Zola is now one. I no longer have an infant in my home, but the toddler I have gained is something to behold. She is walking, everywhere and all the time. She is trying very hard to communicate, though there are no clear words there. Today she was sitting in the yard, and I was in a chair on the driveway. She got fussy and put up her arms towards me said, "Mama." It's the clearest I've seen her direct a word, correctly, at something or someone. She has clear wants and a temper that's come out. When she's mad, she falls on the floor and throws her head back, sometimes with a whack that leads to a whole new set of tears. She lovey and likes to be in my lap whenever possible, though terribly squirmy while there. She likes shoes -- any she can find. She still has a belly.
I decided to do a first birthday party for Zola for a few reasons. I've done one for the other two kids, but that was at age two, when I thought they could understand a little more. Plus I always had ulterior motives for those parties. With Oliver, we had been in our house for a little over a year, had met a lot of neighbors, and we were finally settled enough to let people in to see what we'd "done" with the place. It worked out as a chance to socialize with people we otherwise only really talked to in the front yard or in passing. With that tradition in place, I tried the same thing with Emmeline. We were about to move to our new house and ready to share the news that Zola was coming home to us soon. Unfortunately, horrible weather meant that almost no one came, and we were left with hoards of cupcakes. So when Zola's first birthday approached, I thought that the same setup -- cupcakes, no presents, invite the neighbors -- would be a great way to see more of our new neighbors, many of whom we hardly ever see, and let them see our children. A lot of people came and introduced themselves to Wes while I was overseas with Zola, and I thought it would be fun for those same people to see that little girl celebrate her first year. But it was more than that. I don't have as many memories with Zola as I did with the other two at age one. And more importantly, I don't have as many memories for Zola later in life. I thought doing a party would be a great way to celebrate a day we weren't originally there for and to make some memories of her early childhood sooner rather than later.
Her actual birthday was on a Friday, and we did a few fun things then, too. She wore her birthday shirt, a tradition I started with Oliver at age 3 and his little sisters have done from the beginning. I thought it went just great with her tutu, and the teachers at daycare just loved it. We put up the birthday sign, too, and Oliver and Emmeline were very excited to tell everyone that Zola was now one. Since Oliver had baseball practice that night, and Zola is often in bed by 7PM, we didn't do anything special for dinner. I did give her the one gift we bought for her -- a Fischer Price toy she'd loved at her cousin's house. It talks and plays
music, and she'll push the buttons until she gets a song and then dance.
On Saturday, my parents came into town. I'd invited them to join us, knowing we were going to do a little party of some kind, and they were able to come. I made the party a bunny theme, since that's Zola's animal -- her lovey named
Lapin (French for bunny), the image on a t-shirt I bought for her before she even came home. Plus our backyard is full of bunny rabbits. Brown ones at that. My mom and I made orange, strawberry, and carrot cupcakes, which seemed fitting with the backyard, bunny theme. I made unsweetened tea and lemon water. And the kids bagged snack sizes of Annie's Organic bunnies, in case anyone needed a snack. The weather was beautiful in the afternoon, when we had it. It was looking like rain, but the skies stayed pretty clear until well after we cleaned up. Maybe a dozen people ended up coming, a few neighbors, a few friends from school and work. The kids played hard, a few people brought cards and gifts, but mostly the adults just stood and talked. It was simple. It was fun. Memories were made.
Celebrating Zola's first birthday was something different than with Oliver and Emmeline. It somehow seemed more important to do. We are not big birthday people, and there was nothing about their first birthdays that made me feel like it needed special noting. But this was a way to show her that of all the things we wish, we would give anything to tell her more about the day she came into the world and the first few weeks afterwards. In reality, we don't know when Zola came into this world. But every year, on this day, we will celebrate that she was.
I decided to do a first birthday party for Zola for a few reasons. I've done one for the other two kids, but that was at age two, when I thought they could understand a little more. Plus I always had ulterior motives for those parties. With Oliver, we had been in our house for a little over a year, had met a lot of neighbors, and we were finally settled enough to let people in to see what we'd "done" with the place. It worked out as a chance to socialize with people we otherwise only really talked to in the front yard or in passing. With that tradition in place, I tried the same thing with Emmeline. We were about to move to our new house and ready to share the news that Zola was coming home to us soon. Unfortunately, horrible weather meant that almost no one came, and we were left with hoards of cupcakes. So when Zola's first birthday approached, I thought that the same setup -- cupcakes, no presents, invite the neighbors -- would be a great way to see more of our new neighbors, many of whom we hardly ever see, and let them see our children. A lot of people came and introduced themselves to Wes while I was overseas with Zola, and I thought it would be fun for those same people to see that little girl celebrate her first year. But it was more than that. I don't have as many memories with Zola as I did with the other two at age one. And more importantly, I don't have as many memories for Zola later in life. I thought doing a party would be a great way to celebrate a day we weren't originally there for and to make some memories of her early childhood sooner rather than later. 
Her actual birthday was on a Friday, and we did a few fun things then, too. She wore her birthday shirt, a tradition I started with Oliver at age 3 and his little sisters have done from the beginning. I thought it went just great with her tutu, and the teachers at daycare just loved it. We put up the birthday sign, too, and Oliver and Emmeline were very excited to tell everyone that Zola was now one. Since Oliver had baseball practice that night, and Zola is often in bed by 7PM, we didn't do anything special for dinner. I did give her the one gift we bought for her -- a Fischer Price toy she'd loved at her cousin's house. It talks and plays
On Saturday, my parents came into town. I'd invited them to join us, knowing we were going to do a little party of some kind, and they were able to come. I made the party a bunny theme, since that's Zola's animal -- her lovey named Lapin (French for bunny), the image on a t-shirt I bought for her before she even came home. Plus our backyard is full of bunny rabbits. Brown ones at that. My mom and I made orange, strawberry, and carrot cupcakes, which seemed fitting with the backyard, bunny theme. I made unsweetened tea and lemon water. And the kids bagged snack sizes of Annie's Organic bunnies, in case anyone needed a snack. The weather was beautiful in the afternoon, when we had it. It was looking like rain, but the skies stayed pretty clear until well after we cleaned up. Maybe a dozen people ended up coming, a few neighbors, a few friends from school and work. The kids played hard, a few people brought cards and gifts, but mostly the adults just stood and talked. It was simple. It was fun. Memories were made. 
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