She's a Wild 1

With lots of laughs and so much fun,

Our adventurous Eleanor just turned one!

A year ago, at this time, we were adjusting to our new normal and finding our footing as a family of four.  Meeting our newest daughter was life changing, of course.  Over this past year, Eleanor has smiled, waved and climbed her way into the hearts of so many people around her.  She is a happy and outgoing baby who has never met a stranger.  She loves animals, people, waving, clapping, climbing, food, music and most recently, books.

From the moment she was born, Eleanor’s presence in the world has kept us on our toes.  She has endured Amelia’s love from the get go, even when it isn’t always gentle.  She is Scout’s best friend and loyal follower.  She is our little bit, who isn’t so little anymore.  Where Amelia hasn’t stopped talking since the moment she was born, Eleanor hasn’t stopped moving.  Seatbelts, shelves, steps and chairs are no match for this one.

Eleanor is a brave girl with no fear.  Hopefully, a healthy amount of fear will turn up during her second year of life.  She has been brave in the face of ear infection after ear infection, a cranial ultrasound, unidentified allergies, eczema and ear tubes.  We are so grateful that these are all minor battles.  Eleanor smiles through it all.

So, when it came time to celebrate our littlest girl, we did not hesitate on a theme for her party.  As soon as we came across the idea of a “wild one,” we knew it fit her perfectly.  We approached it more as an adventure theme, but decorated with wild flowers and wild animals.  The party favor was animal masks; the decorations were all pinks and greens.  The food included “Choose Your Own Adventure Trail Mix,” “Hippo in a Blanket,” “Lion Cheese and Crackers,” “The Watering Hole,” “Zebra Cookies,” and of course, cupcakes (which were arranged in the shape of a flower).  My favorite decoration turned our banister into a jungle of monthly pictures depicting an ever growing, but always-recognizable Eleanor.

Eleanor simply loved her party.  I will admit that she had moments of uncharacteristic clinginess, but this was minor.  She loved having people in our house and spent most of her time crawling from person to person.  Eleanor’s least favorite part of the party was the icing on her smash cake.  She didn’t hesitate to put her hands in it, but once she tasted it, she immediately gagged.  That lovely moment aside, Eleanor was a big fan of her birthday.  We didn’t have to deal with any meltdowns or tantrums.  Eleanor (and Amelia) was social, content and only dealing with a slight-sugar high.  Like all overzealous parents, we took picture after picture.  So, prepare your hearts, social media, for an onslaught of even more pictures of my adorable one year old and her party.  They’re coming.

As we celebrate the near-constant milestones as a family with young children, I am once again overwhelmed with gratitude.  I am thankful for the family and friends who not only celebrated with our girl, but who also cover her with love daily.  She is one lucky little girl and as her parents, we are so grateful to be a part of her adventure.

Thank you for celebrating our wild one, whether it was in person or from afar.

A Little Cake, A Lot of Fun, Our Little Sunshine Just Turned One

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine,

 You make me happy when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you,

I love you more and more everyday.

On the morning of Friday, June 5^th, Adam and I got up and got ready for our day as usual.  However, on that morning, when we heard the familiar babbling from Amelia’s room, we both rushed in with our camera.  We sang “Happy Birthday” and snapped pictures of our always-happy-in-the-morning not-such-a-baby girl.  She laughed and clapped at the unexpected morning excitement, only pausing to try to hide her eyes from the flash.  And so began Amelia’s very first birthday.

            This day may have felt typical for Amelia in her one-year-old routine way, but for me, for us, (and in truth, for Amelia) it was monumental.  Just like all of Amelia’s firsts, we anticipated her birthday.  I have confessed before that I love special occasions; I love marking time; I love celebrations and nostalgia and surprises.  This one was no different; in fact, if anything, this particular birthday was especially meaningful, even if the birthday girl had no idea why she had a particularly awesome weekend.

            All birthdays contain a certain amount of nostalgia, looking back over the past year, assessing what was good, what was bad, what has changed.  Like most parents, Adam and I spent Amelia’s birthday wrapped up in that nostalgia.  We constantly checked the time and reminisced about where we had been a year ago at that time.  Of course, this birthday was starkly different than her actual birth day; there was much less physical pain this year, but both years had cake.  As far as the assessment of the past year, I’ll hold off on that, so I can finish the story since I know you, reader, are desperately eager to hear the rest of the story of Amelia’s graduation from babyhood to toddlerhood.

