March 10, 2026

Lyanna's 1st Birthday

Lyanna's 1st Birthday

n this special episode of We Are the Hansons, host Myia Hanson celebrates a beautiful milestone—Lyanna’s first birthday. Myia reflects on the incredible first year of Lyanna’s life, sharing heartfelt moments, family memories, and the joy that comes with watching a little one grow in a big, loving family. From tiny giggles and first steps to birthday cake and family traditions, this episode is a warm reminder of how quickly time moves and how precious these early moments truly are. It’s a sweet celebration of love, family, and the magic of a child’s very first birthday. 🎂💛

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You know those days, the ones that feel completely normal

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while you're inside them. You wake up, You're running behind,

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you can't find the thing you laid out the night before,

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someone needs something, the car needs gas, and you're thinking

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is this day even going to come together? But then

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it does, and somewhere around the middle of it all,

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you look up and you just see it. You see

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the room full of people you love. You see the

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kids starting between adults' legs like they own the place.

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You hear laughter coming from every single corner of the house.

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You smell food, real home cooked, somebody put love into it,

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food coming from the kitchen, and you think, oh, this

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is one of those days. This is one of the

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ones you're going to remember ten years from now. Not

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because it was on a calendar, not because you planned

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it for months, but because it was real, because everybody

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showed up, because the people you love were all in

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the same place at the same time, and for one afternoon,

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the whole world got a little quieter and the only

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thing that mattered was right there in that room. This

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past weekend, our granddaughter Liana turned one years old, one

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whole year, and we all packed into our daughter's house

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to celebrate her, and I want to tell you about it,

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because days like this they deserve to be remembered out loud.

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Welcome back to We Are the Hansons, the podcast about family,

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real life, big gatherings, raised voices, inside jokes, and all

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the beautiful, exhausting, wonderful chaos that comes with being part

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of a big family. I'm Maya Hanson and if you're

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new here, welcome. I need to warn you up front.

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Our family is large. Not just four kids and a

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dog large. We are full on. Every gathering feels like

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a small fan. Where did all these people come from? Large?

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And I wouldn't trade a single one of them, not

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even the one who always asks if there's napkins after

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they've already eaten half their plate. You know who you are.

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Today's episode is about Leanna's first birthday party, our granddaughter,

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our daughter's baby, one years old. And if you were

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a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, anyone who's

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ever watched a little baby cross that first year finish line,

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you know what I mean when I say it hits different.

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That first birthday is not just for the baby. The

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baby has absolutely no idea what's going on that first

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birthday is for everyone who showed up in that first year,

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For the parents who didn't sleep, for the grandparents who

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drove over every chance they got just to hold her

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for twenty minutes, For the aunts and uncles who made

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ridiculous faces trying to get her to smile, For the

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cousins who treated her like the most important new addition

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to the crew, because honestly she is. That first birthday

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is the family's way of stopping and saying, we made

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it through the first year. She's here, she's healthy, she's growing,

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and we love her more than we knew was possible.

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So yeah, we celebrated. We celebrated big. Let me paint

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a picture for you of what it looks like when

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the Hansens plan a gathering. It starts about a week out.

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Somebody sends a message in the group chat. That group chat,

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the group chat that has approximately forty seven on read

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messages on any given Tuesday. The message says something like

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birthday party Sunday. Come hungry, and that's it. That's the invitation.

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No formal RSVP, no dietary preference form, no event planning spreadsheet,

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just come hungry, and somehow miraculously people start figuring it out,

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who brings what, who's making one, who's picking up who?

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It's organized chaos, and the amazing thing is it actually

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works every single time. Now, for Leana's birthday, we all

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gathered over at our daughter's house, which meant the week

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before there was planning happening on multiple fronts, decorations, food,

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the cake, making sure enough chairs existed, making sure enough

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plates existed, making sure somebody anybody brought napkins. I'm going

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to be honest with you, the napkins are always the

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last minute situation in this fan. We have homemade mac

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and cheese, macaroni salad, Sloppy Joe's, a full fruit and

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veggie trade, drinks in a cooler, a birthday cake, and candles.

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But napkins, Oh, somebody will think of those at the

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store on their way over. It's fine. It always works out,

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and this time it worked out too. The house was decorated,

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the food was coming together, the family was on the way,

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and one little birthday girl had absolutely no idea that

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her whole world was about to show up for her.

