Matt and I visited our friends Janet and Henrik for their son Benjamin's first birthday party today. In a party full of children, with a pool, a bubble machine, and cookies flowly freely from the oven, you'd think I would have been annoyed. I wasn't, though, for a change of pace. There were a couple of under 1 babies who were just learning to walk, and a number of children ranging the gamut. Janet and Henrik had more food than you could imagine, and it was, as always, delicious and satisfying. Between the chocolate chip cookies, the fresh grape tomatos, the grilled fresh corn on the cob, and the barbecued chicken, I am stuffed. The family looks good and happy and healthy, and Ben has enough baby fat on his legs to last him through the next famine. As Janet says, that's the last time in his life where "your legs look fat" will be considered a compliment, so he took it in stride. Well, as much a stride as can be done by a 1 year old who's not paying attention to your comments about his baby fat.

I think there are at least 5 people in my circle of friends who have had babies in the last year or are pregnant and working on having babies now. Must be something about my age that causes women and their partners to decide it's time to invest in making more of the human race.....