COLUMN: Making memories and creating tradition

With my first holiday season as a mom rapidly approaching, both excitement and pressures are high.

There’s an opportunity here to start traditions we can carry through the rest of her life — or at least 18 years of it. Two weeks ago we went to Howell’s Greenhouse and Pumpkin Patch in Cumming with my parents and my mother-in-law.

While Eliza is too young to pet the baby goats, I certainly had a great time. We took family photos and got the best pictures of Eliza with the pumpkins we chose. To me, that’s a great example of what I hope to be a tradition with our family.

Next is Halloween. My husband Patrick and I used to host the annual Halloween party, bringing all of our Wisconsin friends to Creston for a weekend. Now that our space has been taken over by a small human, we’ve passed the torch to a different couple.

The three of us are going as two farmers and a little calf. I know she won’t be doing a group costume with us for too many years, but this will at least be a great memory.

I’d like to say we will carve pumpkins. We used to carve pumpkins every year, having photos going back almost 10 years of our different creations. Now with two dogs and a baby, it might be too much work. I’m not putting the pressure on myself that it has to be done.

The real traditions, in my opinion, come during Christmastime. I already bought us matching pajamas from Carter’s. They had a sale!

My mother-in-law has a white mantle built by her dad that she’s moved from house to house with her. She thinks she is the only one who finds it important, but I love the sentimental history behind it. I’m thinking we take our Christmas card photo in front of it. I’d love to be able to continue that tradition throughout the years. I think it would be special.

Growing up, I was always amazed by my Aunt Pam’s Barbie tree. It’s covered in Hallmark’s Barbie ornaments. It’s one of their ornament series, a new release each year.

That gave me the idea to start buying Eliza a new ornament each year. I went through each of their series, trying to find which one I liked best. I ended up deciding on the Rocking Horse Memories series. I like the idea that they will all be similar shape and size and have the year on them.

When I told Patrick, he said his mom always bought the A Pony for Christmas series ornament. I like that the one I chose is different but also features horses.

My father-in-law is a farrier, someone who shoes horses, and my mother-in-law worked with pregnant mares for many years. Horses are a big part of his family.

While here in Creston cowboy mounted shooting is popular, Patrick used to compete in dressage and show jumping, both English riding compared to the Western style used in mounted shooting.

All that to say the Rocking Horse Memories series will be perfect for our little girl. This is a tradition I think will be easy to keep up with.

I didn’t grow up with a lot. We didn’t have extra money for extravagance, and that’s OK. My dad gave me everything he could, and his love was always enough.

But I want more for my daughter, and that’s no slight to him. I’ve always looked to see what other families do. One of the traditions I’ve always loved wouldn’t work until she’s older and has siblings.

The family does a stocking for each kid every year, and it’s the first thing they open on Christmas morning. At the bottom of the stocking is a scrap of wrapping paper representing which wrapping paper is for each kid. That way presents can be under the tree with no names on them. The kids won’t know whose is whose until they get to the bottom of the stocking. I thought that was cute.

Knowing me, I’ll come up with some new idea every year. But I’d love to know what everyone else’s traditions are for the holidays. There’s a pressure to start this year so I can say we did it “every year.” I know, it’s silly.

I felt a similar pressure when she turned one month old. We had to take pictures with her “Eliza is one month old” sign. Whatever pictures I took that day would be the ones we had to replicate the next 12 months. Luckily, I’m pretty happy with what we went with.

With this month being Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, I’m just grateful to officially be a mom this holiday season. Even with the most wonderful baby girl, the loss of my little Sydney and Colin will always hurt. Sending extra hugs to everyone who has lost a pregnancy, an infant or is battling infertility.