            On her birthday, Amelia had French fries for lunch.  She gleefully swung in the baby swing at the park in Blowing Rock after which she braved crawling through the tunnel and she had her first taste of ice cream (vanilla from Kilwin’s; the verdict was “delicious” and “more”). 

            Later that day, after opening presents from Mommy and Daddy, Amelia celebrated with all four of her grandparents, her parents and her dog, all at once.  She was one happy little girl, with the exception of the five minutes when we tried to give her cake (oh, the horror).  When bedtime rolled around, she was more than ready.  As I tucked her in, I found myself faced with another moment full of bittersweet and nearly overwhelming nostalgia.  She looked so big in her sleep sack, holding her Amelia monkey blankie, wondering why I wasn’t leaving the room.  Once, not so long ago, that crib had seemed to swallow her; she had seemed lost in the vastness of it.  Now, I marvel at how she manages to flop around so much in her sleep even in spite of the four walls of crib slats.  Never again will the changes in one year be so pronounced.  Never again will she need me, need us, in quite the same ways.  Never again will she be a newborn or even a baby.

            I tore myself from her crib-side and rejoined my parents, my in-laws and Adam.  Once we were sure she was sound asleep, we left Amelia with a babysitter and headed en masse to decorate for Amelia’s “You Are My Sunshine” first birthday bash that was set to take place the day after her birthday.  This was one of those rare times in life when the actual look of something nearly matches exactly what you pictured.  I hadn’t mapped out each detail exactly, but the overall effect was perfect.  First birthdays are controversial in their own ways.  Sure, the birthday child has no idea what’s happening.  Sure, it’s a lot of work.  Sure, it’s just as much, if not more, for the parents.  To all of that I say, so what?  I didn’t feel the least bit stressed and I enjoyed every bit of throwing the party.  Amelia will never have another first birthday.  If you had only had one birthday, wouldn’t you want it to have been an awesome one?  

          And, whether she understood or not, when party time came, Amelia partied hard.  She absolutely and unquestionably loved her party.  She did not shed one tear, in spite of the crowd and attention and “demands” of being the birthday girl.  Instead, Amelia ate it up.  She played with everyone, went to anyone who wanted to hold her, ate her cake happily and opened all of her presents, happily moving from one toy to another.  She may have fussed – and it may have been a lot – when we had to clean the cake off of her, but to be fair, we couldn’t leave it caked in her hair and of course, she had to change into her post-cake wardrobe.

            The main thing that I want to say about her party is thank you.  I cannot express how much the party meant to us and how much we loved seeing everyone love Amelia.  To those of you who took time out of your day or travelled or turned down other (possibly more exciting) plans or whatever you did to be there with us, thank you.  Thank you. 

            After the party, life mostly returned to normal, as it always seems to do.  I am still trying to get used to saying I have a one-year-old.  Amelia is still exploring everything, walking everywhere and learning how to communicate. Milestones will continue to present themselves and then to be mastered.  I hope and pray that Amelia will continue to grow and learn.  Not all birthdays will be this big; whether or not we celebrate this way, this birthday will always stand out.  We will celebrate again, but never again will it be her first birthday.

            When you bring a newborn home from the hospital, it seems as though they change every day.  Each moment brings something new and even something exciting.  However, at the same time, the newborn phase can seem as though it will never end.  Then, you wake up, and it’s a year later.  Your newborn is now a walking, “talking,” playing, mile-a-minute toddler.  I can’t honestly say that I fully miss the newborn phase in its entirety, but the memory of it does carry with it finality, only because Amelia will never be there again.  It’s both happy and sad; one of the conundrums of parenting. 

            The happy part is that we all got through one year of being a family of three.  In fact, not only did we get through it, we got through it well.  Yay for us!  Amelia is growing, learning and is pretty much completely awesome already.  That’s a point for me and a point for Adam.  So, once more, (for this year at least) I’d like to wish you all a happy Amelia’s birthday.  I hope it was as happy for you as it was for us.