Here it was; the big day. July 7th; Katrina's first birthday. Joe had made sure he was available that day, and some of the family was coming over later. Birthdays are a big deal to kids and parents alike, so there was no way he was going to miss the first one.

Once he was fully dressed, he went to get Katrina out of her crib. Katrina was already standing up, holding herself up with the bars, waiting for him. "Bon matin, ma belle," he said as he picked her up. "Joyeux anniversaire." (Good morning, sweetie. Happy birthday.) Katrina grinned. Joe wasn't exactly sure if she actually knew what he meant, or if she was just happy to be with her daddy.

Joe got Katrina changed and into her birthday dress, and the two of them went downstairs, where Joe presented Katrina with a simple cardboard box with a green bow on it. "Ceci c'est de moi, ma belle." (This is from me, darling.)

Katrina struggled to pull the flaps open. Joe figured he better help her. He got the first flap, and Katrina pulled back the other. Inside was an adorable, if slightly worn stuffed rabbit. It had been a relic of Joe's youth, and he felt it was time to pass it down to the next generation. Geez, thinking about that made him feel old; and he was only a few months shy of twenty-five!

Katrina, of course, loved the cuddly and picked it up out of the box the second she saw it. "Regardez ici, Katie," said Joe, getting Katrina's attention. (Look over here, Katie.) Katrina looked, and Joe took a picture; the first of many that day.


Later that afternoon, their family members, as well as Von Kaiser, had arrived, and so the party was ready to begin. Joe presented Katrina with the cake; a simple chocolate sheet cake with pink icing and rainbow sprinkles, and a candle (unlit, of course) in the middle. They all sang her the classic birthday song that, for some ungodly reason, is still often subject to copyright nonsense, and once the cake was cut, Katrina attempted to share her piece with her father, which only resulted in getting sweet mush all over his face. Von Kaiser chuckled and snapped a picture; that was adorable.


Into the evening, Joe was taking Katrina upstairs to put her down for the night. Katrina had loved the cuddly toys and dresses that her family and friends had given her.

Before he put her in her crib, he held her in his arms to talk to her. "Tu sais, Katie, quand j'ai découvert que tu étais née, j'avais vraiment peur. Je pense que j'étais trop jeune pour avoir un enfant. Mais maintenant que tu es ici, je ne changerais jamais ça. Je ne peux pas imaginer ma vie sans toi. Je t'adore." (You know, Katie, when I found out you were born, I was very scared. I thought I was too young to have a child. But now that you're here, I would never change that. I can't imagine life without you. I love you.)

He kissed her forehead, and put her in her crib. Katrina softly cooed as she fell asleep. So that was it. The first birthday was all over. Admittedly, it was nothing special. But seeing how happy little Katie was that day, he supposed it was worth it. And hey, everyone had a lot of great photos. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Joe turned himself in for the night.