Noah's third birthday & the importance of family
Birthdays always have a way of making me feel a bit nostalgic but ever since becoming a mother I feel I have such a different appreciation for them, especially when it comes to celebrating the birth of your own child. On Thursday Noah turned three and I spent much of the day quietly musing to myself on the past three years and thinking back to that day where it all began at 4am in the morning with my waters breaking!
Noah catapulted our lives into the fast lane with a big bump. Being our firstborn, I suppose in a way he had the biggest impact on our little family unit because as i’ve learnt, nothing quite prepares you for life with a newborn when you're a first time parent. From his arrival at 9.34pm on Father’s day 2013, he has been making his marks on our lives and in our hearts and we have changed and evolved with each milestone and moment.
Thursday morning came around and it was just lovely to see his excitement as he realised it was ‘his day’ and we were all there to celebrate him. Kick starting the day with a birthday breakfast and some presents to unwrap, we were set up for a day of playing and laughter- the best way to enjoy any birthday!
Considering we don’t buy the children toys all that often, partly because they are so interested in the outdoors anyway and love making their own fun with sticks and stones- literally! And partly because we don’t want them to expect to have all the latest of everything there is on offer, I felt like Noah had a really beautiful appreciation for each one of his presents. He got a new set of Disney’s Cars and Planes characters (which he is so into at the moment) and I felt really proud of him for just being gracious and excited about the generosity of his family. I could see him taking time with each gift to work out what it was and how he could play with it. I definitely had a ‘proud mama’ moment on Saturday when I saw he and his cousins playing beautifully together with his new workbench from Grandma and Grandpa. He was happy to let his older cousin Raph show him the ropes with the wooden tools and little Etta and he were chatting away building some imaginary toy together!
On Saturday, the family had gathered to continue the celebrations with a bouncy castle, games in the garden and plenty of chocolate cake! It always fills me with a great deal of pride when we come together to celebrate each other and nothing can beat that feeling of watching love pour out over your own child. I’ve always felt that children can bring out the best of us as adults and when you see innocent fun and growing relationships building between young cousins, it kind of puts your life into perspective as you think that here are the foundations of friendship forming that will, Godwilling even outlive us as their parents.
We really did have a wonderful couple of days and Eddy and I both felt immense joy for our growing family, in both age and size! Three years seem to have passed by in a flash but what a three years they have been! I have learnt more about myself in these years than at any other point in my life and I have my beautiful children to thank for that!
So happy birthday darling Noah,
You’re changing the world one heart at a time!
Below are some snaps of our celebrations over the long weekend...
Love,
