Zuri's "Very Hungry Caterpillar" Birthday...My Baby turned 1

Daddy, mommy, and the birthday boy

I guess I should start this post by saying I do not consider myself a creative person I just love planing and I also love Pinterest!!! Although I have been pinning birthday things for a while (mostly as I saw them around) I guess it all really started when Marlon and I took Zuri to his 6-month appointment and the P.A. looked at him and said "it is time to start planning your birthday party." He was only half way there but, if you read my previous post, time sure flies. For me this was more than just a get together, this was a celebration of the anniversary of the greatest gift I have ever received thus far, therefore, I wanted it to be special. I wanted him to have a great time with his friends and family. Although he is probably not going to remember much, if anything at all, of what happened that day, I hope he remembers how much he is loved and how happy and grateful we all are that he is part of our lives.

I think the idea to use "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book by Eric Carle as a theme came after Zuri's baby dedication when we received a packet from the Education Department of the Southwestern Union of SDA that contained a copy of the book. I confess that, growing up in another country, I am not familiar with most of the American classic children stories. I had seen little things about it here and there but after I read the book to Zuri a few times I started to get excited about the idea. Then, around Christmas time last year, our friends/valley-parents Paul and Elsie Weber (both teachers) gave Zuri a basket filled with props related to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book (a plush/cloth book, a board book, a puzzle, a stuffed caterpillar, and the basket itself was a caterpillar). That got me started. I should also say that this was the perfect theme for a very very VERY hungry little boy who hasn't stopped signing the words "eat" and "more" ever since he learned them a few months ago.

In case you are interested, here is a link to my Pinterest board with all of the ideas Zuri's 1st Birthday Board. I enjoyed planning almost as much as I enjoying making the props...

I tried to keep the decoration simple but colorful with streamers and balloons and lots of colorful plastic table cloth. 

"From Newborn to Now"...except we were missing a couple of pictures...I don't know what happened

The Welcome table

When our guests arrived, they were greeted at the welcome table where the children received a "bug catcher kit," their antenna headband, and signed our guest book. The kids marked their presence by leaving a hand-print on our caterpillar and the "older kids" (a.k.a. parents and friends) wrote a message in our guest book, a large print copy of "The very Hungry Caterpillar." I loved seeing how the hand-print caterpillar grew as the celebration progressed. My favorite part is that we get to save these in his memory box.


One of the things that I really enjoyed about this theme was all the fun arrangements we could do with the food. I tried to have a sample of all the food mentioned in the book with a few exceptions, we substituted all the meat products with veggie/veagan alternatives and we had grapes instead of plums because they were out at the local supermarket.

Drinks table

Sandwich table

Food on the cake table

The Cake

Ever since I saw a picture of a watermelon cake about a year ago I was in love with the idea.  Watermelon turns out to be one of Zuri's favorite fruits if not "the favorite". Since it is also one of the fruits mentioned in the book, I thought it would be the perfect addition to our celebration. I feel very blessed to have many friends with so many different talents.  As I was thinking about how I was going to make this idea into a reality, I remembered a very creative and talented friend, Diane Castle, who had made some amazing watermelon designs for our baby shower. It just so happened that I got a chance to talk to her that week and she said she would do it. I just shared my idea and showed her the picture I had seen and WOW.....just....Wow!!!! she even had grape caterpillars wrapping around the top tier, kiwi leaves, and an orange for the sun at the very top...Wow!!! That is creativity!!!

Going back to the activities... once our guests got past the welcome table there were several things the kiddos could do. We set up little booths around the hall each with a different activity based on the book.

This was the caterpillar hand-print booth. Not only they got to "sign" our "caterpillar guestbook" with their hand-print, they also got to take their own home. Zuri's is hanging on our refrigerator.

"Pin The Caterpillar on The Apple" and the "TP cocoon." After the kids broke out of the "cocoon" they got a pom-pom caterpillar to put on their bug-catcher kit that they got when they came in. 

Our friend Kate reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to her little brother 

Our friend Brandon helping the kids in the coloring booth. The kids could take the boxes of crayons home with them.

The "make your own butterfly station." In this booth our friend Dominique was helping the kids to pick from a variety of colorful fillings (all kids of gummy things, m&m's, or goldfish) to fill the wings of their butterfly. I am not a fan of gummy things, but I sure ate a lot of m&m's =D

The "Photo-booth." Here the kids got their picture taken and received mini Polaroid prints attached to a card with a magnet to take home.

After we sang Happy Birthday, Zuri had his cake smash. I should note here that Zuri had never in his life tasted sugar before and although I had made a special banana/applesauce cake with no sugar added...the frosting was definitely sweet (I think it was whipped cream and cream cheese..I need to ask Rachella on this one). Needless to say I was very curious to see what he was going to do. His cake was the head of the cupcake caterpillar. The expectations were high in the room and everyone stood around his chair to see what he was going to do...

After this we went straight to the bathroom and he almost took a bath on the sink =D

Overall Zuri had a lot of fun, I had a lot of fun and I think everyone else did too!

