A Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, September 25, we held Aviva's first birthday party.

I admit it, we went a little crazy. The night before, we stayed up until 2 am, grilling brisket and about 120 pieces of chicken, making huge bowls of cole slaw, and baking cupcakes. Well, Peter did most of that, and I just baked.

The morning of the party we were scurrying around trying to finish everything and pack the two cars for the drive over to the venue. Our friend Julie let us use the grounds at her new bed and breakfast, Silverstone Falls. (Our backyard is on a huge hill, and not suited to a big outdoor party.) While we were getting ready, we didn't even have time to worry about the weather (it was a bit cool in the morning.) By the time we got to the party, the sun had come out! You can't tell in this photo, but there were about 50 people there.


So many people helped us with this party. Our friends Keri and Jessi baked cupcakes, and assembled the decorations. Uri, Jessi, and Leslie came early to the party to help set up and frost cupcakes. Tons of our friends helped us clean up afterward. We are so grateful to have such a wonderful community here.



Linda and Brian helped us hang up a sign that said "happy birthday aviva."
I was very happy with the decorations, which I had spent lots of time planning. Here's a short clip of the sign:


Thanks to Kirsten for the great idea of posting a string of photos from Aviva's first year (two from each month).

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Aviva, but she was not nearly as impressed as she had been with the waiters in Johannesburg. She did, however, like eating her cupcake.




She even tried to share with us!

Aviva spent lots of time socializing with the guests.
Thanks also to Kirsten for the idea of having a shirt made especially for Aviva's birthday. It got a little chocolate-y, but she still seemed to like it!
Happy birthday, Aviva!

Happy Birthday!

Last week we went to Johannesburg, where we celebrated Aviva's birthday. She's one year old!

She woke up with kind of a crazy hair-do.
Before dinner, we got a few shots of her with her beloved cow (yes, I brought it to Joburg just for this purpose.)

This video clip is silly, but cute. (Ok, I'm biased.) Usually it's impossible to get her to sit still, but on her birthday, she sort of got into it. Maybe she knew that her mother had dragged that cow all the way there, so she had better smile!


We went out to dinner at Assaggi, a terrific Italian restaurant where we ate last year two nights before she was born. We had great starters: delicious cold avocado gazpacho and a grilled vegetable salad. Aviva liked the gazpacho and the zucchini from the salad.


Our main dishes were pasta with eggplant and an artichoke ravioli with an artichoke sauce. Aviva loved them both.

She kept herself busy throughout the dinner.



Even though she kept crawling behind the bar and banging on a refrigerator, Aviva charmed the very busy waiters. "It's her birthday!" one of them said. "Let her come play with us!"

They brought our dessert with a candle in it, and sang Happy Birthday. She was mesmerized.

She grabbed for the tiramisu, but actually didn't like it that much.
It was a big day. By the time we got back to our hotel, she was tuckered out.

Happy Birthday, Aviva!

Kosi Bay / Rocktail Beach Camp, Part II

On Tuesday, the weather was terrific, and Aviva was in a great mood. I took a few photos of the common areas at the camp.
I loved their funky chandeliers.

After breakfast, it was time for the beach!
All weekend Aviva showed off her newest skill, holding her own bottle. Before, she could only do it while lying down, but now she can do it while sitting up.



As you can see, she's thrilled with herself!



It was a beautiful beach (although there was a tiny bit of trash that had washed up.) We had a great time, and would definitely go back.

Kosi Bay / Rocktail Beach Camp, Part I

Two weekends ago we went to Kosi Bay, in South Africa. It's southeast of Swaziland, on the South African coast, just south of the border with Mozambique. We stayed in a lovely place called Rocktail Beach Camp.

As you can see from these photos, it was another example of "glamping," as our tent was basically a normal hotel room, but with a fabric roof and walls.

The first night we were there, Aviva was still getting over her stomach bug, so her dinner didn't look as tasty as Asher's. You can see her looking at his plate.
The next day, Aviva spent some time reading The New Yorker magazine with her father.
On Sunday morning, Peter, Jessi, and I went on the dive shop's "Ocean Experience." It was basically a game drive on the water. We got very close to a female humpback whale and her calf.


The best part, though was snorkeling just above a gigantic whale shark. Unfortunately we didn't have a camera while we were in the water.

That afternoon, we got to the beach a bit late, and the animals started to get hungry.
On Monday, Peter and Garrett took a scuba diving class.

