Celebrate Asha - Part I

366 days we've had our little girl and we can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. Asha is quite a remarkable person, full of personality and spunk. The night before her birthday, I got to thinking about what I was doing the year before....and my stomach hurt! At 12:05 a.m., the time she was born, I snuck into her room and gazed at her, breathing, sleeping. Amazing that exactly a year ago we watched her take her first breath...

The day was a wonderful celebration of Asha. I had bought her a special bright pink dress to wear. In the morning, we had parent/child dedication at our church where we dedicated ourselves and Asha to the Lord. Both Carl's family and mine were in attendance, which was very special. Asha has been blessed because both sets of grandparents were there the day she was born, and there on her first birthday, on her dedication day. Uncle John took lots of pictures (thank you Tio!) and so I'll post those soon.

After the service, we headed to the park for our picnic lunch and party. Those that came were my parents and three brothers, Carl's parents, Carl's three brothers, their wives and kids, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and their three kids, my three cousins, and two special aunties and two special uncles. Carl had made some amazing salads, bbq chicken, and bread, and I had baked a cake, complete with pink and white fondant. How thrilling to have her birthday party outside in the park because both Joel and Kezia were born in the winter (though I have to admit, I did have outdoor parties for both of them in CA).

We were ready to sit down to eat when my brother had an accident and fell out of a tree. He wrenched his back pretty badly and couldn't move, so we ended up calling the ambulance. My dad went along with him to the hospital and thankfully Markus was okay when all was said and done, just a little sore. At least my dad got to taste some of the food thanks to Kristal who quickly made him up a plate before he went along in the ambulance with Markus. Talk about a memory for Asha's birthday party!

After the meal, all the kids took their swing at the pinata and enjoyed dashing for the candy in the grass. Auntie Judy was giving free scooter rides, but only to the small kids :(  Asha happily sucked on her red lollipop she was given from the pinata while she was driven around the park.

Asha had fun opening up her gifts, mostly because of the cool wrapping paper, with her Dad. I think the gift she most enjoyed was the little baby that her Grandma Heppner gave her. She cradled that baby in her arms and carried it around all day.

We all enjoyed the chocolate cake I made, especially Asha who smeared it all over herself, except on her dress, what a lady! Uncle John got all the awesome cake pictures, so you'll have to wait to see those (and really, that's why I love kids' birthday pics, the cake faces are priceless).

Most of the family stayed around until about 4 p.m. enjoying the sunshine and visiting. It was a great day for a party at the park. I marveled at how well Asha did with having her nap delayed so long. She would crawl around, lie on a blanket for a few minutes, then get up and continue on her way, cuddling and smiling with all her family.

We packed up and said our goodbyes and headed home. Asha was exhausted and fell asleep in the van. We got home, unloaded our sleeping baby and all of our stuff. There were a few things we needed to do before the next party...next party?!

Yup, at 6:00 we were hosting another party for our friends. It was a joint party for Asha and I. See, Carl wanted to throw me a big 3-0 party with our friends here, but the summer was slipping by quickly. So I suggested that I just join in on Asha's party. It was quite a success. We had over 25 people come, and lots of kids. The plan was to have some people inside in the living room, some downstairs, some outside, but as it turned out, most of the people just pulled up chairs and sat on our front lawn. We don't have a big yard, and it was packed, but it was a lot of fun. Joel and Kezia helped Asha and I blow out the candles and everyone sang for us. Asha was a bit tired because she had a short nap, but once she was out of the lime light, she was happy. I opened most of her gifts, but I didn't mind!

By 8:00 most of the families with children started to head home. And at 8:30, we said goodbye to our last guest. It was very special to have our friends come to our home and celebrate with us. We really have missed being able to host gatherings like this in our home. Plus, Carl and I love to cook and entertain.

Carl gathered up the dishes, chairs, and trash while I gave our sticky tired kids baths. Even though, Asha was tired as ever, she was happy as a lark in the bathtub.

It was truly a special day to celebrate Asha and I can hardly believe how the time has flown by. Even though our life is pretty hectic and crazy, I am reminded that I need to stop and sit and spend time with my kids while they are young, leave the dishes, because before long they are out of diapers, walking to school, driving away....