I cannot conclude this post without a special word of thanks to several people who made this celebration possible. First of all, I want to thank Kristen Jandusay for encouraging me to start planning ahead, helping me brainstorm and sort out ideas, making awesome suggestions, and designing the leaf part of the invitation. Ia Acebedo for dedicating her time and effort to help me hot glue various props, as well as the awesome help during the party. Sean Acebedo for the amazing pictures...wow! you left us speechless Joneen Wilson for her unfailing support and willingness to help anywhere she was needed before during and after the party. Jodi Wilson for the amazing mini vegan cherry pies (seriously the best I have ever tasted) and the help with so many different things before, during, and after the party. Dominique, Stella, and Gamaelle Colas for taking time out of their busy schedules to arrive 2 hours before the party to help set up and organize, for helping with the kids activities, letting us use their cool camera in the photobooth, supporting us until the end, and always having a smile on their faces. Rachella Pena for baking and frosting all the cupcakes and cones, frosting and decorating Zuri's smash cake, and helping during the party, as I said before, how can I ever thank you enough?!! Diane Castle for the beautifully intricate watermelon cake, the help buying the supplies, and cutting and organizing the fruit during the party. All I had was an idea for the watermelon cake and you made it out of this world AMAZING!!! April Gonzales for arriving early, helping with the decorations and organization, manning the "cocoon" booth, and helping with clean up. Kate Racoma for her enthusiasm and for sharing with us her story telling skills (I will let Omar know you can get that honor now =D). My husband and my Dad for setting up all the tables, helping with the decorations on the ceiling, helping during the party, and doing the heavy work in the clean up. My husband especially for bearing with my bossy "get things done" mode and loving me still ;D. Andrew Dordete, who despite being only 10 years old and a guest at my house did not hold back when it came to helping anywhere he was needed. Great job buddy! My mom and mother-in-law for helping make, set up, and organize things at home as well as take care of Zuri so that I could finish the final preparations. They did a wonderful job with the caterpillar sandwiches and the yummy hot dog sauce! Also for all the help during and after the party. I hope I did not forget to mention anyone...there was so much going on and I have been suffering from "pregnant brain" lately. You are all very special to us and this party would not have happened all of your help and support.

I should also thank all of those that joined us in our celebration...your presence made our day even more special!!!

Thank You!!!

Reflections on Zuri's First Year

I cannot believe I am the mother of a 1 year old! Where did the year go???!!! Although it feels like time has flown by, when I stop to think about all that has taken place, it is hard to understand how all of it could fit in only 12 months.
It is hard to imagine that it only took 365 days for my completely dependent 8 lb 2 oz and 20 in little bundle to become a 23 lb, 31 in, bright eyed, curly haired ball of energy that can get into mostly anything and everything without my assistance. Looking back at the his newborn  pictures, I realized that I can hardly remember what he looked like before... it is as if he was always this big. I am glad we have thousands of pictures stored and this blog to remind me of those "early days."
That is why I decided to write this post. I have a feeling that as the days, months, and years go by these days will be less and less clear in my mind and I will forget. Forget how complex and amazing this experience is and how, even on the difficult and dreary days, there was always a glimpse of sunshine.
Over the last month, as I was nostalgically browsing through our home videos from the last year, I had the idea to make a video review. The original plan was to make a condensed version of our best videos for myself and maybe show it at his birthday party. Well, turns out putting together a birthday party (more on that on a future post) is a major undertaking in itself and I had no time to get it ready. But, I could not let the idea go, so after things had slowed down a bit this week, I finished it. I had a lot of fun putting it together. Here it is in case you want to see it too.



First and foremost I am so thankful to God for entrusting us with the care of this kind, loving, smart, and incredibly strong-willed little boy. I can't say everyday is easy but God has given us strength and an extra amount of patience to get through the difficult ones.
There is always lots of kisses and hugs going on in our house but a few days ago Zuri climbed up on my lap gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek (I am talking about a real kiss too! Not the previous open mouthed slobbering kind)... My eyes filled with tears. I will treasure that moment forever.

Talking about tears, there have been plenty of those throughout this past year (and I am not just talking about Zuri).
There was the time when we first got home from the hospital and I developed a very MILD fever and thought I was going to die because I was certain I had acquired some sort of infection at the hospital (oh those crazy hormones). There was also the time when my husband was away at a meeting and Zuri got sick (it always happens that way too) and I had to drive the car alone with Zuri for the first time, and then we both cried at the doctor's office when they had to take a blood sample. The pediatrician must have thought I was crazy.

There were plenty of reality checks too.
Breastfeeding is one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life, but also the most rewarding.
Although I found it silly when I heard of parents checking their kids breathing while they were asleep (prior to being a mom), I still do it after 1 year.
Working the night shift did not prepare me for the many months of sleeplessness; but one does get used to it, and after a while, 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep feels like 12 hours.
The stories about parents who drive to calm their kids down do not apply to every child, especially not mine.
One year later and we are still waiting for him to grow out of his disdain for the car seat.

The happy moments far outweigh the others though. Zuri is a very social little guy who loves to see others smile. He has no problem sharing his toys and usually doesn't mind even when another child snatches a toy out of his hands, he just picks up a different toy. He also loves giving things to others. At home, he is always finding something to hand to me even if it is a piece of his bread or one of his rice puffs (which he loves). If you ask him for it he will hand it to you. Such a precious little boy! He is very adventurous and curious. He likes to make noise by hitting things together (i.e. his wooden blocks) and enjoys listening to music. He is now learning to copy the actions for the action songs we sing during worship and is enjoying it much more. His latest game is hiding toys under his legs (when he is sitting on the floor) or under the couch and making his "where is it" motion (see video). He then proceeds to get the toy out with a happy squeal. Sometimes when I put him down for a nap he takes a little while to fall asleep. When that happens I check on him once in a while (I am waiting for the day he is going to attempt to climb out of the crib). Many times I have fond him playing peekaboo with himself, he will cover his face with the blanket, make his "where is it" motion and pull it off. He also talks to himself before he naps. Very interesting conversations indeed.

There are so many memories and lessons I have learned from this first year that I never want to forget. My prayer as I conclude this retrospective is one of sincere gratitude with only one request, that God will give us the wisdom we need to lead Zuri in the "way he should go" (Proverbs 22:6)