I must be getting old. 

My daughter celebrated her birthday and Halloween this weekend and tonight, as I sit here at work, I feel a little like I've been hit by a truck.  It was a three-day extravaganza that kicked off with the elementary school's Halloween dance Friday night.

Taylor and I decided to take the 17-month-old along.  Maybe I need to get out more, but as we walked into the gymnasium the music seemed so loud, it reminded me of a nightclub I used to hit years ago in Montreal. 

Ashley immediately spotted her buddies and ran off.    And then it didn't take long for Noah to wriggle out of Taylor's arms and make a break for the dance floor.  And before I knew it, there my baby was.... bouncing to the beat. 

Taylor and I just stared at him.  He just stayed out there and danced and danced and danced...

It was the cutest thing we have ever seen!

By the time we made it home, both Noah and Ashley were exhausted.  Noah started fussing as I changed him into his sleeper.  I asked him, "What's wrong baby?"  And without missing a beat, Ashley chimes, "He thinks this after-party is lame."

I am dreading her teen years more than you ever know.

The next day was Ashley's birthday party, held at the Lakeview RecPlex in Pleasant Praire.  16 kids frolicking in the pool, then enjoying lunch and cupcakes in the party room.  Awesome!  And it didn't end there...

Some of the little girls spent the night at our house.  They ate pizza, played air hockey, competed on the Wii, did a craft, then watched the Hannah Montana movie.

Then they did it all over again.

By 1 a.m. I was turning off the t.v., and six little girls were fast asleep in my basement.   

Another "cutest ever" moment.

By Sunday afternoon, Ashley was about to drop... but the partying pressed on.  Time for trick-or-treat in Oak Creek!

A few buddies came over... and Taylor (thank God for Taylor!) and a few other parents took them all around the neighborhood.

By then I was (mercifully!) on my way into work.  Exhausted... but exhilarated.

This was one of the best weekend's of my daughter's life... and even though I'm exhausted, I have to admit it was a blast, and I wouldn't change one moment of it.

But it will take me a couple of days to recover...