I hope I can describe Wavy’s party to give you some semblance of an idea of what it looked like because regretfully, none of us took a SINGLE PICTURE!! I admit I’m a bit choked about it 🙁 The moment I put my dress on was the moment I realized it didn’t have pockets. Therefore, my phone was not in my hand and I just never got back to it through the entire party. Wavy will never get to see how beautiful her party was, and the crowd of people who came to welcome her and get their snuggle on. This blog post will have to suffice.
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If you’re reading this one day, Waverly, I hope you know just how loved you were even before you were born. And not just by your parents and siblings. But SO MANY PEOPLE who CHOSE to be invested in your life!! Trust me. And read your book. There are some heartfelt messages in there for you.
The day begun around 7:00am, when you woke for your breakfast bottle. You were a champ and went back to sleep right away so mommy and daddy could get ready, and get the rest of the family up for the day. Your siblings were SO excited!!! Not long after they started their breakfast, Grandma and Auntie Jerry showed up to help make your party.
Already done were the decorations – flowers EVERYWHERE – as well as the little table that held little honey favours for your guests, and the book that they wrote messages in. Do you still have that book?
The grocery shop had been plentiful the day before, and we needed all hands on deck to set up the food and slice serious amounts of fruit for the big fruit trays. Mommy, Grandma, and Auntie washed and sliced and sliced and washed. Fruit was arranged by color to look like a rainbow – our single rainbow feature at the party to honour the fact that you were our rainbow baby. The promise after our storms. We even pitted cherries and cut grapes in half for the sake of the kids. We put muffins – orange chocolate chip, banana blueberry, and caramel – and sprinkle donuts on platters. We sliced and plated sliced cheese, and set out bowls for Babybel, Laughing Calf, and squeaky cheese. Right as people started arriving, our lovely (and loved) neighbour dropped by with four big pans of cinnamon buns! Auntie and Grandma plated them up and they became the final delicious touch to the food!
Daddy was also working hard! He set up the whole drink area, with three big dispensers filled with lemon water, iced coffee, and orange juice. Sparkling wine was tucked beside the orange juice for mimosas, and cream was beside the iced coffee. A big bowl of ice also shared the space. Daddy put up the special sign that Dekker made for your party literal months ago on the front door!
Isn’t it cute?? “You don’t have to pay.” Dekker is SO funny. And did you know we kind of secretly painted this door purple for you? Surprise!!
Remember Cher? That awesome lady that took all those pictures of you when you were in my tummy and being born? She made this amazing book of our whole little journey together! I displayed it on the piano for people to look at. It didn’t make it into these early pre-party pictures, but by the time you can read this, you’ve very likely seen it for yourself. SUCH a special book!!
The last thing Daddy did that morning was bathe you, so your gorgeous curly ‘fro would be out in full force, and he dressed you in your sweet little romper!
My goodness, Wavy girl, you were SO pretty for your party!!
We had timed the party to go from around 10:00am – 12:00mpm, and when 10:00 rolled around, no one had arrived. I think we were all a touch nervous. We had never thrown a party like this! But maybe 10-15 minutes later, in poured probably 40 people. And the party had officially kicked off!
You made your rounds from lap to laps, arms to arms, and people gushed over you! Some people cried very real tears over you, girly. The anticipation was not just our own, sweetheart. LOTS of people were eagerly waiting for you. And you, being the content little dear that you are, slept through your whole party!!! It was so awesome!
Thank you, Hailey, for sharing this picture with me!!
Two hours was not long enough. I could’ve partied all day. It was a loud, active party with lots of people and LOTS of kids! Our final guests, Uncle Simon and Auntie Grace and your cousins, came right towards the end and stayed for a bit of a lunch, which was so nice! They had really big plans for that day, and took a chunk out of their busyness to come celebrate you! Was pretty wonderful. Very honouring to you.
When the time came for the house to empty out, Grandma and Jerilee stayed and helped until the bulk of the cleanup was done. What a relief! Even though you were such an easy baby, Mommy hadn’t sat very much at all that day, and her body was still so tired from when you were born. You were only twelve days old! Not even quite twelve! So I admit, I rested and snuggled you and didn’t help with cleanup much at all. I was very fortunate to have the guest of honour in my arms for that afternoon. It was finally my turn with you!
It is an honour to have you as my daughter, Waverly. Words cannot express how I feel. I’m sorry you can’t remember your party, or see who all came to hold and celebrate you, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you how adored you were SO early in the game! We will continue to love you unceasingly. Your family is unbelievably happy to have you home.