october is a great month. leaves are changing & falling. football is in the air. pumpkins on the porch & pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin muffins in the kitchen. lately, when folks come over to help bedrest life happen they have on jeans & boots & scarves. everyone is buying candy & working on their halloween costumes.
and...october is when hazel was born, when i was born & when eliot went home to be with Jesus.
yep, it's a big month around here.
hazel turned 1 last wednesday & on saturday we had a little party at our house. bedrest didn't stop the fun. i made a banner and then bossed my great mom & great mother-in-law on all the other details. friends, family, tons of kids, pbj sandwiches, balloons, cake and the wonderful chaos that the combination of those things bring. hazel even got to try her first piece of cake. to say she loved it is a serious understatement. she looked at me, with that serious look she so often wears, as if to say "really? you knew about this? and you're just now letting me try it". she devoured it. started by picking the icing off, then grabbed the whole piece in her hand & ate off of it one bite at a time. all the while never unclenching the fist out of fear of losing this greatness.
later that day, when most of the guests had left, matt & i gave her the gift we had gotten her: her first baby doll. i've never seen her play with a doll before & wasn't sure what she'd think. it was love at first sight. all hugs & kisses for the doll.
all first birthday parties are special, no matter who the kid or what their family. but for me, this one was quite special. it wasn't exactly what i pictured...many of the fun & crazy traditions i'd like to start for Mooney family birthdays will have to wait till next year, when my world is a bit larger than my couch. the truth is that hazel will not remember her first birthday, but i sure will. at one point i looked around the room & the scene looked particularly familiar. some new faces, but many of the same faces that knew & loved eliot & celebrated his birthdays with us, were joining us once again for a birthday celebration. yes, it was quite a special day for quite a special gal.
now for lots of pictures:
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6 comments:
Happy Birthday to cutie Hazel! Looks like she will be a great big sister with all those loves and kisses. Happy birthday to Eliot too. My Ryan's first birthday was in August and it was harder for me then the first anniversary of his heaven day. I wish you strength. I love October too, I just celebrated by 24th on Sunday, yahoo!
Best wishes your way and mine (expecting baby boy #3 in February).
~Ashley
I have been following your blog for quite some time. I first came across your family back in 07 - after watching 99 balloons and learning about your sweet Eliot. October is a bittersweet month for our family as well. Our daughter, Liberty, was also born with a genetic disorder. She had the first known case in the world...the dr's gave us great hope for her, then at 5 months old she took a turn for the worse. She passed away on Oct 27, 2007 - the very next day was my birthday which we spent planning her 'celebration of life'. Her second anniversary is coming up quickly and its been hard to celebrate anything - my birthday will certainly never be the same without her. We have since had another baby girl (#3) since 07, and have yet another precious girl (#4) on the way right now!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the rest of us - it helps to know that someone else "gets it"!!!
Praying for you all daily!
God bless,
Kelly and Family
Great job Mama. I can definately see your "personal touches" everywhere at Hazel's birthday party. couch life may be limiting, but it doesn't seem to keep you from making the little things in Hazel's life extra special. Way to go on meeting your first big milestone with #3. Keep it up, be strong and be still! luv u, Aunt Amy
Happy Birthday Sweet Hazel. Wohoo, the big 1! Congrats on baby # 3 Ginny and on you upcoming bday also.
October 27 - Still in our hearts sweet Eliot. Certainly do miss seeing your pictures. Happy angelversary.
Happy Belated Birthday Hazel! I love seeing how happy you make your mommy and daddy!
Precious!!!
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