Tears and birthday cookies

Today is Anthony's 6th birthday. I really am still in shock that he is that old, that I am that old! So, we did our usual birthday morning wake-up with cupcake and presents. Although, Anthony was already awake, but played it off very nicely. I seem to remember at about age 6 and 7 being about the time I would wake up before my parents came with the birthday banana and presents, so he is right on schedule. So, we sang, he opened his prizes and all was well. That is until Dom wanted to try out his new presents. We kind of let them figure it out on their own, partly because they need to figure this stuff out and partly because we were too tired to deal with it at 6:15 in the morning. They came to some sort of agreement but that soon ended when Anthony realized his new toys would be up for grabs while he was at school all day.

Now come the tears. Every morning we have a ritual where whoever is leaving stands at the door and hugs and kisses those who are staying home. So, weekdays this means Anthony and Daddy give big hugs and kisses to mommy, Dominic, and Nicolas. We assembled everyone together and Dom tried to give Anthony a big hug but for whatever reason (he is complicated, what can I say) Anthony wanted to Dom to give Daddy his hugs and kisses first. Dom would hear nothing of it and held on to Anthony for dear life until he finally gave in and reluctantly gave him a hug. Anthony and daddy left and the other two boys and I went back to our regular morning routine of breakfast, coffee, and getting dressed (the coffee is for me, don't get worried.) As I cleaned up the kitchen I heard a faint little voice crying in another room. It wasn't Nicolas, he likes to make known his unhappiness so of course it was Dom. I finally found him and asked what was wrong and he said through tears he was trying to hold back, "Anthony didn't want to hug me and I am sad." What does a mother do? I just held him and told him I would give him as many hugs as he wanted today. That seemed to help, but my heart was still broken for my little sensitive heart. He can be pretty tough but when his feelings are hurt you know it. So, we snuggled for a bit and then everything seemed to be ok. Then Dom realized that the cookies we had bought for Anthony's birthday had left with Anthony for him to share with his class. The tears started again and then Nicolas joined in. After all, if someone is going to cry and get attention he doesn't want to be left out.

At the moment everying is fine, no one is crying, well, the baby is crying in his bed but he is tired and needs a rest so we will let that one slide. I am getting ready to snuggle some more with Dom and maybe, just maybe, finish my coffee.