Bag of Books

Another tradition we began this year was a Bag of Books under the tree. One of Emily's gifts from us was a bag of books, literally. She loves books but since Adam arrived we haven't found it as easy to read to her as much as we used to, so we wanted to try and rekindle her love for books. We intend for there to be a bag of books under the tree every year, including one for Adam starting next year.

In Emily's bag this year were the following books:

Aliens Love Underpants

Dogs Don't Do Ballet

The Night Pirates

This is my Book 

Zoe and Beans: Where is Binky Boo?

That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown

Sharing a Shell

Lullabyhullaballoo!

Now books can be expensive, especially eight of them in one go, but thanks to Claire Bonello blogging about awesomebooks.com a while back, some of the books in Emily's bag were actually pre-loved! They don't look it and at £2.59 each (delivered), it was more than worth it. 

Emily's favourites are That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown (no huge surprise) and Dogs Don't Do Ballet. We have read and re-read these two almost every night since Christmas. 

And just to throw this in there, if anyone is looking for a really great children's book, have a look at Giraffes Can't Dance. It's my absolute favourite of all Emily's books so far... I never get tired of it. 

An Easter Dilemma

When we were young, Easter was a very important religious event. We attended a mass which lasted almost all night long and ended with a great feast in the early hours of Easter Sunday itself. I'm sure it still is important to practising Catholics, be it in the way we celebrated it or a more mainstream way. For me, once my family moved on from celebrating it the way we did when I was young, it all pretty much lost all meaning. Easter was Easter night, it was fun to be up so late and we participated in the mass, it was exciting. I am no longer practising but somehow, possibly because it once was such an important time of year, I cannot bring myself to celebrate Easter in any real way any longer. For it to become simply a day when it's okay to eat lots of chocolate seems horribly fickle.

And yet I'd like to instil some sort of acknowledgement of the holiday in Emily, and in us as a family. I want us to look forward to Easter almost as much as we'd look forward to Christmas. I'm just not quite sure how to go about it. Perhaps turn it into a Spring celebration. We might make Easter trees and decorate eggs and do crafts and have outdoor tea parties. And we all know how much I adore Spring. It would be quite fitting really.

Emily's too young at the moment, there didn't even seem any reason to give her any chocolate today, which is why I'm sitting here this year really thinking about it, because next year I'd like to begin whatever "Easter tradition" we decide to go with. I'd like to be able to think of Easter and have a smile come to my face once again, decorate the house, really enjoy the holiday.

[image cred]

Quccija & Other Delights

I keep doing this. I plan to write about an event that I don't want to risk forgetting details of and take so long to get round to writing that it then feels silly to be writing about something that happened so long ago, so I just don't. But this was my daughter's first birthday and it was bad enough that she had to be sick through it. The least I can do is write about it.

They had a soft play party. The ball pit was always going to be a huge hit. This particular ball pit was big. It had us parents wishing we could get in there with the little ones. We didn't, but we can't promise we never will.

Emily really did do her best to have fun despite the fever and feeling generally pooey. Her nose leaked throughout the party and in most pictures she looks dazed. She held out until the cake...

...but there wasn't much energy after that. So a nap was on the cards and then her "quccija"

So let me recap for those of you not in the know. A Quccija is a Maltese coming of age tradition. On a baby's first birthday, he or she is presented with a selection of items that represent different walks of life. We tried to give it a modern touch.

Here's a quick run-through of what everything was meant to represent:
CD - Performing arts (music, dance, acting)
Thesaurus - Writer, Editor, etc
Pen - Law
Comb - Hairdresser, Beautician
Paintbrush - Artist
USB Stick - Computer-related
Wooden Spoon - Chef
Tripod - Photography
Credit Card - Banker, Businesswoman
Syringe - Medicine
Measuring Tape - Seamstress, Designer
Calculator - Accountant, Mathematician
Medal - Athlete (her Daddy wished!)
Hard Boiled Egg - A Full Life
[edit - oh no! I just realised I forgot anything to do with education!]

Photographer it is!

For the record, I had picked a hard boiled egg! :)

(The next day, she was diagnosed with a double ear infection. A week of antibiotics later, she finally seems like herself again and is finally enjoying being ONE!)

Little Party People

Emily's first birthday is almost here. Ignoring the little screaming person inside my head who cannot for the life of her understand how this year passed so quickly, my logical side set itself to organising a party. Thanks to plenty of photos, I "remember" my first birthday party. I remember my red velvet dress and white knee socks (it was the 80s, so sue me!) and I remember there being many people and all the family and lots and lots to eat.

Naturally, I want to give Emily the same memories. Parties were always huge in my childhood. If there was one thing my parents did well (they did many other things well too), it was birthday celebrations. So I was never going to be one of those people who celebrated Emily's first birthday with a couple of close friends. I don't think any less of people who choose to do it that way, but it isn't for me.

So my next task was to establish what sort of party to have. We considered doing something at home. No, not enough space. Maybe renting a function hall and organising catering and entertainment for the little people. And we considered inviting some of Emily's little friends to have some fun at a soft play centre. There was also the issue that the grandparents will be coming all the way from Malta for the event, and I didn't really want them to be coming to watch some toddlers have fun while they watch and aren't really able to participate in the party themselves.

What to do, what to do?

Solution: two parties. Oh dear.

But hear me out.

Over lunch, there will be the little people party at a soft play area (which worked out far cheaper than renting a hall and sorting all that out - and best bit is I don't need to organise anything other than the cake!). Then, after a well-needed nap, there will be a little gathering at home for close family and godparents. And during that, Maltese tradition will be upheld in the form of a "quccija" - a funny little custom in which a baby supposedly chooses his or her destiny.

I cannot think of a better way to spend Emily's first birthday. There will be photos - many, many photos - which maybe she will one day love as much as I love the photos of my first birthday party, especially knowing now the thought and effort my parents put into it for me! We are all so excited!