It was the morning of Will's birthday party, and I was completely discouraged.
I had pulled a typical first-time Mom last year - went all out with the first birthday, making all the food from scratch, putting tons of energy into the planning, spending too much money, etc... and was totally pooped at the thought of doing that again for a longgggg time.
Especially when your baby is *clearly* completely oblivious.
I decided I wouldn't do much for a birthday until my child was old enough to ask for a particular theme.
Buttttt... after getting the snacks from Costco for the 15 guests, and then buying the cake as well, I just wrong... I felt there was more I could do to shower Will with love.
I want birthdays to be all about the child. I am hoping to have more than the usual 2-3 kids (I know it sounds crazy, but I was one of 6 and loved every minute), and so I think this means its even more important to make sure each of my children feel uniquely loved and special on their big day.
Thus - the guest list is never going to be a "given". They can invite or not invite whomever they please. It will be all about them and no one else. Not an obligatory extended family event or anything like that.
And I hope to be able do fun themes and special decorations for each one.
I think the trick to keeping this approach sustainable when raising a family, is to Keep It Simple.
I literally put this party together the morning of. I picked a simple theme based on his favorite new animal sound, "Reebee" (for Ribbit, which is for Frog, obvi).
This turned out to be a genius idea, since all the Easter decor is out at Target, and there were plenty of frogs to be found in one quick trip.
This helped everything stay easy and cheap. I think I hit the right balance. I could totally throw this party again!
Those little things sticking to the wall are little "Reebee" party favors that turned out to be the biggest hit for Will and his little friend Madeline.
I put all the decorations up while he was napping, and when he woke up, I walked him into the Dining Room and was totally rewarded for all my efforts by his pure delight.
He played with balloons and Reebee's all day, and I think he knew that all his friends that came were there for him. He walked around with an especially proud swagger, ate his cake by the fistful, and didn't sit down til Jason and I laid him in the crib that evening. Upon which he totally passed out.
It may not seem like much in contrast to the blowout birthday parties parents routinely throw these days, but it was just enough to make Will feel truly special. You could just tell watching him hop around happily.
And it broke neither the bank nor my pregnant energy levels.
Happy birthday my sweet boy! Its hard to imagine sharing life with anyone but you and your dad.
But no matter how many cute children I have, you will always be my first baby.
*A special thanks to one of my oldest and dearest friends, Catherine, (aka the Godmother), who came up for a long weekend and blessed me with her encouragement and amazing help! Couldn't have done any of it without her. Though she will not read this for weeks since she gave up blogs for Lent lol.
Labels: 2nd birthday, baby boy, birthday party, children, decorations, family, party planning, something good
