Sebastian’s first birthday celebration was elaborate. We invited family from Houston and out of town. We hired a food truck. We commissioned a special cake in the shape of a carbonite-frozen Han Solo. We had a Darth Vader piñata. We rented a keg and featured a fully stocked bar. Does Sebastian remember any of this? No, of course not. This party wasn’t for him; it was for the adults. And that’s OK because we all had a good time. Kind of . . . There was a good amount of stress and anxiety. It seemed like Bashy was having fun, but he was one. At that age, playing with raw ramen noodles is fun. Nicholas and I were doing way more hosting than enjoying. We didn’t even kick the keg.

Yes, that party was fun and great in its own way. For Sebastian’s fourth, there was no doubt. He had a blast. From the moment he woke up and began singing himself “Happy Birthday,” he knew he was in for a special day. We rented a gigantic T-Rex bouncy house instead of a food truck. We ordered Chick-Fil-A and bought a plain chocolate cake from HEB. We invited friends of all ages. He could not stop smiling. We could not stop smiling. There was no hosting to be done. Only bouncing, and bouncing and more bouncing, and some sliding and then more bouncing. The differences between celebrations for 4 and 1 were significant, and both were special in their own way. But we know, without any doubt, that Sebastian will remember this day. On a personal note, we were somewhat concerned that Sebastian would not want to see his dinosaur bouncy house go. When time for the rental pick-up drew near, we explained calmly to him that it was time for the party to be over and that T-Rex had to go bye-bye. He was sad, but he went over to the bouncy house, patted it on the side and said, “Bye-bye, T-Rex. See you later.” He then went inside for a fifth piece of cake.

Our boy is growing up.