fever of 102.5.  I don't think we're coming.  You'll have to come get the food". 

"Well it's nice and cool over here, we can put her in her play pen, I'm sure she'll be fine once her cousins and friends get here."

"No, I can't even dress her.  She's crying so bad.  Something's wrong."

I wasn't getting it.  By this point the guests started arriving, some from the north valley, some from as far as Tucson.  OK, deep breath.  I told everyone I was leaving to go get the food and the guest of honor isn't coming.  Now I know alot of you don't know each other.  Mingle.  Luckily, the park is just down the street from our house.

When I walked in, I got it.  I have not heard her scream like that since she was a newborn.  Usually picking her up will console her, but not today.  Teeth or earache, or both, she wasn't going to the party.  OK, we can make this work...  Since Gregg's car was already loaded up, I took that one back to the park and unloaded the food.  All the guests were very understanding, but I was completely stressed out.  I knew I was when I squirted ketchup on my burger and missed, spraying it all over my white shorts instead.  Great.  Where are the napkins?  Right in my truck...the one that's back home.  Ugh.  Enter my sister.  "Bobby, we need some napkins for the kids.  Where did you put them?".  Uggnnhhh...

Somehow we got through it.  Gregg and Sabrina did show up for the last 15 minutes.  Sabrina wore a sad sack look, cried some, but her fever was gone at least.  We took her home to open her gifts, which she half heartedly played with.  She would laugh and play, then start a crying binge.  Poor girl.

I kept her home this morning, and we're headed to the doctor later.  I gave her a morning bath, and she played in the tub for a bit, but went right back to sleep after, and she never does that.

This was the first party I ever planned that did not include alcohol.  I'll never do that again!