Party on.

Nate's Grandma Adele turned 90 in March. To celebrate our very spunky and beloved grandmother, the entire Breyer clan made the four-hour trek up to Moorhead, Minnesota (Fargo, essentially) for her birthday celebration.




How did we survive four hours in a restaurant with a 23-month-old, you ask?

Well, we brought a babysitter.


Nate and I are excellent parents. Trust me, we adhere to all guidelines set forth from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Except for the one about no TV before age two. And a few others.

Luckily the glazed-over DVD watching was only during the dinner portion of the evening. Before dinner we had appetizers. And after appetizers we had cake.

A beautiful birthday cake, which Calvin stuck his fingers in almost immediately. I assure you, this was done for quality control purposes, and not because Nate and I were having a glass of wine and not paying attention. Excellent parents, remember?





Grandma Adele's siblings came from North Dakota and Montana for the party. Are they the cutest bunch ever, or what?


Once Calvin saw the car, it was all over. He's obsessed with keys and unlocking car doors right now. Unfortunately this car door doesn't open. Upon this realization, Calvin informed Aunt Mary he needed to come back into the party to get his tools. I hadn't anticipated a need for tools of any kind during a 90-year-old's birthday party and therefore found myself ill-equipped to fulfill his request. I sent him back with a wooden knife instead.


Close enough.

At the conclusion of the party we tried to take a family photo. I have to say, the one we used on our Christmas card was truly a God-given miracle. Because most of our pictures look a lot like this.


Or, more frequently, this.


Based on these photos you might think our child doesn't know how to smile for the camera. We sure did. But then he started rolling around on the restaurant floor (yeah, I know) and we ended up with this.


Um, hello. Will someone please cue the heavenly chorus? There's an angel in our midst! (What a faker.)

The hotel stay brought more fun. For Calvin, mostly. Not a big fan of sharing a hotel room with my kid, personally.





On the way home Sunday afternoon we stopped at Nate's alma mater for lunch. Nate got a new sweatshirt, Calvin got a new t-shirt, and I got this cute picture of the two of them.


And then we headed home. Just me, Nate, Calvin, and his blessed babysitter.