I can’t believe it’s already been a year! Kiko is certainly not a baby anymore, one day I woke up and she is a toddler. I’ll wake up tomorrow and she will be leaving for college.
Prepping for her birthday party was a lot of fun. I got a lot of inspirations from sites like the sweetest occasions and Spearmint Baby (my prego photo was featured there by the way!). The theme was “Pink and Piggy”, and I saved money by making a lot by hand: piggy pinata, pink cupcakes with DIY flag toppers, pink balloons and pink paper ribbon streamers (both bought from 100 yen shop), party favors (I made the bags for the candies using my scraps), and paper cup labels. Most of the food, save the cupcakes and cheese cakes were bought at Costco, so that it I wouldn’t be overwhelmed with preparations 🙂 My friend Kaitlyn, kindly sent me the pretty pink dress from baby Gap that was perfect for her party.
I was hoping for a bright sunny day, but unfortunately the day of the party was very cold, rainy and windy. So, some people could not make it because of the weather, but we still had plenty of people and were able to have a great time.
I must say that this past year was the best year of my life (to date, except for the delivery, which was beyond painful!!). The joy Kiko has brought to both Andy and me has been so unexpected. I mean, I was looking forward to her arrival as during pregnancy, but I didn’t really know what it was like to be a mother until she started to exist. She brings out more emotion in me than I thought possible. I laugh and smile with the small things Kiko does, but at the same times she makes me angry or frustrated when she is bad. She is able to bring my emotions to peaks and valleys in just a moments time I really enjoy seeing her grow and change. I’m really blessed to have a supportive husband and parents, especially my mom. Without them I am not sure if I’d have survived the first year with my sanity in tact!
Anyway, some of my friends have already begun asking “when is baby 2 coming?”. For baby #2, we are hoping to adopt. Andy and I have talked about adoption for as long as I can remember. We both want biological kids and adopted ones. We’ve been exploring different options for adoptions, and hopefully it won’t be too long until the baby #2 will come to us. More to come!
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Emily says
The party turned out so adorable! Wishing you the best of luck on the adoption process, I’m sure Kiko will love a little brother or sister!
Chie says
Thank you! I hope she will be a good big sister! We will see how long the process will take…
Tina says
I’ve been following your blog for a few months, but have never commented. I just wanted to post and comment that your little one is so beautiful! Happy 1st birthday Kiko.
Chie says
Thank you so much Tina!
kristin says
aw, what a sweet, fun party! happy birthday to kiko!! best wishes with the adoption process.
Chie says
Thank you Kristin!
Juebejue says
What an awesome party and a cute daughter 🙂 love her mischievous eyes! we have the same moose rocker thingy! haha 🙂
Chie says
Oh that was a gift from my parents! It’s from Ikea, right?
Your daughter’s birthday must be coming up in a couple of months! Don’t you think that the time just flies by?! I really loved her little bonnet by the way!!
Jen says
I so hope the adoption process is quicker in Japan, it takes an average of 7years here! Which is crazy when there are so many needy children waiting to be matched up. Its wonderful you have chosen to go down this path. Keep us posted. And kiko’s birthday party looked lovely. I could eat one of those cupcakes right now!! x
Chie says
Hi Jen, wow 7 years! That is a long time. I heard 9 months – 2 years from one adoption agency. It’s not so bad, right? We’ll write more about adoption at some other time. We’ve already faced some obstacles – adoption in Japan is not so common, and people don’t seem to understand why we would like to adopt when we can have our biological kids.
Laura says
Looks like you had a lot of fun! 🙂
Chie says
It was:) I really enjoyed planning the party!