Max George Braithwaite

After waiting a very, very long time, Max woke up on Friday morning and found he was, at last, four years old. He immediately insisted on being measured to see if he had grown (an odd thought but one I remember Dominic also having on his 4th birthday) and was suitably gratified when I found that he had grown a centimetre. It was as if he needed to have grown taller in order for it to really be his birthday. Bless.

An exciting present opening fest ensued after which we rushed to school and pre-school. There, Max bravely stood up in front of the whole of the school assembly, watching teachers and mothers and, despite constantly having one, if not more, fingers crammed in his mouth, managed to audibly report that his name was Max George Braithwaite, that he was having a good birthday so far and that his two favourite presents were his bug collector and bug habitat which his Granny had given him. Not a mention for the very lovely bike from his adoring parents, but I was far too beaming and impressed with his courageousness to care.

Mum, Dad, Madeleine and I then spent the day preparing for party fun at 4.30pm with a Scooby Doo theme and some well planned but ultimately unnecessary games and prizes. Party fun was made entirely naturally by Max, his two mates, Dominic and Penny's crew, and the under-two brigade of Madeleine, Sadie and William. As the photo shows, much dressing up went on - Max here is modelling a new and much appreciated Batman costume from the Jones family. There was an impromptu show by budding rock stars John and Dominic with Bex on bass guitar and so relaxed was it all that it even ran on an hour. All the parents enjoyed a wine or a beer and only called it quits when the little ones clearly needed to go home to bed instead of banging into furniture and eating more lollipops.

Max's verdict: "It was a mega great birthday!"