| 06-26-11 / Half Parties: A Sure Way to Wear a Mommy Out…..
What a blessing this weekend has been; weekends like this show us just how much we are loved. Last year was the beginning of “half parties” for Aaden, I realize this requires some explanation so I will gladly provide one. Aaden was born January 10, 2008; one of the best days of our lives! I begged for an earlier delivery for a couple of reasons; for starters, I was miserable due to his massive size and then there’s the obvious; if he had been born prior to January 1st we could claim him on our taxes!! As much as I pushed for an early delivery, Dr. Smith stood his ground proclaiming that little white boys lungs take longer to develop than other babies; this was a problem since I was birthing a little white boy. I still think Dr. Smith decided to quit delivering babies because I was such a difficult patient; he says otherwise but I’m not sure I believe that!
We celebrated Aaden’s first birthday on his actual birthday, I was adamant about this one; I felt if his birthday fell on a good day for a party then we should hold his party that day! We had a giant Mexican themed fiesta, not your typical baby blue “first birthday” party; that was the last party we held on or around his actual birthday. I started thinking that kids really get ripped off when their birthday falls right before or after Christmas so Aaron and I started brainstorming and came up with the idea of a “half party”. Let’s also not forget that the parental units are flat broke after Christmas so throwing a party around that Holiday is more of a burden than a pleasure! I got a tiny bit of flack for making this decision but ultimately I think people have come around. We always acknowledge his actual birthday by going to dinner with close friends and family; just a taste of what is to come in the Summer when we celebrate his half birthday. I can’t see one reason why a kid would complain about such an arrangement; not to mention, he’ll never know any different.
This weekend was full of fun in the sun! We were able to spend the entire day Friday with great friends at the water park, where we all received a sunburn to remember. Aaron and I had already decided that we would take the kids to see Cars 2 at some point prior to his party so I decided Aaron should take them while I slaved over all the goodies that needed preparing for his big event. We rushed around getting the kids ready for their date night with dad, I got Aaden’s crazy mop fixed and dabbed on some of daddy’s cologne; he was set and ready to go. I got Kamryn all glammed up; perfume and makeup combined with whatever shoes she wanted to wear equals one happy kid. Got them out the door and thought I would have the house to myself for at least 2 hours so I could get almost everything done in peace and quiet; wrong! Aaron called me as soon as they got to the theater letting me know that Cars 2 was sold out! Geez!! I had an idea that this might happen since it was opening night and we’re late everywhere we go; meaning they didn’t get there in time to think about getting tickets much less decent seats! When the kids got home they were very upset that they missed their movie so I moved Aaden’s tv into Kamryn’s room and built them an awesome tent to watch movies in; they were set. I have to admit that hearing, “this is so cool” coming from that room melted my heart just a tad. Aaron decided to take them to the late move, which they both slept through, and I was able to complete the tasks I had lined up for the evening! Thank God for good daddies that actually want to spend this kind of time with their babies; the kind that will sit through Cars 2 even if both kids are zonked out.
Party day came and I was excited and a bit on edge. Aaron took both kids to the gym, thank God!! I was able to get things loaded up to take to the pool and spend hours on Aaden’s Lightening McQueen cake. If you know me, you know the kitchen is not my place! I wanted to make this cake for him so bad and honestly, it didn’t turn out so great but the boy loved it and that’s all that matters! The party was a huge success!! I can’t thank everyone enough for coming and for the awesome gifts you brought for my baby boy! We all had a blast! The party started at 3:00 and we didn’t leave until around 10:00 that night, that’s a party!! I can honestly say my family is blessed! We are blessed with the best family in the world, a family that is willing to go above and beyond to make sure that we have all that we need at all times. We are blessed with the best friends, friends that are like family; there for every part of our lives and the lives of our children. We ended this awesome weekend with a Sunday that began with church and ended with mud, paint, bugs, bullets, cruises around the neighborhood in the new race car and soap on a trampoline with a sprinkler blasting water to make the ultimate slip n slide. Does it sound like a “half party” is all that bad? I think not……
When I started reflecting over the last year of Aaden’s life I couldn’t help but consider Thomas. After having Aaden, the most difficult infant ever born, I never understood those women that would get “baby fever” when their babies are still pooping and peeing in a diaper; blows my mind to this day! Before meeting Aaron I was never getting married and certainly never having kids; shows you what happens when you make plans. When I met Aaron, the only questions my family had were about him having a child because they knew it wasn’t something I was really interested in; clearly it has worked out, not without kinks and lots of work on everyone’s part; but we have never been happier. I love that little sassy girl and my entire family does too; always have. Every other weekend we would pick Kamryn up and have to give her back, this started to really tug on my heart. I really started thinking Aaden needed a full time sibling; one to fight with, play with, love on, beat on, keep secrets for, tattle on and basically just to have at all times and not have to tell them goodbye every other Sunday. As we started chatting about it, we decided to start trying for another baby; it was around this time last year. I was terrified and excited at the same time; the things I was terrified of were sleepless nights, colic, acid reflux, diapers, feedings, spit up at inopportune times, that belly button thing falling off, food allergies, ear infections, strangers touching my baby and trying desperately to be polite while wanting to express to them that I don’t really want their germs on my newborn and any other stupid thing a new mom fears; what I would give to be living through those things right now. We got pregnant with Thomas immediately, very different than our experience with Aaden; I began thinking that this would be our easy pregnancy and ultimately our easy baby; hhhmmmmm.
The only thing missing this weekend was him. In the early months of my pregnancy one of my concerns was getting back in shape in time for Aaden’s big pool party; looking back on that I feel absolutely stupid. I miss him! Little things make me miss him. This party made me miss him but also made me realize that I have so many blessings in this life and he will always be one of the biggest ones.
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Your Aaden and my Kyndra were born on the same day and year!
ReplyDeleteI think the cake looks great Holly! Glad you had a good day, and that Thomas showed up too...Most times I have a great day with the family I stop, smile, and wonder if Adelle is watching. And then I realized, just because I thought of her that day, that she was there too!
ReplyDeleteYou have one cool set up back there! I'm going to buy my husband a bug vac tomorrow ;)
ReplyDeleteGod bless you!