The One Where Aliza Turns 1 (Andy)

As you can tell by the date of this posting, we have been rather delinquent in our writing.  No excuses, other than our impending move back to the states has occupied more time than  we imagined.  But, that hasn't stopped life from happening or us from going along with it.  

On May 4, our little girl celebrated her first birthday!  In the days leading up to it, Kerry and I spent most of the time reminiscing about what we had been doing at the same time back in 2012.  As you may recall, Kerry left Kenya to go back to America six weeks ahead of the baby's due date, leaving Mosby and I to live the bachelor life in Kenya, which consisted primarily of long work days for me and burning through all five seasons of the "Wire," at night.  We also reminisced about those first few weeks of parenting, the lack of sleep, the first months in Kenya, and just generally how much has changed--or more accurately what we've accomplished--since getting married almost three years ago.  It was a very happy look back.

Birthday's among the kids here in Nairobi are a big deal; they are great social events for both parents and kids, especially during times of heightened security when the claustrophobia of living in the third world can set in.   

As with most first birthday's, the audience is more for the older kids and parents than the actually birthday boy/girl.  Their primary role is to be dressed up in a cute outfit and be paraded about, then to do something adorable when it comes time to take their first bite of cake.  Therefore, Kerry planned an excellent party that showcased Aliza, catered to the guests, and made excellent use of our small yard for all the kids.  We had an arts and crafts station, toys, and a bouncy castle, all of which were hits. For food, we had mainly American summertime fare: fried chicken, pizza, deviled eggs, potato salad (which I made and was a major failure), sodas, and a couple of adult beverages. 

Even Mosby got in on some of the arts and crafts action

In lieu of cake, Kerry made cupcakes, which actually worked a lot better for the number of people and the setting.  Every child seems to have a different reaction to their first birthday cake, and Aliza displayed more subdued grace in picking at her cupcake than pictures of other children I've seen.  

I believe the best thing we did for the party was schedule it for the late morning with a hard cut-off time right before Aliza's nap time.  Also, having our house help was a god-send in this scenario because both Kerry and I were exhausted by the end and needed a nap.  Our place was spotless when we woke up! (Thanks Phoebe and Grace!).

We slowly opened presents over the next few days, with Aliza being most appreciative of the wrapping paper and all the birthday cards she was able to chew on.  Most of all, it was just hard to believe we've been parents for over a year and that our little girl is growing up.