Brixton's 1st Travel Birthday party | Newbury Park Photographer

We just had Brixton’s 1st Travel Birthday party in a cute park in Newbury Park. I can’t believe our baby boy turned ONE! And while celebrating it with family and friends, looking at his little pictures we put for decorations, the memories of the whole year were passing by in my mind.

Waking Roqi up at 4:30 in the morning and telling him calmly: “Hey sweetie, I think my water broke”. He looked at me not fully awake and then sprung out of his bed running around. While driving to the hospital I heard him cursing at the squirrel for running across the street and slowing us down. This memory still makes me laugh!
Holding this tiny human being after exhausting 23 hour labor overwhelmed with emotions. Watching Roqi and how proud he was to be a Daddy. I always knew he would be a fantastic dad but with every passing day he amazes me even more!
Spending the 1st month trying to figure out what to do. Oh man! They certainly say it right: 2nd babies are luckier because they get to be born to actual parents! We had no idea, it was all trial and error. Well, we figured it out (or better say survived?). Thank goodness we had amazing support from Roqi’s parents too! And you can also guess how many newborn pictures we have =)
Midnight singing and dancing because the little rascal is wide awake. There is a precious video that Roqi took where we were dancing to “Once Upon a Dream” and Brixton is looking at me with such admiration… Just melting my heart!
Welcoming my mom who came to meet Brixton from Russia. When you move to a new country there are many sacrifices that you have to make. For me the hardest one was (and still is) to leave my mom. It’s gotten even harder once Brixton was born. He is her 1st grandson and when they get to spend time together, it is extra special.
Starting to go out and socialize. We wanted to try to maintain our lifestyle and did it little by little. I think after 2 weeks I needed to get out so we went to a cafe and it actually went well. Looking back shopping trips with my mom were hilarious. It would take us an hour (sometimes two) just to get out of the house. And most of the outing was going from 1 bathroom to another to change diapers and nurse.
Going back to exploring places. When Brixton was 6 weeks old, we showed him his 1st place outside of our town: cute Danish town Solvang which was about 1.5 -2 hours away. How fun it was to start doing things we were used to! I wore him in a ring sling most of the time and completely fell in love with it. Shortly after we went to the beach: he is a SoCal boy after all, right? =)
Waking up after 9 straight hours of sleep. Oh what a feeling!! Brixton turned 2 months old and we couldn’t believe it! After 3 hours at most we got 9 in just a week?? Miracles happen! And in our case we thanked an amazing sleep sack we started using a week before that (If you are interested in which one: it’s called Love to Dream – seriously get it guys!! Obviously each baby is different as well as feedings, routines, etc but if there is even a slight chance of more sleep… It is definitely worth a try and was a game changer for us.)
Getting 1st giggles – this was one of the best feelings! Baby belly laughs are the best, aren’t they?
Dressing up for Halloween: Brixton wore a onesie with “My Daddy is Batman” written on it while Roqi had a Batman cape. Perfect, right?
Signing up for Mommy and Me classes. That’s where I learned so much and met wonderful mommies to share our lives with newborns.
Enjoying our 1st Christmas as a family of 3. This is when Brixton’s amazing hair started blooming: light and fuzzy and sticking up no matter what! He got his own stocking with a cute Snowman and his name on it. On Christmas Eve we drove around the neighborhood and showed him Christmas lights while listening to Christmas songs. In the morning he slept over all present openings but we remember: never wake up a sleeping baby.
Going to Malibu Village to hang out and putting him on the swings for the 1st time: gosh he loved it so much! Spending time in Downtown LA: we want to make sure Brixton loves cities as much as we do!
Getting ready for his 1st flight to Seattle and after that Salt Lake City. He turned 6 months and it was interesting to see how we would manage airplanes with a baby. Well, it turned out pretty good! He slept on all 3 flights and even during take off and landing fussed just a little. But oh boy how much baby stuff we had to pack: 25% was ours and 75% Brixton’s. Going through security 1st time: ahahah… All I can say is we got much better now. Exploring Seattle was so much fun! At some point he even fell asleep in a carrier facing out – blaming those restless parents of his for not staying still! =) We filed for his Russian passport there too and thank goodness we did it before they closed that Consulate!
Showing Brixton snow in Salt Lake City and spending time with Roqi’s family. It was truly wonderful! Taking a walk with him in the morning all bundled up in a penguin snowsuit – priceless! That’s where he tried swimming for the 1st time too: a hot tub outside in winter. Crazy? No! We say adventures 🙂
Having fun on our little getaway to San Diego. We stopped along the way at San Juan Capistrano, walked around San Diego downtown and Seaport Village, and then spent another day at their famous Zoo. Watching his smiles while he was watching the animals was the best!
Going to Portland for another family fun long weekend. Incredibly scenic Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls, the stunning tulip fields near Woodburn, pretty forests, amazing coastal trip to Cannon Beach, Seaside, and Astoria. And the flights were fantastic too!! We have such cute videos of Brixton being so excited when taking off – feels like he is just a natural traveler! Can we repeat it always please??
And having another little getaway: this time with my friend and her two sweet kids to Morro Bay and Avila Beach. The drive was more than 3 hours and got a little challenging but how else could moms survive if not for multitasking? Singing all baby songs with one hand on a wheel and another hand giving snacks to the baby in the back. We all have mastered it, right? =) But the places we saw… so beautiful! Totally worth it!
Getting his 1st haircut. His magical hair got a little too wild so it was time. I heard many babies cry so we decided to make it as easy as possible. We found such a cute place specifically designed for kids: with cars, planes, and trains as seats and very patient hairdressers. And it went amazingly! Sitting and standing in his Hummer toy car, he played and chewed on a comb and gave the best smiles. After the haircut I thought the compliments to his hair would stop (he got them ALL the time from family, friends and countless strangers on the street) but surprisingly they almost doubled! So the fuzzy hair sticking up seems to win. Seriously he doesn’t even need any hair styling products, just waking up and it’s perfect. I’m jealous! Daddy especially is jealous as he needs gel to get his up to stick up.
Seeing Brixton stand up at 10 months and then 1st steps at 10.5 months. Trying and falling and trying again – such persistence! it was then that I realized, from this moment on I’m one of those moms who will be chasing her kid everywhere!
Watching how his character starts showing. Brixton is a cheeky little monkey! His grandma (we call her Nani) calls Brixton “Linus” in reference to the Peanuts cartoon character because they always love chewing on blankets (Roqi was the same so the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree). I remember once when it took a bit longer than normal for Roqi to put Brixton to sleep and how Roqi came out of Brixton’s room chuckling to himself. I asked what was so funny and he said that when Brixton finished his bottle, he lied in his arms with his blanket over his face. A few minutes had passed before Roqi looked down to see if Brixton was asleep, only to see him peeking one eye out from the blanket wanting to play Peek-A-Boo. So they did! Brixton did that for quite some time until he actually wore himself out. Both laughed for quite a while playing that game.
Seeing him playing. His favorite game is the Chasing Game! (Although he prefers being chased more than chasing others). He loves playing catch and also kicking balls so Roqi hopes he’ll be either Soccer or Baseball player. Every day he wants to go for walks in his toy car.
Having more little trips: Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, etc… Gosh, there are so many places to show to our little guy!

So naturally what theme would Brixton’s birthday party be? Of course you already know that! … TRAVEL!… “Oh the places you’ll go, my boy!” Here is our little celebration that we had.

Happy 1st Birthday our sweet boy! We love you more than you’ll ever know! Always have and always will!