Later that day, it was windy at the beach, and Aviva got a little grumpy.
But by the evening she was ready for playtime again, with Jessi...
...and with Garrett.
Aviva and Asher had a lot of fun together. In the first clip below, they are holding hands (!)...until Asher gets embarrassed and walks off giggling. In the second clip, they have fun splashing, and in the third, Aviva plays with another new favorite toy (a cooler.)

Fashion Friday #39: Pink and white summer clothes

It's warm these days, so we're working our way through Aviva's summer clothes.

Her first outfit is a 6-9M sleeveless pink and white polka-dot shirt by Tuti Fruiti. (Yes, that's how it's spelled.) It has a collar, ruffled sleeves, a tie in the front, and on the front, there is a poodle in a heart. Aviva reminds me of a character from the movie Grease II. (I can't remember her name, but I'm betting Aviva's Auntie Sarah and Auntie Nina can help us out here.)

Her 9M denim skit with embroidered flowers on the front is by genuinebaby by OshKosh, and it was a gift from Aviva's Grand Aunt Cheryl. Thanks, Cheryl! She's holding up her new favorite toy, our broken kitchen timer.



Aviva's second outfit is a 3/6M pink and white checker dress with matching bloomers by Good Lad of Philadelphia.


Here are a few short clips from today's session. In the first one, Aviva shows off her aggressive page turning technique. In the second, she basically avoids the camera. Peter pointed out that her "dress" is probably supposed to be worn over a shirt, since it is open on both sides. Oops.




Thanks to the Sevin family for the shirt in the first outfit and for the second outfit.



Happy Friday!

Swaziland Reed Dance / Umhlanga

Two weekends ago, we went on a family outing to the Swaziland Reed Dance, or Umhlanga. It's an annual ceremony during which tens of thousands of girls and young women (or "maidens," as they are called here) dance in traditional Swazi attire.

Our friend Chris was very excited about also dressing in traditional Swazi attire, and he convinced Peter to join him. We only had two problems. First, in addition to the two traditional cloths wrapped around his upper body and lower body, a Swazi man is supposed to wear an animal skin around his waist. When Peter started to get dressed, he asked our guard, Mathikane, for assistance. Peter, however, didn't have the animal skin. Mathikane told him that without the animal skin, he had better forget the whole thing. Fortunately, Peter's colleague Patrick came to the rescue.

Our second problem was that after Patrick arrived, he told us that the red cloth Chris had purchased for Peter to wear on his upper body was, in fact, for a woman. Oops. Why the salesperson sold Chris a red cloth for a woman with a blue cloth for a man to wear around his waist...we'll never know. So Patrick advised that Peter not wear a cloth on top at all, but wear one of Patrick's animal skins. So Peter had sort of a loop of calf fur around his torso, and also another animal product around his neck.

Peter looks a bit sheepish here, but Aviva was very curious about what Patrick had to say.

Patrick adjusted the animal skin around Chris' waist.

The ceremony is actually several days long, and the final day, during which the girls/women march in and dance in front of huge crowds of Swazi royalty, visiting dignitaries, diplomats, and tourists, is held at a stadium near one of the King's palaces.

Chris and Peter were a huge hit.

Aviva and I opted for our own traditional gear.
...as did our friend Leslie.

Some of the dancers were quite young.

I think the red headdresses signify royalty, so this seems to have been a line of princesses. You'll notice that traditional attire for girls/young women includes very little fabric.
At one point lots of traditionally dressed men moved up and down the stairs. We still aren't sure what was happening, but this photo gives you a sense of the scale of the event, as well as the majesty of the setting. The stadium is in the Ezulwini valley, which is flanked by beautiful mountains.

At another point, the King, accompanied by dozens of men, moves onto the field to acknowledge the dancers.
Here's a close-up of the King. He has a red headdress and is looking down and to his left.

We had to get some close-ups of Peter's attire.


Peter opted to wear shorts under his wrap, even though apparently one doesn't have to do so. He was still showing off some leg.

We even made the newspaper the next day! From left to right are our friends Shukri and Leslie, Callista and Aviva (the only one looking the wrong way), and Peter and Chris.


We had a great day, and even though Aviva was still a bit sick, she was in good spirits. It was very interesting to see, and we were grateful that the Swazis allow visitors this glimpse into their culture.