Grandmother Received the BEST Birthday Gift of Them All
It was a most wonderful first birthday party for Kaitlyn Mae in this year of our Lord 2004. I’d arrived at the party site, anxious to see baby Granddaughter and ready to help. Only, Kaitlyn Mae, or her Mom were there.
I deposited deviled eggs and potato salad, hefted gifts over to the gift pile, and took a long look around the birthday room. Gay streamers hung down from the ceiling, brightly colored disk balloons with Mickey Mouse and Care Bears hung from the ceiling. Round balloons of every color floated about the floor.
“She’s the most circumspect baby I’ve ever known,” I told Kaitlyn’s mother. Who wasn’t at all sure what I meant and frankly, neither am I. Except Dictionary.Com defines it as: “Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent.”
This is a lot of head stuff to be placing on a little human baby of only one year. Yet even in the picture below, notice that Kaitlyn still looks pensive and thoughtful.
Pretty Kaitlyn BEFORE Eating Cake
The above picture was taken very soon after Kaitlyn and her mother arrived. I’d quickly grabbed sweet Granddaughter, my elder self more excited than made sense. What kind of effect would this gaily decorated room have on the circumspect Kaitlyn? Would she even have a clue what it was all about? Would baby girl be overwhelmed with all the action, the people, the colors, the loud raucous voices?
As I carried Kaitlyn around the room, she gently reached up to grab a balloon and bring it down to her level. She didn’t smile or squeal with joy but she did think the balloons to be things of wonder and loved to pull them down just to release the string to allow them to float back up to the ceiling.
Still Kaitlyn did not emit squeals of baby joy. Instead, she studied the surroundings, pondered why all those things hung down from the ceiling, regarded the human traffic all about and remained still in Grandmother’s arms for the tour.
Granddaughter began the party dressed in a pleated skirt, white tights and a frilly top. She looked just like a Catholic school baby and this pleased Grandmother.
The last stop on the tour was at the birthday cake itself.
Kaitlyn's FIRST Birthday Cake
Which Kaitlyn thought was an intriguing thing, this cake of all colors, though she remained perplexed, baby unsure of what this item was and just how Kaitlyn was supposed to do with it.
Soon enough Kaitlyn was diving in her very own special little birthday cake.
Kaitlyn Has Some Birthday Cake
Just as soon as Kaitlyn’s Mom placed the little cake before her Kaitlyn got excited. It was as if all of the people, the many Grandparents, the friends, the cousins, Mom and Dad, suddenly caused Kaitlyn to realize that this party was for her. A big candle “1” was placed on the cake and a rousing tune of “Happy Birthday” was sung by all party attendees. Kaitlyn watched the flicker of that candle with her normal circumspection. After the song, Kaitlyn’s Dad blew out the candle, instructing Kaitlyn this first time to do that time-honored birthday thing that she will probably do at least once every year for the remainder of her life.
After Dad, with Kaitlyn still trying to purse her lips, blew out the candle, Kaitlyn had her first “excitement volcano”.
Indeed the baby erupted in some sort of facial thing that was a bit bewildering to all party witnesses.
Kaitlyn scrunched up her face, pursing her lips, closing her eyes tightly, pulling her eyebrows down and squishing her nose until all of her facial features occupied a small oval on her face. At the same time she clenched her fists tightly and held them rigidly in the air.
Boom. The volcano went off. Eyes opened wide, eyebrows rose high on the forehead, nose became unsquished and baby mouth let out a sound that resembled a long sneeze held inside one’s head entirely too long. The clenched fists uncurled and chubby baby hands shook and hit the high chair table with unabashed joy.
The first time Kaitlyn did this the entire room was silent.
“Maybe she’s pooping,” one party attendee offered.
Which was also Grandmother’s initial thought and I was frankly somewhat embarrassed. Why would little Kaitlyn poop at such an awkward time?
Pudgy hands dove into Kaitlyn’s very own cake with both barrels. I could only imagine such joy as only a baby Kaitlyn’s age would solidly understand. Which would be the sheer pleasure of plunging naked hands into a food object and stuff it in baby mouth, unfettered by scolding parents or Moms busily wiping off nasty face and mouth.