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I need to spend some time on the food, because

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in this family, food is not a side note. Food

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is a love language. If you come to a hands

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and gathering, you are eating. You are not showing up

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and having a few crackers and calling it a day. No,

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you are eating multiple plates, at least three visits to

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the food table and to go container on the way

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out if there are leftovers, which there usually aren't. For

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Leanna's birthday, everyone brought something, and I want to walk

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you through it, because every single dish tells a story.

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Let's start with Grama Darlene's mac and cheese. Now, I

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know there are people out there who will argue that

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macaroni and cheese from a box is fine. And to

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those people, I say, with love, you have not had

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real mac and cheese, real yummy macaroni and cheese and

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two kinds of different cheeses into this rich, creamy, golden

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topped situation that comes out and it's bubbling and smelling

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like everything good in the world. That's what I made,

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And every single time I bring it to a gathering,

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people lose their minds a little bit. The kids love it,

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the adults love it. Everyone is circling the dish like

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it might disappear, which, by the way, it always does.

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Gone every bit of it and somebody will always say

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who made the mac and cheese, like they don't already know,

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like I haven't been making it for years, but the

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compliment never gets old. Then there was Gramma Darlene's Macaroni Salad.

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And if you have never been on the receiving end

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of Grandma Darlene's max salad, I feel sorry for you,

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and I also wish I could help you, but I

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can't because that recipe lives in her memory and she

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makes it differently every time, and somehow it is perfect

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every single time. Cool and creamy, a little sweet, with

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a little tang yum, with a little bit of vegetables

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in it. The kind of dish that makes you feel

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like summer no matter what time of year it is.

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And let me tell you something about Grandma Darlene's Macaroni salad.

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At a handsome gathering, you get there early, or you

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get the bottom of the bowl. That's just how it is.

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Then the Sloppy Joe's. Now, the Sloppy Joe's is one

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of our greatest party foods ever invented. I'll defend that opinion.

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Because they're easy, because they're filling, because kids love them,

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because you can just pile your plate and go. No

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forks required if you're bold enough. The little ones especially,

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There is something about a sloppy joe that makes a

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kid feel like they really are doing something. Sauce on

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their chin, sauce on their shirt, pure joy. And then

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there was the fruit and veggie trae. The fruit and

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veggie tray gets a little less attention than the other sides,

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but it is always appreciated. It's colorful, it's fresh, It

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makes the table look like somebody thought about balance. And

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the ranch dip next to it gets way more action

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than the actual vegetables, but we don't talk about that.

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By the time everything was laid out on the table,

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it looked like a full spread, like a real meal,

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the kind of table that makes you feel like somebody

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loves you just by looking at it, because they do.

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That's what that table was. It was love in a

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dish form. There is a moment that every family gathering

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when the arrivals start happening and the energy in the

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house just changes. The door opens, somebody walks in, there's

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a round of hey, you made it, hugs, jackets thrown

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on the new chair, and then the next person arrives

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and the next and before you know it, the house

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is alive for Leanna's birthday. Watching everyone come through that

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door was one of my favorite parts of the whole day.

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Morgan came home for the party, and that that made

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it feel extra special. When your kids get older and

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they start building their own lives, their own routines, their

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own schedules, having them show up for family moments hits

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differently than when they were little and they just had

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to be wherever you were. Now they choose it, and

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when they choose it, it means something. Morgan chose to

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be there, and Leanna's party was better for it. Then

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came the boys. Callen showed up, Keenan came in, Gavin

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arrived with his girlfriend Riley, And let me just say,

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watching the older ones start bringing their own people into

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the family gold is one of the things I love

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most about this stage of life. The family is growing,

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the circle is getting wider, and every new person who

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walks in that door and becomes part of the that's

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a blessing. Tristan was there, Jeremy was there, and he

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came with the three younger girls, Mattie, Torn and Anneline.

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Those three are something else in the best way. They

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bring a specific kind of energy to a gathering that

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I can only describe as chaotic, joyful, and occasionally extremely loud,

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and the house loves it. Once everyone had arrived and

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the coats were off, and the food was on the table,

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and the kids were running around and people were finding

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their spots, I did that thing, you know, the thing,

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this slow look around the room, or you just stop

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for a second and you take in everything happening all

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at once. Kids chasing each other through the hallway, adults

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talking over each other in the kitchen, someone pouring drinks,

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someone calling across the room, task where the bottle opener is.

