As her birthday approached, Frido and I had a big discussion about how to celebrate her special day. We wanted to send a message to her that we are excited to welcome the day without going too overboard with the facade of celebration. So that our focus of the day is on her and to cherish her growth... instead of being caught up by styling the day too much...
The night before after girls went to bed... Frido baked her strawberry shortcake (A Japanese recipe... of course), filled her room with pink balloons (her favorite color...), put together her birthday shrine while I did a night shift in the studio/shop to fulfill the orders since I was taking a day off and finish making her a special leather bound journal as a birthday gift.
We all woke up on the day... super excited... candles, balloons, gifts... and cake.
Luckily... I was able to take an entire day off so that I could spend the morning just with her while Coco stayed with her beloved babysitter at home. After the birthday cake as breakfast, Satchi and I went to a local swimming pool (her request:), played like silly kids in a shallow pool, had a lunch date followed by a toy vending machine and ice cream at Carmela. Yep! We were totally sugar loaded messy kids:)
In the early afternoon we regrouped together as a family and headed out to share the celebration with "her" closest friends at a local farmer's market. We brought all the balloons to the market where there was an adjacent grass field which made it a perfect early dinner picnic. She and her friends were running through the field with these balloons being kids while parents relaxed on a picnic blanket... After everyone munched yummy goodies from the farmer's market, Frido brought out another cake he baked to sing the birthday song with a small group of friends.
It was a special day.
There are a lot of different styles and scales to celebrate little one's birthday... and I am glad we kept it simple and authentic to who we are as a family. I know she would remember the day and everyone who were present to celebrate the special occasion.
Happy birthday, Satchi. We are so grateful to watch you grow...
