and now for my final TRICK: Rituals

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Rituals

A few weeks ago, Ian's dad asked me, "why have a first birthday party, he won't even remember?"

It really got me thinking as to why this first birthday party was so important to me. Truthfully, he won't remember it, but that's not really the point is it?

The point is having friends and family gather to celebrate life! One beautiful year with a miraculous baby. Sleepless nights, ear infections, first smiles, diaper explosions, learning to walk, ...all of it. The point is Ian and I survived!!

It is the rituals of our lives which make life wonderful, special, and memorable. Everett will look back at pictures of this party and listen to us tell stories of all the silly, sweet, and crazy things he did during his first year. Through those pictures and stories he will see and feel the love and happiness that all of our loved ones feel towards him. He (and maybe more so we) deserves a celebration and our loved ones wanted to be included in that celebration.

Now is the time for us to begin OUR traditions. Start new ones, uphold old ones, and change ones we didn't like from our childhoods. This is our chance to start building the memories that our children will hold dear.

So here it is...the party....

I was mildly excited with my cake success. I may move to NY and try out for Cake Boss!

Everett was in a fantastic mood and loved running around all of the people and chasing all of the kids.

I took old moving boxes and turned them into race cars.

I was pretty excited that the kids actually ran around pretending to race.

Ev was super excited to dig into the cake and ate it like a machine again. He does like to eat....

The party was amazing, crazy, fun, and everything we hoped it would be. And yes, Everett will not remember it, but I will always remember him smiling, laughing, hugging me, and dripping his slobbery kisses all over me.

This is the point....

Here are the rest of our pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/EverettSSecondFirstBirthdayParty?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOprcOAq8HnnAE#

2 comments:

Karen LeeDecember 26, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Looks like one awesome birthday party! Sorry that I missed THIS one....Love, Aunt Karen
ReplyDelete
Replies
Kim @ Too Much TimeDecember 31, 2009 at 10:22 AM
I am just happy you were at his first-first party!
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Rituals

2 comments:

LinkWithin