When it came time to plan Aidan’s first Birthday party, we both agreed that we shouldn’t go too overboard. Our gorgeous kiddo was only 11 months old, and wouldn’t be aware of, or remember, whatever we did to celebrate his first milestone. But logic went completely out the window when I started putting things together, because in my heart, I wanted it to be really special for him nonetheless!
When I asked Monty what the party theme should be, he jokingly said “Survived The First Year!”, and that spawned a plan for the second part of the day – a casual get together for us grown-ups and our friends, to celebrate this wonderful milestone with the people we loved. When I researched party planners in Cape Town, one company stood out far above the rest: Limitless Events. Scrolling their Instagram page full of stunning photos, we decided to do something water-themed for Aidan, followed by a spit braai for the adults.
My “Under the Sea” theme started coming together quickly, with Monty designing beautiful digital invitations for our guests, Cape Cakes baking a sensational Birthday cake, Paul Reichle due to take some professional photos of the party, the weather predicted to be sunny and warm – allowing the kids to swim if they wished to – and a whole heap of blue and white decorations due to be setup in our garden on the morning-of. By the time the day swung around, I was super excited! The only thing that I was anxious about, was how our little cub would respond to a house full of strangers and the kind of busyness we usually went out of our way to protect him from. I asked his nanny to come in and be with us for the day, so that if he needed to step out or away from the fray, he could go on a nice, quiet walk down the road in his pram. As prepared as we could be, we waited to see how things would turn out!
Well, we needn’t have stressed. Our little man, always one to keep us guessing, was delighted by all the colour and the chaos on the day! He even had a swim with other kids splashing all around him. We did move him in and out of company quite a bit, and provided him with quiet periods indoors away from kids dive bombing into our pool, and rushing in and out for ice cream cones. Aidan did so well, that when it came time for the remnants of his party to be tidied away and the spit braai to be setup, I was feeling uber relaxed and happy.
And then they came… all our friends… friends we hadn’t seen in many months! It was just so wonderful to have them at our home again! We chatted, laughed, ate far too much lamb and sides, and fell into bed with full tummies and amazing memories, at the end of a long and fun day. Aidan’s nanny had put him to bed some hours before, and I snuck in next to him and immediately fell sound asleep. There was a lot to clean-up the next morning, but I didn’t mind one bit. Because we had been absolutely free of all anxiety for hours and hours that day. And our boy had coped better than anyone expected he would. It felt like the greatest gift on earth – and it wasn’t even my Birthday!
That night, Aidan slept through the night, not waking once – not even for a bottle. It was the first time it’d happened in 12 months, and it’s still the only time it’s happened to date! We are still chasing that high, lol, but I know that someday, he will again.
