Thoughts on Birthdays

twelve hours after her birth, Adelaida was in the NICU but doing well

In nine short days, Adelaida is going to be one year old. It's hard to believe that our first year with her has flown by so quickly!

Dale and I have been thinking for a long time about how to best celebrate Adelaida's first birthday (and her future birthdays, and future kids' birthdays!). We've heard from so many people that separating her birthday from Christmas is both important (having separate celebrations reinforces the idea that the child is special) and difficult -- especially with all our family and loved ones out of state, it becomes easy to think "I'll get this present for Adelaida for her birthday, but give it to her when I see her at Christmas."

two-week-old Adelaida snuggles with her Poppa

Dale and I both remember birthday traditions in our families when we were growing up, and they were not elaborate gift-giving or party events, but small, special family affairs: getting a special breakfast, or going with grandparents to a special event (without the siblings!), or getting to pick a restaurant for the family to eat dinner out.

Additionally, Dale and I are fortunate enough to be able to buy anything Adelaida needs and just about anything she wants, so saving a special wished-for item for a birthday present becomes less important.

two-month-old Adelaida, chilling in her chair

With all of these thoughts taken together, we've decided that we'd like to start a birthday tradition for Adelaida (and future children, of course) that celebrates the fact that she is a very special, very loved child whose birth was a joyous occasion for her entire family. We struggled with deciding just how to implement this idea, but finally came up with a birthday tradition that we think will be full of wonderful, lasting memories.

Adelaida and her daddy look at the giraffes

For her birthday, we are going to start a tradition of doing some family event and avoid the more common birthday traditions of presents, birthday cakes, and parties. I imagine that this family event might be as simple as going to the zoo or taking art classes or as elaborate as a ski trip or vacation at a dude ranch. The birthday child will get to choose his or her event (within some parameters) and help with planning the particulars, and of course the events will change with time and be age-appropriate for the birthday child.

almost-one

At almost-one-year-old, Adelaida has been enjoying going to the zoo -- she likes to see the animals and to hear them talk. We've been to the Albuquerque Zoo with her several times, but going to a different zoo would be a real treat for her. Since we will be in Indiana around the time of her birthday, we're considering taking her to the Indianapolis Zoo for her birthday event, if the weather stays nice.

I hope that special events like this will create longer-lasting happy memories that she will always be able to remember and know that she is loved.