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Happy Birthday Dear Marisabelle

Monday, February 9, 2009


Dear Mari,

This past weekend you turned 1. The night before, I was scurrying around with your older cousins preparing for your party. We were up late into the night dancing and singing while we iced your cake. Some of the others were playing Xbox and all of us had a shot to take the edge off and get the weekend properly started.

I finally snuggled into bed around 1:30. At 8AM, I woke up, excited, nervous, and a big ball of emotion. I thought of everything that happened this past year and remembered that first moment I met you, and let my finger become enveloped in your tiny, strong hands. I started crying and rolled over to your daddy. He awoke and held me tight and told me that everything was gonna be ok. We both reminisced about all of the amazing things you've accomplished and then said a prayer to the Lord for blessing us with you.

I was up and dressed, ready to run some last minute errands. You were up around 8:30. At 8:41, we all paused to sing Happy Birthday to you! Your big brother Guapo was eagerly singing along and happy because he knew it was a special day as well. Mommy, Grandma Carol, and Nina Danika did quite a bit of running around. When we got home, I tagged your Daddy, so he and Nina Danika did some running around of their own. The family began to arrive and we all pitched in to prep the day. Mommy and Daddy dressed as flying monkeys.

We rolled out the yellow brick road, the sign was hung, the pinata ready, the cake was smiling away. Favors patiently waiting to be taken to their new homes. It all came together so nicely. We were so surprised with everyone who showed up and were happily taking it all in. You took a 3 hour nap before the party and when I went to wake you to dress you for the party, you weren't in too much of a shock. You took a few minutes to wake up, and during that time, you watched your favorite part of The Wizard of Oz. You pretty much ran around the entire time of the party, smiling, eating, playing and playing. You had lots of fun!

You pulled the first string off of your pinata and thought that was the greatest thing. On the second pull, your friend Joselyn pulled the string that opened the pinata up. Stickers, candy, pencils, and other goodies poured out of it, while I launched the confetti sticks. Confetti happily rained down.
You had cake for the first time and chocolate too! You really enjoyed the bounce house. Even after all of the guest had left, you and your father ran back into the bounce house (the brinca brinca) to have some more fun. I joined in the fun, thinking how great it was to hold you in your frog jammies while we flew in the air laughing hysterically. The entire day was perfect weather! We had a full moon, so the light from it shone through the bounce house, as the twilight twinkled off of your angelic face.

You were blessed with lots of gifts, hugs, and kisses, too! You made some new friends and played along with the ones you were well acquainted with. There were so very many details of not just the day, but the entire weekend.

On Sunday, you were spent. Mommy and Daddy knew you'd be down for a nap, so we all went to see Taken and you slept the entire time. Heck, you were up and down for naps until 6PM. Only waking long enough for a diaper change and feeding. That evening, you were back to normal, playing with all of your new toys (the fairy wand, pelican, puzzle, purse, and riding cart). I especially loved how you took your new toys over to your old toys and played with all of them. You even took out your books and started to read them and that especially warmed my heart!

Again, by the end of the night, you were ready for bed. You'd been sitting in Daddy's lap playing Xbox with him when you gave us the I'm-ready-for-bed look. We sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to you like we do every night and within seconds you were sleeping again.

You are absolutely perfect and precious and such a wonderful addition to our family. I know most parents say that to their kids, but you are so easy going and vibrant. You are a completely even mix of both of our personalities and I think it is safe to say you are more adventurous than either of us were at your age. You aren't afraid to try new things and you aren't intimidated by new people. You do like to observe before diving in, though. You do a wonderful job of sharing. There's always a smile on your face...your 4-toothed smile (2 others are trying to break through!).

I love you, sugarbean and I'm looking forward to another year of wonderful memories before celebrating the next one!

Love always,
Mommy.

4 comments:

Kelly W. said...

That just makes me tear up reading it! Mari is such a sweet little girl!!!! I'm so glad I was able to join in for her 1st birthday! I'll have to send you my pics from the party. I have a few cute ones of her while you were opening the gifts.

Jeev said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeev said...

I missed all the fun!! At least I managed to get the tail end of the party. Damn CPA prep class!!! I hope Kelly has that picture of Simon with all the make-up on!

chae said...

Another cute photo of Mari enjoying her cake. She is ONE already!

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