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Little Leanna sitting in the middle of it, all eyes wide,

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watching everything like she's trying to figure out why all

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of these very large, very loud people have shown up

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in her house. I did that slow look around the room,

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and I thought, this, this is what I work for,

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This is what all of it is for. This right here,

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let me talk about the birthday girl for a minute,

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because she deserves her own whole segment. Leanna one years

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old and already already she has figured out how to

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be adorable in a way that completely disarms every person

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who walks into the room. Here is what you need

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to understand about one year old's at birthday party. They

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do not know what a birthday is. They do not

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know what a party is. They do not know why

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so many people are in their house, or why everyone

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keeps making that face at them, you know the face,

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the big white eyes, and the high pitched voice going

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high sweet girl, every time they pass by. To Leanna,

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this whole day was basically just a lot of simulation,

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a lot of people, a lot of sounds, a lot

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of colors, a lot of strange objects being placed in

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front of her to see what she would do with them.

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And she handled it all with that absolutely wide eyed

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curiosity that made everyone fall a little more in love

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with her. Every single time she looked at them. She

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smiled at people, She reached for things she wanted to

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be held. She grabbed a napkin off the table at

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some point and held on to it like it was

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a trophy. She found a spoon. She was very excited

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about that spoon. One year olds and spoons, There's something

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about that combination. And every now and then she would

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look up from whatever had her attention and just survey

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the room this little queen looking out over her kingdom,

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and then go right back to whatever she was doing,

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completely unbothered, completely in her element. That baby was born

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knowing who she is. I'm telling you she was sitting

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there in her birthday outfit, because obviously she had a

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birthday outfit. This is a hands and gathering, looking like

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she owned the place, which honestly she kind of does,

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because when a baby enters a room, they become the

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center of every Adults in the house found themselves gravitating

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towards her at some point, crouching down to her level,

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making faces, trying to make her laugh. And she was

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very generous with her smiles, just enough to let you

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know you were doing great, just enough to keep you

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coming back for more. One year old and already excellent

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at people. That's our Leanna. At some point, somebody announces

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that the food is ready, and in a big family,

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this announcement has the energy of a starting gun. Everybody

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is suddenly moving, plates are grabbed, the line forms. There's

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always a brief negotiation at the start of the line

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about who goes first. The answer is almost always the kids,

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because if the kids don't get fed immediately, the energy

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in the room shifts in one direction nobody wants so

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kids first, and then the adults start loading up plates

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and finding spots to sit and lean and stand in corners,

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because in a big family gathering there is never quite

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enough seating for everyone, and somehow that is completely fine.

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Nobody complaints. You find the all, you find a barstool,

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you find a spot on the stairs, and you eat,

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and it is wonderful. The sound of big family meal

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00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:17.200
is something I genuinely treasure. It's not quiet, It is

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never quiet. There are at least four conversations happening at

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00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.799
the same time. Someone is telling a story in the kitchen.

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Someone is laughing really loudly at something in the living room,

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and you want to know what they said, but you're

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00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:34.720
too far away to hear. Someone is asking a kid

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00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.240
to sit down while they eat. Someone is getting seconds.

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Someone is telling someone else to try the macaroni salad

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00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:46.759
before it's gone, which is always sound advice. And through

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00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.919
all of it, people are eating good food that somebody

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made with their own hands, and that matters. It matters

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00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.279
more than people realize. When you cook for a crowd,

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you're not just making food. You're saying I thought about you.

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I wanted you to be fed and full and satisfied.

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I wanted there to be enough for everyone. I wanted

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the table to feel like something. And it did, it

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00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:14.000
really did. The mac and cheese was going fast. I

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00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.600
clocked it. By the time most of the people had

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00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:19.000
gotten through the line, the dish was already more than

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00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:22.360
half gone. Jeremy went back to check on it at

254
00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:26.000
some point with this look on his face like he

255
00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:29.039
needed to protect it. Too late. The family got to it,

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00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:33.360
and that's the highest compliment there is. Gramada Arlene's macaroni

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00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.000
salad gone before the second wave of plate fillers got

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00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:39.799
their turn. I warned you the Sloppy Joe's were a

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00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:43.080
hit for everyone, especially the kids who ate them with

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00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:47.559
the kind of full body commitment that only children can manage.

