Baby's 1st Birthday

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

29 Jun 2006 02:30 PM

Is that day approaching far faster than you were expecting? First birthdays catch up to us long before we are ready for them and when it comes to the day to mark the passing of that first birthday, the celebration, the cake, the candles and yes, even most of the decorations are for us and for the memory books than they are for the babies.

On my daughter's first birthday, we made her a Bear in the Big Blue House cake and her eyes grew as round as saucers when she saw it for the first time. There was a Bear toy sitting on the corner of it and they fascinated her. We sang Happy Birthday to her and we helped her blow out the candle and then much to my husband's chagrin, our daughter very carefully plucked her toys out without making any mess.

He really wanted a picture of her with cake frosting all over her face. So he helped it happen and she was offended. It was all very amusing.

We celebrate birthdays as we do most firsts in our babies' lives because they mark not only the passage of time, but milestones in their lives that we can document with photographs, video tapes and tales to tell later. Remember this as you approach celebrating your baby's first birthday - you can make great memories without going overboard and overwhelming your little one.

Most 1st Birthdays

Most 1st birthdays are celebrated with the family and perhaps one or two close friends. While some people may elect to get a few other children together to celebrate the 1st birthday, your baby will probably appreciate the center of the universe treatment they will get for being right there to celebrate the day of their birth.

You can go all out with the decorations, but a handful is usually better. The more tactile they are, the better and we liked decorating with a few toys - that way when she wanted to play with them, and she could. A birthday party at this age won't last much longer than 30 minutes or so - and don't be surprised if your little one is delighted with the wrapping paper. They may have no idea the wrapping paper is concealing something inside.

What are some of your best 1st birthday memories?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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