Tracking Charlotte's birthdays through the years.
Charlotte's second birthday was a more subdued affair with just a few neighborhood friends in attendance.
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We will always remember Charlotte's first birthday party. A massive celebration that only her mother could pull off. Charlotte and I returned home the night before the party to find our living room filled with balloons. We now know that Charlotte is not allergic to latex.
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Joyce rented out the Spring Mill Fire Hall. The balloons were strung together then wrapped around a metal arch. Joyce ordered a double-layered (vanilla on top, chocolate on the bottom) tre leche cake from Eli's Bakery. Nearly a week later I was still eating the cake.
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While living in Hong Kong, I read about the Zhuazhou ceremony that the Chinese perform when their children turn one. Various objects representing future life and career paths are placed around the child. The child then crawls toward an object and whichever one they chose, the parents guide them on a life to fulfill that selection. For Charlotte's ceremony we had a copy of the Wall Street Journal, representing a successful business career; a soccer ball, representing that she'd become a star athlete; a guitar, representing a creative path; a globe, representing a world traveler and global path; and a Moana doll, representing a future Miss Universe.
I swear I filmed that in a single take. Charlotte went with the globe putting her on a path to a future world traveler and global citizen. She spent the most time with the soccer ball so perhaps an athletic career awaits her in the future. She also enjoyed playing the guitar.
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