In fact, to Kaitlyn’s joy, everyone was smiling and laughing at the little baby girl stuffing her face with chocolate cake with both hands. Perhaps Kaitlyn didn’t understand the balloons and all the fan fare, for sure she didn’t get that candle thing, but the baby girl understood food when it was placed in a fetching manner in front of her eager hands. Kaitlyn Mae having been eating since she was born and even at this precious age quite adept at it.
Granddaughter has four or five more “excitement volcanos” and by now the party attendees were amused by her rather unique expression of joy. We still weren’t sure that she may be pooping. Later inspection revealed that Kaitlyn hadn’t been pooping, that her explosions of joy were genuine and may I say it? Just entirely too cute.
After making a mess with her personal cake, Kaitlyn had no problem understanding the concept of tearing the wrappings off of gaily wrapped packages. Kaitlyn expressed joy at all gift contents, herself being not yet jaded enough to disdain such as socks and footed-pajamas her older self will likely dismiss. Granddaughter pulled every package of socks and “onsies” from the bags and boxes with great happiness, joyous that it was all hers and her parents were allowing her to tear paper with no scold.
Grandmother gave Kaitlyn her first personal computer, a toy affair purchased at the grocery. Still the thing had a lid, its own carrying handle, a full keyboard and special keys for shapes and animals. It had a small screen and to Kaitlyn it was a most beautiful thing indeed.
For Kaitlyn’s parents regularly use a computer and who knows what baby dreams pass through her little head? Grandmother herself has quite a few computers and we both, Kaitlyn and I, play on the computers during Kaitlyn’s visits. Baby Kaitlyn knows computers is what Grandmother is saying here, and she was filled with the joy of finally having her own.
She even, God Bless Her, carefully but forcefully removed her father’s hand from her “keyboard” when he tried to instruct her on how to use her computer. Yes she did, taking her baby hands and grasping her father’s thumb with obvious intention. She picked his hand up into the air than turned to the right, dropping his hand far away from her keyboard that he not mess up this new program she’s working on. How many times have Kaitlyn’s curious hands been picked up in the exact same manner and removed from her parents’ computer keyboards?
After the festivities Kaitlyn got her first haircut.
Kaitlyn Gets First Haircut
Which should have been an event undertaken well before this date as Grandmother often argued to Kaitlyn’s Mom.
“I don’t know how she can see,” I would complain.
“Not until her first birthday,” my daughter would tell me, firmly, no argument allowed, as if this was a rule not to be broken except by the gods.
So baby Kaitlyn can now see with no risk of infection from dirty hairs as Grandmother often warned.
It was not until the following day that Kaitlyn gave Grandmother a birthday present to remember.
And then not until I was ready to leave to return home. Kaitlyn’s Mom and I headed out after the party on various errands, then went home to insure Kaitlyn was properly in father’s care before going to a Bingo game. I spent the night, as I often do for the 100 mile trip requires I see baby Granddaughter as long as possible during any visit.
Kaitlyn always seemed to enjoy my visits but, as usual, she was often circumspect. One night my heart was broken as Kaitlyn screamed in fear from the big lady in her darkened bedroom and what was she doing there?
Since Grandmother is a bit older than Kaitlyn I should have understood. But I was very puzzled at the sight of my screaming Granddaughter, said screams beginning when I entered her room to fetch her from her crib.
Well baby girl didn’t know who Grandmother was at the time. Or perhaps the darkened room caused me to appear only as a big shadow looming over her helpless self. Maybe it was the presence of someone else besides her Mom and Dad in her very own bedroom that caused her fear. While Kaitlyn is a most portable child and is often in the presence of various relatives, until the night of Kaitlyn’s fear, none had ever been in her very own bedroom.
This time, Kaitlyn did cry and pout again. But it was because Kaitlyn DIDN’T WANT GRANDMOTHER TO LEAVE!
Yes we’d played the scene many times, my bags hanging from my hands, purse slung over my shoulder. Kaitlyn understood that I was leaving. She held her arms out to me, beseeching me to hold her.
“She doesn’t want you to leave,” Kaitlyn’s Mom said, herself a bit surprised.
Well I didn’t want to leave either. I did offer to take Kaitlyn with me but parents would not allow.
It was a grand smile on my face that long drive home, as I cherished the thought that baby Kaitlyn finally knows who I am and, it would seem, rather enjoys my company.
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