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Sloppy Joe's are appropriately named, That's all I'll say. And

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00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:54.320
at the end of the table, the veggie tray looked

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00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:58.200
a little lonelier than when we started, but the ranch

264
00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:01.559
dip was almost gone. That it was a good meal.

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00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.559
It was a great meal. And by the time plates

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00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:07.720
were cleared and people were leaning back and sighing, that

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00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:12.240
satisfied sigh of people who have eaten well and eaten together.

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00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:14.639
The room felt warm in a way that had nothing

269
00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:17.399
to do with the temperature. There's this thing that happens

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00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:20.879
when you get multiple generations of family in one place.

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You start seeing things in layers. You see the little ones,

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00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.639
the babies, the toddlers, who are just at the very

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00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:32.519
beginning of their story. They don't know yet how loved

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they are. They don't know yet how many people will

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00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:38.639
show up for them over their lifetime. They're just here

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00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:42.600
right now figuring out what spoons are for. Then you

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00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:45.440
see the big kids, the ones old enough to play,

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00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.440
to run, to have their own opinions and their own energy,

279
00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:52.720
the ones starting through the hallway and getting shussed when

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they are too loud near the baby. And then you

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00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.120
see the older ones, the older ones who have started

282
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.759
to grow into themselves, the teenagers and the young adults

283
00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:05.839
who are figuring out who they are and where they're going.

284
00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:10.240
And then the parents and the grandparents. And I sat

285
00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:13.200
there at one point in that party, and I just

286
00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:18.480
watched it all moving, this whole living, breathing, noisy, beautiful thing,

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00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:22.160
and I thought about how Leanna, who is sitting there

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00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:27.079
right now grabbing a napkin with complete delight. She doesn't

289
00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:30.359
know yet that all of this is hers, all of

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00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:35.240
these people, all of these relationships, all of these layers.

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00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.160
She doesn't know yet that Morgan will be someone she

292
00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.000
looks up to. She doesn't know yet that Colin and

293
00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.640
Keenan and Gavin and Tristan will be the ones who

294
00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:46.680
make her laugh at family gatherings ten years from now.

295
00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:50.359
She doesn't know yet that Maddie and Torren and Annlin

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00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.680
will be part of the fabric of her childhood. She

297
00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.119
doesn't know any of that yet, but she will, And

298
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:01.000
in the meantime, all of those people already know it

299
00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:05.039
about her. They already love her, they already claimed her.

300
00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:08.599
She's one of us. She's always been one of us.

301
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There's also something I want to say about watching the

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00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:14.000
older kids with the little ones, because I think it

303
00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:18.880
gets overlooked sometimes. The patience, the gentleness, the way the

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00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:22.400
bigger kids naturally slow down around the babies, the way

305
00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:24.960
they check on them, the way they crouch down and

306
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.960
make silly faces and offer the toy and genuinely want

307
00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.559
the little one to smile at them. I saw that

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00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:34.359
at this party. I saw it in the way people

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00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:38.799
moved through the room with care, with awareness, with love

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00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:41.640
that doesn't need to announce itself. That's how you know

311
00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:45.960
a family is healthy, not because it's perfect, not because

312
00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:49.960
everything goes smoothly, but because the love shows up quietly

313
00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:54.000
in the small moments and the crouching down in the

314
00:18:54.039 --> 00:19:00.400
second plate and showing up. Okay, Kate too. This is

315
00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:04.480
the moment everybody has been building tour and when somebody

316
00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:08.279
finally says it all right, it's cake time. The room

317
00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:14.319
reorganizes itself instantly. Kids appear from wherever they were, Phones

318
00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:18.400
come out, People who are sitting down stand up. People

319
00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:20.880
who were in the kitchen migrate to the living room.

320
00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:25.319
Everyone finds a site line to the baby, because this

321
00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.759
is the moment, this is what everyone is here for.

322
00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:32.519
The birthday cake was beautiful. First birthday cakes are their

323
00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.759
own special thing because there's the big cake for the family,

324
00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:39.000
for the people, and then there's the smash cake, the

325
00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.079
personal cake, the one that belongs entirely to the birthday girl,

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00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.960
the one she gets to do whatever she wants with.

