Happy First Graniversary!

I can't believe that it has been a year since the phone call that turned my world upside down and made me re-prioritize everything I thought was important. God is so good. He allowed me to spend that first precious month with Reid, made it possible for the baby and his mommy to travel to Texas every month or so and at 6 months old (HALLELUJAH!) made it possible for them to move down here and live with us for a year. I was able to celebrate his first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and birthday with him. I was also able to take a wonderful road trip with him and the rest of my family. So many memories already made!

Our initial plans for the birthday party were something simple. A one year old doesn't need a big bash, right? Then Meg began making plans, starting with a custom invitation. We chose a dog theme and she taught herself to twill to make them. I helped design them and we started to work. From there it began to snowball and, inevitably, the beast was released and we had full on party-planning mayhem. Apparently the party frenzy gene is passed on thru the maternal DNA because Meg was just as out of control as I. The invitations led to coordinating plates, napkins, banners, balloons, for which we bought a helium tank (didn't want to run out!), tablecloth, customized candy bar wrappers, cupcakes, food (did you know you can coordinate the food??? well, you can), drinks, his outfit, bib and party hat, and even the curtains. We borrowed a vintage high chair in the coordinating color, too. We even made reidfetti, confetti with his pictures on it. Just to ease your mind about over indulgence, his gift from us was a used chair I picked up at a flea market for 12 bucks and had recovered for free and an activity box that we bought a month before similar to the one that he liked so much at the hospital. I just hid it a few days before the party, hoping he would forget it and wrapped in up on his birthday. I know when enough is enough.

Here is a little taste of the day.

The front of the house.

The table, banner and curtains.

The uber cute vintage highchair we borrowed from Crash and the bib and party hat I made.

cupcakes and rice krispies

puppy dog cupcakes

candy bars

more candy

Dublin Dr. Pepper, dog bone shaped sandwiches and "Puppy Chow"

The other angle with M&M's and mini corn dogs.

The birthday boy and his puppy dog outfit.

Not to apologize, I feel no need to, but to explain any perceived excess, this was not only to celebrate Reiderbug's first birthday, but to celebrate my first Graniversary. This was to celebrate the best year in my life. There will be other birthdays and, hopefully many more grandbabies celebrating their first birthdays. There will not, however, be another first birthday of the child that made me a grandmother. That in itself deserves a celebration because becoming a Mamie made me a better person. A more laid back person who can enjoy crawling around the house playing chase without (hardly) caring that the floor I'm crawling across is covered with dog hair and toys. A more patient person who can wait for a little one to feed himself JUST THE RIGHT pea while squishing the less than desirable ones with an index finger, instead of cleaning the kitchen. A much more thankful person who recognizes the swiftness in which time passes and is grateful to have the chance to be in the presence of precious innocence and to have the honor of being a part of that child's life.

...Grandparenting is the ice cream sundae without the calories, the shop-till-you-drop extravaganza without the credit card bills. In other words, pleasure without responsibility.

And yet, cuddling with the third generation fills you with precisely that: a sense of duty, a recognition of accountability. The sweet scent of their sweat, their outstretched arms, the lips puckered for a wet kiss, the soft melody of their childish voices -- all these infuse me with energy and determination. There's a clarity of purpose that arrives with your children's children. The world, and your place in it, becomes more meaningful.

Ah, so this is the reward for all the heartaches of childrearing.

An old friend says my face changes when I speak of my grandchildren. It softens, it opens, it turns welcoming and vulnerable.

I don't doubt it. It's a reflection of my brimming heart. In their presence I feel suddenly and inexplicably beautiful.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/23/1891856/play-dates-and-pixie-dust-brighten.html#ixzz15fRlEqtx

The excerpt above was written by Ana Veciana-Suarez. She articulated what I know in my head and feel and my heart and bones, so deep that I couldn't find the words. I'm so glad she did.