Falling Fast and Breathing Hard

Two months later, it was March and Kalea's first birthday was two days ago and now, today's the day of her birthday party. She's absolutely elated and it seems like she can't wait for her party to start, which begins in just a couple of hours. The party theme is all about the color yellow, thanks to Kalea's intense love of all things yellow. This made planning so easy for me because she loves flowers and monarch butterflies, among other things of course. We reserved a venue at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, which I wouldn't be able to afford, if it weren't for Kris; I couldn't have been more thankful for him as well for this venue. The place was absolutely beautiful, huge and quite extravagant if you ask me. We had arrived about two hours early to prepare for Kalea's celebration. She was dressed in the most beautiful and adorable yellow dress.

"How's our little princess?" Kris asked as I put the finishing touches on decorations.

He had left maybe a half hour ago to pick up her cake and had just arrived with it.

"Fantastic. Vero's watching her right as we speak." I said, smiling.

Just seconds later, she walked with a smiling Kalea.

"Hi baby girl!" Kris said with his arms out.

She giggled as she was put into his arms.

"Did you miss me?"

She continued to smile.

"Thought so."

I let out a laugh and shook my head.

"She was an absolute delight, as always. Weren't you?" she said in a baby voice.

"Everyone ready to see her cake?" Kris asked.

"Absolutely." I said.

"Certainement."

When he revealed the cake, my mouth dropped. It was perfect. Sunflowers, bees, along with grass, clouds and the sun; it was exactly what I envisioned when I ordered it.

"Love it?" he asked.

"So much. It's exactly what I imagined."

Kris pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.

"I couldn't agree more." he said.

I smiled and sighed.

"What's next?" he said.

"Now, we wait for our guests to show up."

The party was due to start in a half hour and I couldn't be more impatient.

"How long?" Kris asked.

"30 minutes."

He nodded.

"Ok." he replied.

Those thirty minutes seemed to move fast and several friends, along with family, both Kris' and mine, arrived to celebrate Kalea's birthday. Mary drove to the airport to pick my mom and Keith, even though I didn't ask her to.

"How's Kalea been today?" my mom asked shortly after she arrived.

"Perfect. I don't think I've ever seen her this happy."

"Not even on Christmas? She was all smiles, all day."

"Well. That comes pretty damn close."

She nodded.

"You wanna see her cake?"

"Of course."

"It's exactly the way Kris and I envisioned it."

When she saw the cake, she gasped.

"It's adorable. I love it."

"I do too. I can't wait to see what she does with her and a slice of cake."

"Me too. You know what you did with your first slice?"

"What'd I do?"

"You grabbed a huge chunk of it and smashed it into your face."

That's when I felt what I assumed was Kris' hand on my shoulder.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really. It was one of the cutest and funniest things she ever did when she a baby."

"Wish I could've seen that."

I smiled and kissed him

"Where's Kalea?" my mom asked.

"With Mary, I'll go get her."

Not even a minute passed when Kalea was in Kris' arms and back to us. The look on my mom's face was priceless.

"Hi sweetie! Wanna see Grandma?"

My princess was all smiles.

"I'm taking that as a yes."

She reached out for my mom as Kris carefully passed her off; it was adorable.

"You were right. She's so happy today!"

She giggled as my mom spoke to her.

"And clearly, she's happy to see Grandma!"

"I saw the cake, Kris. It's beautiful."

"It is. Isn't it?"

"It definitely is."

Thirty minutes later, everyone had arrived and thus, the party began. I had never seen anyone have this much fun, let alone all these kids running around and letting out sounds of joy. Kalea may not have been able to run around like every other kid there, but she was clearly having the time of her very short life at the moment.

"Hey." Kris said, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Hey."

"When do you want to start with cake and the opening of presents?"

I looked at my watch; a whole hour had already gone by.

"How about now?"

"Now. Absolutely. I'll go grab Kalea."

My face lit up as Kris placed our princess into my arms.