327
00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.559
And if you don't know what a smash cake is, congratulations,

328
00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.240
you are about to learn. One of the great joys

329
00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:57.599
of the first birthday tradition, you put the smash cake

330
00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:00.119
in front of the little one year old and then

331
00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:05.359
you let nature take its course. First the candle. Somebody

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00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:08.240
lit the candle and we all gathered close, and it

333
00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:11.559
was one of those genuinely perfect moments where the room

334
00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:15.680
goes a little quiet, everybody looking at this little person,

335
00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:20.400
one tiny candle flickering, one year of life. And then

336
00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:24.880
the singing starts. Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you,

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00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:29.200
Happy birthday, dear Leanna, Happy birthday to you. And she

338
00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:34.240
just she sat there looking at the candle, looking around

339
00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:37.799
at all these people singing at her, looking back at

340
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.839
the candle, with the expression on her face that's set.

341
00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:45.319
I have absolutely no idea what is happening right now,

342
00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:48.960
but I have decided to enjoy it. Her daddy blew

343
00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:52.799
out the candle because she's one and the candle blowing

344
00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.960
is a skill that takes time to develop. And then

345
00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.880
the smash cake was placed in front of her, and

346
00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:04.160
for a moment, she just looked at it. She studied it.

347
00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.240
She reached out one little finger and made contact with

348
00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.880
the frosting, looked at her finger, looked at the cake,

349
00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:16.200
put the frosting in her mouth, and then that was it.

350
00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:19.839
The decision was made. Both hands went down and the

351
00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:23.880
crowd went absolutely crazy. Everyone was cheering, everyone laughing, the

352
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:29.599
phones out recording, and Leanna, completely unbothered by the audience,

353
00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:33.519
absolutely committed to the cake frosting on her fingers, frosting

354
00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:37.319
on her cheeks, a spoonful of frosting, and cake frosting

355
00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:41.440
in her eyebrow, which is a level of commitment. And

356
00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:44.920
I deeply respect that there was cake in her hair,

357
00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:47.440
cake in her diaper, cake on the high chair tray,

358
00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:51.160
there was cake that somehow ended up on the floor

359
00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:55.160
next to her, and she was completely, entirely, one hundred

360
00:21:55.200 --> 00:22:00.039
percent delighted. That is the smash cake. That is the

361
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.519
first birthday. That is the image I want burned into

362
00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:08.480
your memory forever, Little Leana, covered in frosting, surrounded by

363
00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:12.799
people who love her most and absolutely living her best life,

364
00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:18.200
one years old, completely in her element, no notes. After

365
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:22.279
the cake. After a quick clean up situation involving several

366
00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:25.799
wet wipes and at least one change of clothes, it

367
00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:30.000
was time for presence. Now. If you have ever watched

368
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:34.240
The Baby Open Presence, you know the word open is generous.

369
00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:38.319
What actually happens is an adult hands the baby a gift,

370
00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:41.400
the baby looks at the gift, the adult starts helping

371
00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:44.960
the baby unwrap it. The baby discovers the wrapping paper,

372
00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:48.319
and the wrapping paper becomes the main event, because wrapping

373
00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:52.519
paper is crinkly and creakly is the best sound in

374
00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:54.920
the world when you are one years old. So you

375
00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:58.400
have the baby on one side, fully invested in a

376
00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:01.359
piece of torn wrapping paper, and you have the gifts

377
00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.960
sitting there waiting patiently for its turn, and everyone is

378
00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:09.559
laughing because it is perfect. It is exactly as it

379
00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:13.599
should be. There were so many gifts for Leanna. Toys

380
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:17.559
that light up, toys that make sound, which, congratulations to

381
00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:20.359
her parents. Those will be doing their thing at seven

382
00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:24.759
in the morning tomorrow. Soft things, books, clothes, because you

383
00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:26.920
can never go wrong with clothes for a one year

384
00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:30.000
old who is growing at a remarkable pace and will't

385
00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:34.079
have outgrown everything in three months anyway. And with every gift,

386
00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:38.119
somebody helped her tear open the paper, and with every gift,

387
00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:41.680
her eyes would widen at whatever was inside, and then

388
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:43.960
she would reach out for it and go back to

389
00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.000
the wrapping paper. Whatever seemed more interesting in the moment.

