Birthday Ritual

I mentioned in this post that I was thinking about creating some kind of candle ceremony to commemorate Henry’s birthday every year. When I stumbled upon this 9-candle holder on Etsy, I realized it was the perfect complement to the ceremony: one tealight candle for every year until he’s 9, then a colored candle to represent 10 years, and additional tealight candles in the remaining eight slots to take him to 18.

Here’s how the ceremony went:

1. I printed out his one year-old photo.
2. We clipped the photo to a ribbon using these mini-clothespins.
3. We lit the candle and read the following letter.

Dear Henry,

You bring joy and light into this world. We light this candle to celebrate another year of your brightness.

You came to us two weeks late on the very last day of February, after a 45-hour journey into the world. We were so thankful for your safe and beautiful arrival.

You’ve changed so much in just one short year. In the early days, you and I would spend time outside, lying on a blanket, watching the underside of a tree. Now when we’re outside, you crawl everywhere, pulling up on trees, looking for birds and picking up sticks.

You’ve gone from a silent observer of the world around you to an active participant. You still look closely at everything and notice the smallest details around you, but you interact with the world by babbling a lot, laughing when those around you laugh, pointing at things, and make it very clear what you want.

Your favorite thing has consistently been our bloodhound Hoss. He brings a smile to your face several times a day. You also love to eat. And your newest hobby is reading books. You are a sweet, sweet boy, and people always say, “What a happy baby!” That’s the number one thing we’ve heard about you this year.

You shine and brighten our lives and the lives of others.
—————–

It was the perfect ceremony for us: meaningful, memorable, and simple. It’s something we can return to each year to commemorate and celebrate our dear Henry.

——————- Today on 2000 Dollar Wedding: Enter to win a photobook (hopefully for real this time!).