"Hello, Miss Kalea! Are you ready for cake?"

She laid her head against the crook of my neck, so I didn't know what to think. I just hoped that she wouldn't fall asleep, at least until cake and presents are over.

"Is she falling asleep?" Kris asked as we walked over.

"Don't know. I certainly hope not."

"Me either."

"Time to sing, Happy Birthday and eat cake everybody!" I said, gathering the slightly scattered crowd.

Once everyone was around the table and Kalea was in her highchair, the singing began. That's when she began smiling and giggling again like I was hoping for.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday, Dear Kalea. Happy Birthday to you."

She looked at the cake confusedly; it was hilarious.

"Do this, Kalea. Blow." I said, demonstrating.

After maybe five seconds, she actually did.

"You go, Kalea! That's my girl!"

She was so happy, but when she looked back at the small slice of cake Kris had cut for her with that same look she had with the candle. That moment didn't last as she grabbed a chunk of red velvet(one of my favorite flavors) and shoved into her face, which, of course, a lot went onto her cheeks; Kris, my mom, his mom and I roared.

"Take a pic, Mom! Please!"

Kris and I were locating a few napkins to wipe off her pretty little face. In addition to just couple of pics of Kalea, she also took one of Kris and I cleaning her up while laughing, of course.

"I got some really cute pics with you and Kris."

"You did?"

"Yeah. Take a look."

I smiled and laughed: they were perfect.

"You take the best pictures, Mom."

"Well, thank you, but the three of you are quite photogenic."

"Thanks Mom." I said, hugging her.

"Don't mention it, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you."

"Wuv oo." Kalea said before getting another handful of cake.

"Who do you love, Kalea?" I asked as she was looking at the mess she made.

"You mama."

"And Daddy? Gamma?"

I got closer to her and she smashed cake into my face as a response; it was one of the best responses someone could get. Not sure if it was a yes, but it seemed like it. She is a one year old who just had her first taste of cake, after all.

"I wanna take that as a yes to both of us." Kris said.

"Me too. I'm going to say that the princess loves Daddy and Gamma. Right, sweetie?"

She just giggled as Kris humorously cleaned off my cheek like I was the messy toddler. This is when I grabbed some of another slice that was cut and shoved it into Kris' face. More laughter ensued from both of us and everyone in the room.

"That is amazing cake." he said while wiping some cake off of his face with his finger.

"You can say that again." my mom said as she began cutting cake for everybody.

"I'll probably go there for her next birthday or maybe I'll take a try at baking next year, her birthday cake, that is."

"You definitely would. You're an amazing baker." Mary said.

"Thanks guys."

After cake was served, then the presents came...many, many presents. Can you tell she's loved... how loved she is? I was shocked and my heart melted; it meant so much to Kris and I.

"Which one do you wanna open first, Kalea?"

I knew she couldn't truly tell me, but I was hoping she'd at least be able to pick one or more out. The first one she pointed to was the prettiest shade of pink. Kris handed it to me; it was from Vero and Marc. I can pretty much guarantee you she picked out the paper and probably the gift as well. I helped her tear the paper off. They got her a Play All Day Elmo which I thought was perfect. Kalea seemed to be interested as she kept hitting the plastic, trying to get it out of the package.

"Thank you Vero and Marc! She clearly loves it."

Kris had opened it and she squeezed it ; I didn't exactly want any of her toys out of their packages...maybe one till we got home, but I'll let her have this. I just wish Kris would've discussed this with me before he just went ahead and opened her first present for her; I didn't let my irritation show.

"It was all Marc. He loved watching Sesame Street growing up. Didn't you, Marc?" she said nudging him.

He blushed. How adorable.

"Yeah. I figured if I loved it, so would Kalea."

"You figured right. Thanks again, guys."

We went through an array of emotions, ranging from a coloring book to a baby doll and the whole way to a cute chair shaped like... you guessed it, a penguin, but the last one that was opened was from my mom. She insisted that I opened it last, which I obviously did.

