Pool Party

Those of you who know our little family well know that we have the tradition of throwing an all-out party for our kids on their 1st birthday. Crazy, I know.* The child doesn't even know what's going on, won't remember it, and certainly doesn't/won't appreciate the effort, time, and money spent on him or her.

So I'll explain:

It started out as a Tongan thing...it's something the Tongans do, my husband explained, having its roots in celebrating any baby who lived long enough to turn 1, given the high mortality rate in earlier times.

We soon realized that we were throwing a party to, instead of honor the baby, celebrate our having survived the first year—of diapers, spit-up, sleep deprivation and the like. Especially with our first child, Makai. Anyone who remembers him as an infant knows that a celebration was warranted. :)

From there it became an issue of equal treatment for all Funaki children. We had to do one for Ame because we had done one for Makai. And now we "had" to do one for Tevi. It was a lot of fun, and a budget challenge at the same time, but we made it work. I was especially excited about this one because it is during the summer—my other two are both November babies. So here was the invitation we sent out to our family and a few friends:

(click to enlarge) Cute picture of Tevi taken by Jenn S. (thanks again!)

*Disclaimer: This is not to say that those of you who choose to throw your 1-year-old a big birthday party are crazy. It's just "not necessary" to the family I grew up in. :)