Its been three and half months since we celebrated Aanya's first birthday and somehow i never got to write about it earlier.
I moved to Singapore with Aanya to join MMW in the first week of her b'day month. It was a little selfish of me. Choosing MMW in a foreign land over family, friends and well wishers back home to celebrate her first. But then, he's the father. So it was justified. We had to celebrate our little one together. With just a fortnight to settle down, getting used to completely new surroundings, and plan for her big day, i had lots on my plate.
I was a little more organised by the end of week 1. Though Aanya was still not used to seeing only her mumma around. We had moved from a familiar house full of people and her buddy panzer into an unexplored house, with just the three of us. Not only was she clingy, she had an irritatingly different routine everyday. And every evening when MMW walked in, i had a new crib!
As Aanya's b'day approached the last week of my pregnancy kept playing in loop in my mind. It was a highly emotional time for me. That i had successfully managed to nurture that little tiny 'barely-the-size-of-my-arm' new born into a beautiful, adorable, walking, mischief making toddler was beyond any emotional scale.
People say that a child doesn't even remember his first b'day so why do anything special? I feel, maybe not today, but many years later when the same child grows up, he would love to know that his first b'day was special and grand and celebrated. And i wanted to make it extra special for her. We didn't know enough people to have a grand party, but in our own little way we planned something.
It had been playing on my mind for long that the closest family Aanya has wouldn't be with her on her b'day, so i asked them to write little notes for her. Trust me, it was the best gift she could have asked for. Feelings and emotions poured and so did my tears. Baba wrote his first ever poem, Tini almost wrote a novel, the grandmothers expressed their 'aadore' and Shreya made a lovely poster. Not to forget Akshay who was the most prompt and precise in his affection. I'm sure she'll cherish each one's each word forever.
On B -1 day, while she was sleeping, I baked the cake. After browsing through 100 websites i decided to make a castle for my princess. Once back from work, MMW put up the balloons and 'Happy Birthday' banner. To our utter surprise, the little toothless monster was horrified of the blown up balloons... till we patted them and said "good boy, good girl" like typical pyscho-parents-trying-to-pacify-baby! A little before midnight we sat together, and while i dictated, MMW wrote down all the messages on coloured sheets of paper with bright markers. That was the last thing we put up and voila! the house the was set to ring in the celebration!
She started the day with 'payesh' (kheer as many people know). I dolled her up in a pretty pink dress with silver sequins on it, matched with silver shoes and fluffy pink hair band. (It was the first time i saw her admiring her shoes.) Aashi and Aseem, the closest we have to family in Singapore, joined in the bash with their twin boys Aayan and Aahan.
The cake was a shabby, 'no-sign-of-a-castle' lookalike yet tasty cake. Tini and Shreya joined us on skype as we cut it. Aanya was a little confused with all the attention. Loving it nevertheless. After a sumptuous continental meal, all of us left for 'Kids Amaze', a 3-storey indoor playground close to our house. This was the fun element. Two hours, heavily expended baby energy and millions of photos later, we decided to head home. We were spending the weekend with Aashi and Aseem, so we headed to their home.
The day came to an end. Mental exhaustion overpowered the physical. The baby became a toddler. Responsibility soared higher. The 21st of April, will always be special, and the aim will be to celebrate it ever after!
I moved to Singapore with Aanya to join MMW in the first week of her b'day month. It was a little selfish of me. Choosing MMW in a foreign land over family, friends and well wishers back home to celebrate her first. But then, he's the father. So it was justified. We had to celebrate our little one together. With just a fortnight to settle down, getting used to completely new surroundings, and plan for her big day, i had lots on my plate.
I was a little more organised by the end of week 1. Though Aanya was still not used to seeing only her mumma around. We had moved from a familiar house full of people and her buddy panzer into an unexplored house, with just the three of us. Not only was she clingy, she had an irritatingly different routine everyday. And every evening when MMW walked in, i had a new crib!
As Aanya's b'day approached the last week of my pregnancy kept playing in loop in my mind. It was a highly emotional time for me. That i had successfully managed to nurture that little tiny 'barely-the-size-of-my-arm' new born into a beautiful, adorable, walking, mischief making toddler was beyond any emotional scale.
People say that a child doesn't even remember his first b'day so why do anything special? I feel, maybe not today, but many years later when the same child grows up, he would love to know that his first b'day was special and grand and celebrated. And i wanted to make it extra special for her. We didn't know enough people to have a grand party, but in our own little way we planned something.
It had been playing on my mind for long that the closest family Aanya has wouldn't be with her on her b'day, so i asked them to write little notes for her. Trust me, it was the best gift she could have asked for. Feelings and emotions poured and so did my tears. Baba wrote his first ever poem, Tini almost wrote a novel, the grandmothers expressed their 'aadore' and Shreya made a lovely poster. Not to forget Akshay who was the most prompt and precise in his affection. I'm sure she'll cherish each one's each word forever.
On B -1 day, while she was sleeping, I baked the cake. After browsing through 100 websites i decided to make a castle for my princess. Once back from work, MMW put up the balloons and 'Happy Birthday' banner. To our utter surprise, the little toothless monster was horrified of the blown up balloons... till we patted them and said "good boy, good girl" like typical pyscho-parents-trying-to-pacify-baby! A little before midnight we sat together, and while i dictated, MMW wrote down all the messages on coloured sheets of paper with bright markers. That was the last thing we put up and voila! the house the was set to ring in the celebration!
She started the day with 'payesh' (kheer as many people know). I dolled her up in a pretty pink dress with silver sequins on it, matched with silver shoes and fluffy pink hair band. (It was the first time i saw her admiring her shoes.) Aashi and Aseem, the closest we have to family in Singapore, joined in the bash with their twin boys Aayan and Aahan.
The cake was a shabby, 'no-sign-of-a-castle' lookalike yet tasty cake. Tini and Shreya joined us on skype as we cut it. Aanya was a little confused with all the attention. Loving it nevertheless. After a sumptuous continental meal, all of us left for 'Kids Amaze', a 3-storey indoor playground close to our house. This was the fun element. Two hours, heavily expended baby energy and millions of photos later, we decided to head home. We were spending the weekend with Aashi and Aseem, so we headed to their home.