"What is it, baby girl? Oh! It has your name on it."

She had a look of wonder on her face.

"Want me to open it?"

"Oh, Mom..."

Kalea squealed. It was the most wonderful sound I had ever heard in my entire life. I couldn't help but laugh. The book said: Kalea's Book of Names and Faces. Now, I just have to open it. The first person was... me. How'd she... how'd she do this?

"How?"

"First of all, after Keith, Natalie and I recorded our voices into a device, we sent it to Kris's mother and stepfather, then here in Pittsburgh..."

"How'd you get my voice?"

"Kris had a hidden tape recorder with him for I don't even know how long to get your voice."

I started to cry, which I absolutely hated. I hate crying in front of Kris, even more so in front of family, friends and other loved ones. My mom smiled and walked over to hug me.

"You're amazing. Thank you. Love you."

"Love you too and I love Kalea as well. This was such a delight to be able to do this."

I then turned to Kris.

"Is this true?"

"Absolutely and I enjoyed every second of it."

I smiled and kissed him.

"Wanna read this now or when we get home?"

She yawned.

"Sounds like somebody's ready for their nap."

I was perfectly fine with that as I was a bit tired myself.

"Well, thank you everybody for coming and for all the wonderful gifts. It was truly a great day."

I yawned myself and was even more ready to head home.

"Sounds like you're tired yourself." Kris said as I began cleaning up.

"I am. I need a nap."

"I'll finish up, then... um... Mary, Vero, Marc and I will."

"I couldn't possibly let you guys do that."

"You can and you will. You're her mother; You have the utmost right to."

"Ok." I said sitting back, looking at my girl who was clearly fighting sleep.

Like mother, like daughter.

"Athena?" Kris asked, surprising me.

"Yeah?" I asked groggily.

I must've fallen asleep.

"We've cleaned up and her presents are in our vehicles. We're ready to go. You?"

"Yeah. Uh... how long have I been asleep?"

"Five minutes. I think."

"Kalea?"

She just drifted off to sleep actually. I'm surprised she didn't fall asleep faster.

"How long did it take you guys?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Cool." I said, nodding.

"We need to get you to bed."

"Ok."

Kris laughed and shook his head.

"How is she?" my mom asked.

"She's hilariously in need of sleep."

"Hi Mom." I said waving.

Keith came up and wrapped an arm around her.

"That was a great party, Athena. Kalea seemed to really enjoy herself."

"You can say that again." Kris' mom said.

I took another look and Kalea was slowly opening her eyes.

"Hi sleepy head." she said.

She yawned.

"Is my princess ready to head home for a nap?"

She yawned again.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes. Let's get going."

Half hour later, we, including my mom and Keith, along with Kris' mom and step dad, were home. Most of us opted for a nap. The only ones who stayed up were Keith and his step dad.

"Hey." Kris said.

"Hey."

We were finally in our room, ready to take a well-deserved nap.

"Today was a great day." I said as I laid my head on his chest.

"The best day of my life, right next to Kalea being born and meeting you."

"Same with me. Who knew any of this would've happened."

"Yeah. It's amazing. Isn't it?"

I mumbled into his chest as I was nearing sleep once again.

"Very much."

"Whose idea was the book?"

"Your mom's actually. She had been searching for the perfect gift for her beautiful and adorable granddaughter."

"Well, she certainly found it. I didn't even know anything like this even existed. That just made me love her even more, which didn't think was possible."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Are you mad at me about opening that first present for her? Because it seemed like it."

"You could read that? I thought I hid it well, but I got over it quickly as soon as I saw how happy she was."

"That's a relief. By the way, it's nearly impossible for you to hide your emotions. I could tell that from Day 1."

"Not surprising. Not surprising at all."

I lifted my head just enough to kiss him before I laid down again.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Our nap was amazing as was the rest of the day. Family and friends all in the same place at the same time. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Notes

Chapter title courtesy of Best Day of My Life by American Authors.