Yesterday was the kids’ 2nd birthday party.  We wanted it to be very different from their 1st birthday party, which we held at Pan Pacific Park and which was attended by over 100 guests.  It was a lot of fun, but a lot of stress – and a lot of money.

This year, we wanted to focus on the kids.  One of their favorite places is MyGym, so we held the big bash there. We invited their friends from MyGym, their friends from twins class, one friend from music class, plus all our friends with young kids.  There ended up being close to 100 guests again, but in a much tighter space.

We requested that people not bring gifts, but we still got more gifts than we know what to do with.  We carted them out to our minivan in garbage bags and barely had enough space for all of them.

Bennett checks out the loot.

Drew and I sat in our building’s hallway last night opening them one by one, while the kids rode their bikes back and forth.  The gifts were amazing – thoughtful, creative, overly generous.  Nobody bought the same thing as anybody else and nobody bought anything we already had.  It made me realize how many great people we’ve met through our kids in the last year.

We used to be terrified of what LA parents would be like – and even more terrified that we’d become like them.  But somehow, we’ve found a safe place for our kids in this bizarre, sometimes terrifying city.

Year 2 has been even better than year 1, and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds.