I've been looking at her a lot these last few days, just marveling at how big she's getting and how much she's changing. She's so CAPABLE of stuff now. It's just amazing to me how much a year can change. And it makes me wonder what the next year has in store.
Emily's birthday was celebrated in many different parts. First was the birthday party on the 20th (more about this below with pictures). Then was the actual day of. In my mind, her first birthday was almost more a celebration of Jacob and myself than it was for her. She had no clue what day it was, but that day marked a huge milestone for Jacob and I. We had been parents for a year. We had survived being parents TOGETHER for a year. We made through the sleepless nights, the constant feedings and diaper changes... and we did it together. With smiles and laughter. WE did it.
We did it for one year after I did something pretty damn amazing. And I felt like the anniversary of my labor was just as important to celebrate. I accomplished something big that day a year ago. It was me... and this body that I've been so hard on for so many years. I did something awesome, and that was also worth celebrating.
So, in addition to Emily's birthday party, I made a day out of her actual birthday... a celebration of all of us. I took the day off work, and kept Emily home from daycare in the morning. We played, I marveled, she napped and then we made a picnic lunch and went to see Jacob at work. He got to show her off around the office, and then we had lunch outside in the sun. After saying goodbye, I drove Emily to daycare for the afternoon and I went and got a massage. One year almost to the minute that I started pushing, I was treating my body to some deep relaxation. And it felt AMAZING! lol After the massage I bummed around for a little bit doing some window shopping, and the took the max downtown where Jacob and I had dinner reservations.
Emily's grandparents picked her up from daycare for us that evening so that Jacob and I could go out and enjoy each other's company. We decided to try out Ivories, a jazz piano lounge in The Pearl. The food was FANTASTIC! The restaurant was pretty quiet, and we had to pay a cover for the piano music, but the food made up for it! Then we walked down the street for some dessert.... Jacob with a huge ice cream cone from Ben and Jerry's, and a huge cupcake from the Cupcake Jones for myself. We sat on a bench on the side walk cuddling and eating our chocolate. It was a beautiful evening, and I"m so glad that we took the time to celebrate Emily's birthday... without Emily. lol
Trust me... she got LOTS of celebration the previous weekend at her birthday party!
Emily had about 35 guests come to wish her a happy birthday... and she got to wear a tutu* and cowboy boots**... she was in heaven! =)
**The cowboy boots used to be Jacob's when he was a toddler. We're going to a cowboy themed birthday party in a couple of weeks... I hope they still fit! =)
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| PRESENTS! |
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| Two of her favorite gifts! lol |
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| Time to play! |
Next it was time for the cake! My cousin Marisa (who made my brother's awesome wedding cake), decided to do a book theme for Emily's cake. It was fantastic!
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| Cousins teaching her how to blow out a candle! |
Emily wasn't sure what to think of the cake at first... but she soon figured it out! =)
After cake and presents, it was time to play and hang out with family!
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| Soccer with grandpa and the cousins! |
I didn't put too much time into decorating the house, but I did print out several (ok... about 150) photos of Emily over the last year to hang on the walls... including her (then) 51 weeks of weekly teddy bear photos
It was a great day, and I'm so happy that the weather turned out nice so that we could spend time outside! Emily loved her cake, loved her presents (especially all the tissue paper) and slept great that night (score for mom and dad! lol)
1 comment:
I love her tutu and I agree that the first bday party is also a celebration of the parents surviving that first year as well.
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