Dreams for a two-year-old

         

        Every parent wants to make their children’s birthday special. But since learning of Diana’s diagnosis, every birthday feels extra momentous - the celebration of our child growing another year older and us trying to treasure whatever milestones she has in her life.

Our family felt the same way. All of Andrew’s family and all of my family traveled from Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York by car, bus, and plane to be with us as we celebrated Diana’s second birthday. This included grandparents from both sides, four sisters, and three significant others. Despite pesky travel delays, everyone arrived and poured their hearts and souls into making sure Diana had the happiest birthday.

The weekend started off with a pool party at our neighborhood kiddie pool. My parents and sister, Lizzy and Megan, and Megan’s partner, Neel, helped decorate the area with mermaid decor and set-up the food. We invited a few friends/families with children close to Diana’s age. We scattered some diving gems and drink floaties around the kiddie pool and set up a bubble machine. The children splashed around while Diana contentedly played with her pool toys, waded through the water, and walked from fountain to fountain. 

On Sunday evening, Diana was baptized at our church while our family was in town. When we brought Diana up to the front, she marveled at the sight of all of her family sitting in the second row pew, gazing up at her. The pastor asked questions of us and the church, committing Diana’s spiritual growth and well-being to our family and community, and prayer over Diana. He brought water to the top of her head three times and then held her as the church sang “Jesus Loves Me.”

On Monday, we took Diana to Build-a-Bear for the first time. I had looked up some of the stuffed animals in advance, and I had made a guess about which one she would choose. She walked from bear to bear until she found a tan bunny called “Pawlette.” Once Diana touched Pawlette, she picked her up and hugged her. Diana had chosen her first Build-a-Bear friend. She was a little scared of the machine that stuffed Pawlette and her birthday bear, but she managed to kiss the little hearts they placed in the two animals before sewing them up. We tried to encourage her to choose outfits for her new friends, but all she really wanted was a witch hat and broomstick accessory. In the end, Diana was content to sit on the floor and hug Lauren’s, my sister, stuffed cat “Brownie’s daughter,” who looks very similar to the cat Lauren gifted to Diana the year before.

After Build-a-Bear, we went to the Cheesecake Factory in the same mall. Diana loved the bread and the pasta, but most of all, she loved the ice cream sundae with the birthday candle. She stared at the lit candle in awe as we sang “Happy Birthday!” My favorite moment of the day, and maybe the week, was whenever Andrew fed Diana a scoop of ice cream, she began to dance, grooving her shoulders or twisting her arms from side to side. 

On Tuesday, we started the morning with a family photo shoot with our friend, Rebecca, at the Dorothea Dix Park. It was hot and humid, but everyone in the family was a good sport about trudging through tall grasses and wildflowers in the heat. Diana, too, was a good sport. We had her dressed in a frilly green dress and even convinced her to wear fairy wings. She was a gorgeous little fairy, although we wished we captured a smile. 

We drove to another spot in the park where there was a field of sunflowers and other beautiful wildflowers and took some more photos with the family. We changed Diana into the sunflower shift dress that Lauren had gotten her for her birthday - a poignant reference to the sunflower paintings Lauren has been pouring her time and talent into creating to raise funds for Diana. 

Later in the afternoon, we tried the karaoke machine that Lauren and her husband, Alex had bought her. We sang as Diana tried to speak into the microphone for the first time. Diana danced to her favorite songs and new songs, or collapsed in my lap as everyone else sang. 

Alex and my father-in-law cooked delicious meals every night. Diana enjoyed cake, ice cream, cake, pie, ice cream, and the happy birthday song every night. She was showered with gifts from friends and family, and especially loved the homemade-knit Miffy, guitar toy, and stickers from my sister Maya and her partner Becca, and the dimsum playset from Megan. She was hugged and kissed by all of the family every day.

We are so lucky to have so many beautiful moments and days with Diana. We are so lucky to have family who love Diana so much and want to make her happy. I dream that we can have many more such birthdays with our girl and that she would always know that she is treasured by everyone around her.