[blparent] baby's first birthday

Sat Aug 27 23:47:53 UTC 2011

Yes, I hear ya about cost of transportation!  Thankfully, Dawson is free on para-transit here in Tucson until the age of 5 but at that point I can sign him on as my PCA, (Personal Care Attendant) and he can then still ride for free.  Heaven knows at 5 years old he will indeed be mommy's little helper with some guiding, reading things to me as we travel down the road, and maybe holding items for me since by then he might have a little brother or sister to help look after. SMILING

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Veronica Smith
Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2011 2:09 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] baby's first birthday

The trip up on the tram was my husbands idea and only the 3 of us go.  We've thought of inviting others, but haven't done it yet.  It is expensive to ride the tram now and I don't have extra to pay the price for others. G was free until she turned 5 and with age, her cost has increased each year.  We need to save each year for this event. V

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Nikki
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 5:31 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] baby's first birthday

My son’s 1st birthday was at my brother’s house.
It was mainly just a reason for friend’s and family to get together.
It was a hot day.
We had a kiddy pool for the kids and squirt bottles for the adults.
My mom bought a chocolate cake.
We were trying to get him to grab the cake and make a mess so we can get 
pictures.
He was successful and loved it.

Birthdays are usually: great grandma, the two cousins, our neighbors, my 
parents and I, all for cake.
One year I bought a book for my mom on how to cut and shape cakes for 
Christmas, so for his 5th birthday, my mom had made him a Thomas the Tank 
Engine and this year I think he had a different character from the same 
cartoon.

But I didn’t think to start any traditions because I was living in another 
state and didn’t have the support or ideas. I just had to go with the flow. 
I mean, I had my son, but didn’t have my mother to coach me along.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Erin Rumer
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 5:42 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] baby's first birthday

Cool tradition V!

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Veronica Smith
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 3:20 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] baby's first birthday

Oh, I forgot one more thing, also every year since gabriella was born, we've
taken her up on the Sandia Tram to the top of the Sandia Mountains.  We
either do it right on her birthday or depending on school schedules the day
before or after.  We also always have lunch up there and weather permitting,
ride the chair lift down the opposite side of the mountain. v

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Erin Rumer
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2011 10:45 AM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] baby's first birthday

Thank you all for your creative first birthday ideas and experiences.  Below
I've cut and pasted the great games I found on-line that I'm considering
doing at Dawson's party.

You Are So Special

Place a current photo of your baby in a cardboard mat frame with a wide
edge. Place the photo with acid-free markers or gel pens on a table.
Throughout the party invite guests to write a message to the birthday child.
You are special because...Happy birthday, Why we love you etc. After the
party place this special keepsake in a  glass frame and hang it in baby's
room!

Take a Guess

Fill a jar with dry Cheerios cereal, a baby's favorite! You'll need to count
the cereal before placing it in the jar. Every guest will write their name
on a piece of paper and make their guess as to how many pieces of cereal
there are in the jar. Closest guess wins a prize.

Baby Gym Relay

Have you ever noticed much moving your little one does. Most adults would
find this exhausting! This relay race will give your guests a workout. Place
two baskets at one end of a room and a pile of toys at the other end. Divide
the guests into teams. The game starts at the pile of toys. Players take
turns picking up a toy, crawling (or walking on their knees) to the basket,
drop the toy into the basket and return to their team. Next player takes
their turn and so on. Until  all of the toys are in the basket. First team
to finish wins!

Baby Can Do

Before the party, write a list of tasks your baby can and can't do; clap,
eat with a spoon, walk, use the potty, count to 20, throw a ball. Can your
guests guess correctly? To play, designate one side of the room to be the
"CAN" side and the other, the "CAN'T" side. All players start in the middle.
When you call out a task, if a player believes your baby CAN do it - they
move to that side of the room and vise versa.

Messages to Baby

Before the party, decorate a plastic shoebox container. Provide pen and
paper. Encourage your family and friends to write special notes for your
child to read when they get older. Good topics are: My hopes and dreams for
you are, How you've touched my life, What I like about you, I love you
because. Store the container to be opened at a later date.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Veronica Smith
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 9:34 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] baby's first birthday

Gab's first birthday was at my mother's house.  Not small at all, we had BBQ
and invited about 15 adults and several tiny tots.  We had a birthday cake
that was made specially for G to have and one for the rest of us.  The first
thing she did was plant her hand into the icing and start to cry.  My
sister-in-law said, she kept looking at her hand  and trying to shake the
sticky stuff off.  We could not convince her to taste it, no way, she shook
and shook her hand until we wiped it clean.
My mother has other grandchildren, but none of them grew up here.  2 in
Maryland and 2 in Colorado.  So having a baby in the house was a big thing.
V

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Erin Rumer
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2011 4:47 PM
To: NFB blind parent listserv
Subject: [blparent] baby's first birthday

Hello list,

Now that Dawson is 10 months old I'm excitedly beginning to plan for his
first birthday which will be here before I know it.  I'm planning on making
the affair simple with friends and any family that is able to make it since
we're out of state from most of our family.  The party will probably be at
home or at a nearby park with pizza, a few side dishes and a Costco cake
since they do such a great cake for only around $18 which includes a
customized message.  Since Dawson's birthday is on Halloween I'm planning on
doing a pumpkin theme with the invitations saying, "Our Little Pumpkin Is
Turning 1".  As favors for the guests I'm planning on taking cleaned out
baby food jars and wrapping them with messages from Dawson to his guests and
they will have candy inside.  I got some excellent game ideas for the guests
on-line as well as some memory making ideas like having a shoe box that the
guests can put a message into for Dawson to open when he's older.  I'm also
going to have a picture of Dawson with a big blank border around him that
guests can write something to him on in acid free pen that I'll frame and
put up in his room

I'd love to hear what you guise did for your kids first birthdays and what
worked and what didn't.  I want to make this party low budget but with lots
of cute touches.  I've also created a wish list on the Babys R Us website
which will make gift hunting easy on folks.  I can't wait to hear about your
babies first birthdays.

Erin

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