In choosing a theme for Banner's birthday party, I thought about what would be easy to plan, cute with lots of bright colors, and appropriate for a first birthday party. I thought of several of his "favorite" books, and we considered Dr. Suess (
Fox in Socks, specifically) or
Goodnight Moon or
The Very Hungry Caterpillar. When I thought of the themes represented in these books, Eric Carle's book seemed to be the most fitting: a caterpillar that becomes a beautiful butterfly. Not only does Banner have all the Eric Carle bath toys, but he has two copies (board book and regular hardback) of the story along with a large stuffed caterpillar from my colleagues at work. I also thought this theme was fitting for Banner because he was a very hungry baby, and he's such a good eater these days! Early on, I remember those days of his awful cry for food, a high pitched (almost) squeal that was both funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Since those early days of that piercing cry, Banner has gotten to be such a fun little eater, and he's become my beautiful butterfly - emerging from this year of infancy into the little boy who cracks us up, melts our hearts, and brightens our days!
Banner's first birthday party was the day after his actual birthday. Here's the invitation we sent out:
These invitations went out to 117 people! Yep, I said it... 117! What can I say? We have a lot of friends and family who love my little boy! :) Of those 117 people invited, 73 people attended (25 of them were kids/babies). So, we had quite a gathering at the park on Sunday. I was so relieved that the rain from the week before had subsided by Saturday, AND because it had rained previously in the week, the temperature was much cooler than it otherwise would have been. However, I did not expect it to be so windy! The wind forced me to nix the decorations we had prepared. I had table cloths that wouldn't stay in place, the food labels (which went with the Hungry Caterpillar theme) wouldn't even stay put with tape, and the balloon banner Sam and I made was a complete mess. But, the party went on well even without the ambiance I had planned for. Bummed? Yes. Worth ruining my attitude for the party? Not at all.
See, although I had spent a lot of time and effort on these cute decorations that would have tied the whole theme and party environment together, I had made the mistake of checking my Facebook news feed while waiting on my mom to get to my house to keep Banner while Sam, my father-in-law, and I set up at the park... and that mistake put everything in perspective. As I scrolled through several posts, I came across a friend's status update which linked to her blog (a blog I have followed regularly but typically through my own blog website - under "Blog Friends" on the right hand side of this page). Her blog post began by informing her readers that her young toddler has cancer. Shocked and heartbroken for my friend, I couldn't continue reading much after that devastating statement. So, I decided to read more later - not before my own son's first birthday party. Yet, after hearing of this awful news, I had an entirely different perspective of Banner's party than I otherwise would have - and anything that went "wrong" was simply no big deal. The wind destroyed my idea for a more festive atmosphere, a dozen cupcakes were accidentally dropped when the bottom of the carrier fell out, the park landscapers were mowing as we were setting food out, and it was too windy for Banner's candles to stay lit at all! But, none of this deterred my attitude while celebrating my healthy son's life. I know too many people who have lost their babies, too many people whose children are not healthy, too many people desperate to have a baby - so I was fully aware that a few mishaps here and there were no big deal at all! I spent the entire party feeling so blessed to be surrounded by such a large group of friends and family who were all with me to celebrate my baby and his journey this year.
Speaking of his journey, I made a video for Banner that Sam & I showed after we sang "Happy Birthday" to Banner and watched him dig into his caterpillar cake. Making the video was so much fun (and heartwarming!) for me. I pretty much cry every time I watch it because almost every picture included in this video is a special picture - documenting a special moment or a first: first smile, first bath, first roll, first crawl, first swim, etc. I watch the video and think back to so many special moments throughout the year (walks with Daddy, Mommy's first day back at work, Father's Day, Hanukkah, loving on Zaide when Bubbie died, meeting my grandpa, my mom's birthday, Mother's Day, Passover, naps with Mommy, etc...) I think Banner will enjoy having this video when he's older and can really appreciate the significance of these photos/videos. (If you want to see the video, click
here!)
After the party ended, Banner took his afternoon nap, and then he opened (well, Sam & I opened) Banner's birthday gifts while Uncle Brock, Aunt Mischelle, Brycen, NaNa, Aunt Gayle, Miles, Papa, Grandma, Cherie, Jed, and Avery watched and continued the celebration! Banner got some amazing gifts (gifts I have no idea where we are going to store in this shrinking house of ours!!). I can't wait to play with each of them!
As everyone left our house, I felt a profound sadness that the weekend that I had planned for and waited for was over. I was so sad to wave goodbye to our family and friends and officially end the birthday festivities. It was time for Banner to eat dinner already, and I wasn't ready for the day to start ending! But, after Banner finished his last few bites of his meal, Sam and I decided it really wasn't fair that he didn't get to "make a wish" or "blow out" his candles, so we lit a candle on one of the (many leftover) cupcakes, we sang "Happy Birthday" again, and waited and waited for Banner to blow out the candle.... we had been practicing this for many days ahead of time. But, lo and behold, Banner looked at us like we were crazy, so Sam and I blew out the candle for Banner, and I don't know about Sam, but I made my own special wish for Banner. . . that he have an amazing second year of life, that he stay healthy and strong, that he grow and learn. And in that moment, I couldn't help but think of my friend and her son, and tears were relentless. And, they kept flowing throughout the night. I wasn't a blubbering mess, but I was definitely emotional and teary as I hugged my baby and loved on my family - wanting to hold them close and tight. You can imagine that saying goodnight to Banner was yet another tearful time.
All in all, the party was a success. There were a few people whose presence was definitely missed, and Sam and I wished desperately that they could have been there. In addition to some of Banner's aunts & uncles who were out of town this weekend, we missed our best friends, Robyn & Jeff, and we all felt the loss of Bubbie. But, all of them were on our minds and in our hearts, and they were with us in some way during the celebration.
Planning Banner's party was a bit stressful but OH so fun! I cannot wait to plan his second birthday party! You probably know me well enough to know I'm already thinking about it! :)
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