My just turned two-year old copies everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - her big brother says and does. No matter how absurd. Today in the car, they were both acting silly as always, and he started asking for "Pakistan Juice." And whaddaya know it? She starts asking for Pakistan Juice. My husband returned recently from a trip to Pakistan, which is how I think the word came into his head. So I spent the ride passing back cup after cup of imaginary P. J.
This past week, we celebrated her second birthday. My son demonstrated one of his first signs of attention jealosy! For once, his sister was the main event and all eyes were on her. He adjusted remarkably and surprisingly well to her entrance into the world and for the most part, has loved sharing the attention. But truthfully, the vast majority of the time, he is the king and she, his loyal subject.
My little girl just loved the party, and surprised me by how into she really was. But I also think it was good for my son to watch that and experience a role reversal of sorts.
After a minor meltdown, he got it together and settled down for a piece of cake and apple juice.
(I ran out of Pakistan juice.)
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Monday, February 02, 2009
Monday, November 12, 2007
Birthday shehecheyanu
On Friday, my twins turned one year old. It’s utterly amazing to me that these creatures who, one year ago, were tiny, helpless beings, are now suddenly… toddlers. I don’t know how it happened. I guess it’s not exactly sudden, but it feels like we have entered a new realm, and closed the door (at least for now) on the first phase of parenthood. Which of course brings both a huge wave of relief, followed by an (equally huge, for me at least) wave of nostalgia for those days of tiny babyhood.
The first birthday is such a funny thing, because while it feels so momentous to the parents, the kids themselves have no idea what’s going on. My babies took the celebrating in stride and mashed some cupcake all over their faces in good traditional first birthday form, but of course they have no idea what a birthday is. All my concern with making this birthday fun for them and planning nearly three days of special celebratory activities, I realized afterwards, wasn’t really for them, but actually for me.
And why shouldn’t it be? One of the nicest moments in this birthday extravaganza was when a friend said to me, really, we should be celebrating YOU – you did this. You carried the babies, gave birth to them, nursed them for a year, gave up sleep, and generally devoted yourself to making sure they survived and thrived through this first year of life. What an accomplishment.
I hadn’t thought about it in quite those terms before, but I appreciated the sentiment. So I’ll take this moment to revel in my motherly achievements and share the pride with all my fellows Imas out there. And of course, even as I take great satisfaction and primary responsibility for bringing my family through this year, I feel absolutely blessed to have been given this opportunity. There has never been a more fitting moment to say Shehecheyanu v’kiy’manu v’higianu la-z’man ha-zeh.
The first birthday is such a funny thing, because while it feels so momentous to the parents, the kids themselves have no idea what’s going on. My babies took the celebrating in stride and mashed some cupcake all over their faces in good traditional first birthday form, but of course they have no idea what a birthday is. All my concern with making this birthday fun for them and planning nearly three days of special celebratory activities, I realized afterwards, wasn’t really for them, but actually for me.
And why shouldn’t it be? One of the nicest moments in this birthday extravaganza was when a friend said to me, really, we should be celebrating YOU – you did this. You carried the babies, gave birth to them, nursed them for a year, gave up sleep, and generally devoted yourself to making sure they survived and thrived through this first year of life. What an accomplishment.
I hadn’t thought about it in quite those terms before, but I appreciated the sentiment. So I’ll take this moment to revel in my motherly achievements and share the pride with all my fellows Imas out there. And of course, even as I take great satisfaction and primary responsibility for bringing my family through this year, I feel absolutely blessed to have been given this opportunity. There has never been a more fitting moment to say Shehecheyanu v’kiy’manu v’higianu la-z’man ha-zeh.
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