Carys and Smartie Artie

We made the difficult decision this morning not to take William to Carys's birthday party as he is still infectious. Poor Jim had to stay at home with his boy and miss his baby girl's first proper birthday party. He did come up to the community centre and help me set up but then left with W before the guests arrived.

I was luck enough to have three fab Mum's of other kids who stayed and volunteered to help me with teas and coffees for the other parents, putting out the food and clearing up. they were intent on me being able to enjoy watching Carys enjoy her party and take as many pictures as I could, so Jim could get a feel of the party when we got home. I am very grateful to them.

Smartie Artie was not the cheapest entertainer we could have hired by a long shot, but to my mind he was worth the money. The emphasis was on Carys being the birthday girl and although other kids got a turn at getting up to help him with his tricks it was mostly Carys. Having said that he kept their attention (boys included) for the hour before food and for the 30-40mins or so after. He did a mixture of magic, puppetry, balloon modelling and traditional party games. Carys, when we were leaving said 'That was the best party.' Worth every penny just to hear her say that.

It was her friend's ( my NCT friend's little girl) party exactly an hour and a half after hers and they both managed to attend both parties, which was great. Needless to say she was absolutely shattered by the time we got home. Daddy had had a good day with William, who, although he has eaten next to nothing, is mostly behaving as if there is nothing wrong with him (except at night when he is itching and scratching).

We (the adults) have now enjoyed a curry and a bottle of wine and are contemplating how we deal with the mass of parcels that need opening tomorrow, and more importantly how we get the thank you cards done with as little hassle as possible.