Our Spin On Birthdays

Every birthday we get torn between who to spend time with, who to see, who to talk to on the phone, and it comes down to decisions of “who is most important?” I hate making those decisions, it's not fair to anyone. Well, this year is the year I said “No More!” I'm taking Birthday back to its roots, and what is the root of BIRTHday?! Birth.

Today we started off with breakfast together; a hearty whole-wheat, homemade soaked bread with homemade peanut butter, and homemade apple butter, topped off with Momma's special Chocolate Almond Milk! We always make all of these things together, and today was about togetherness.

Then, we listened to our favorite, Caspar Babypants Radio station on Spotify, while we drove to our naturopath. Kaylee received a full routine check, scoliosis screening, and everything. We learned about our bodies, we learned a bit about how they grow, and how to take care of them, because today was all about that healthy little body that was made in Momma's belly not-so-long ago!

After that, we came home and made art with our hands—some “thankful” turkeys! She cut her own feathers out of the paper, her first art project that she was allowed to do all of the cutting! We worked together to glue them all on, wherever she wanted. Today was a “Thankful Hands” Turkey kind of day, because today we are thankful for each other, so we work as a team to prove it.

We moved on to playdough when our turkeys were complete. Hands-on art was best for today, as she learned new skills to grow that capable little mind, and test those capable little hands, because today was about her and how much she has grown.

We lunched, and napped, and when we got up we danced and sang. We helped our sister, River, when she needed it. We helped Momma clean up too, because today was not about toys and stuff, today was about our bond with each other.

We read all of her birthday cards aloud, and she proceeded to carry each one around until bed, which was adorable as ever! We talked to all the wonderful family we have that wanted to wish Kaylee, “happy birthday,” and she learned how to leave voicemails, and express her love for her family in the simple form of communication we all do day-to-day. Because today is about love for others, above love for ourselves.

We finished off the night with a “together bath,” a whole tubfull of girls! Momma, Kaylee and River, talking about the day, talking about where they came from, and how they were born. Talking about our bodies and how their bodies will look just like Momma's when they nurse their own babies. Talking about Momma's “squishy belly” and how theirs will be squishy too when their bellies get “big big HUGE round for the babies.” Girly bathtime is wonderful! Because today was about where Kaylee came from, her BIRTHday, and how her bond with Momma was commemorated today!

Tomorrow we will have a dinner celebration with all of the family, with yummy dessert and laughter, and love! It will be fun and special, and allow everyone their chance to celebrate with this big-hearted girl! Because tomorrow will be family day, because when she came into this world, she came into a huge loving family!!!

So we will continue on with this newfound tradition, with the absence of stuff, and the full meaning of what it is to be born, and to be a Haertel daughter. We will limit the well-wishes to phone calls, but we won't tear ourselves apart trying to see everyone on this day. Don't worry, there will always be a family dinner to celebrate the birthday girl, right around this time, so that EVERYONE can celebrate with us, and we do not have to choose. This is so that we can still acknowledge the love of our family, because family is important. We will spend the day, re-rooting ourselves in each other, rediscovering our origins, going back to where it all began, with Daddy and Momma, because today is about family, and love, and connection. Today is the day we truly became our own little family, 3 short years ago.

Our "Stunning" Youthful Years, Around the Time We Found Out We Were Pregnant!