390
00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:52.400
It was chaotic, it was loud, There were ribbons everywhere.

391
00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:54.960
Someone was trying to keep track of who gave what,

392
00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:58.200
so thank you notes could be written. Kids were trying

393
00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.400
to play with the toys as they came out of

394
00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.039
the boxes. And somewhere in the middle of the pile

395
00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:07.480
of wrapping paper and tissue and ribbons and new things,

396
00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:11.480
Leanna was just sitting there, a little tired by this point,

397
00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:15.119
a little frosting still in her hair that was messed,

398
00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:19.839
looking around at everything around her, and probably thinking this

399
00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:23.359
is a lot, but a good a lot, the best

400
00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:26.480
kind of a lot. Here's my favorite part of every

401
00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:30.920
family gathering, the after, after the cake is cut and

402
00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.079
half of it is gone, after the presents are opened

403
00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:37.720
and the floor is a landscape of ribbons, After the

404
00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.799
food has been mostly eaten and the dishes are stacked

405
00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:44.880
by the sink and someone is pulling foil over the leftovers.

406
00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:47.920
After the energy of the party starts to settle down,

407
00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:51.240
like a wave pulling back from the shore. That's when

408
00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:54.880
things get quiet and the best play. People spread out.

409
00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:57.720
Some people are in the kitchen talking, some people are

410
00:24:57.720 --> 00:25:00.960
in the living room. The kids are winding down or

411
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:04.640
they got their second wind, which is its own adventure,

412
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.960
and the adults are just present, no agenda, no schedule,

413
00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:15.400
just here, just together. Those conversations that happen in the

414
00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:21.039
after they're different from the party conversations. They're slower, more personal,

415
00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:24.680
the kind of conversations where you actually finish your sentences,

416
00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:28.519
where someone says something real and someone else listens, where

417
00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:33.440
stories get told, real stories, family stories, the kind of

418
00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:36.880
stories that get added to the collection and retold that

419
00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:40.400
the next gathering and the one after that. I love

420
00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:43.599
those moments. I love sitting somewhere with a cup of

421
00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:48.960
something warm and watching my family just be just exist

422
00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:54.119
together in a space, not performing, not doing anything in particular,

423
00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:58.559
just together. There is no version of that day where

424
00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:01.279
I would have traded any part of it, not the

425
00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:04.920
running behind part at the beginning, not the napkin situation,

426
00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:08.319
not the mess, not the wrapping paper on the floor,

427
00:26:08.920 --> 00:26:11.599
not a single bit of it, because all of it

428
00:26:11.720 --> 00:26:14.160
was part of the day. All of it was part

429
00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:17.839
of Leanna's first birthday, and it was beautiful. I want

430
00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:21.000
to get a little reflective for a minute, because that's

431
00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.839
what first birthdays do to me. They make me think

432
00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:27.559
about time, about how it moves, about how it is

433
00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:31.079
somehow the slowest and the fastest thing in the universe,

434
00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:34.599
depending on which moment you're standing at. I remember the

435
00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:37.480
first year of my own kids' lives, and I know,

436
00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:41.839
I know that every parent says this, and it still

437
00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:46.480
doesn't stop being true. It goes fast, goes so so fast.

438
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:50.079
One day, you're bringing them home from the hospital, completely

439
00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:53.680
terrified and completely in love, wondering how on earth you're

440
00:26:53.720 --> 00:26:57.279
going to take care of this tiny, perfect, impossible human.

441
00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.480
And then you blink and they're holding their own baby,

442
00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:03.599
and that baby is turning one. And you're standing in

443
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:07.480
a kitchen of your grown child's home, eating macaroni salad,

444
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:11.400
watching your granddaughter put frosting in her eyebrow, and you think,

445
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:14.440
where did the time go? Not in a sad way,

446
00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:17.480
not in a regret way, just in a way where

447
00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:20.680
you feel the full weight of how precious it all is,

448
00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:23.519
how none of it is guaranteed. How the fact that

449
00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:27.799
everyone in the room was healthy and present and happy

450
00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:32.079
and well fed, that's not nothing, that's everything. Think about

451
00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:35.240
the parents who don't get to celebrate their child's first birthday.

452
00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:38.119
I think about the grandparents who don't get to see

453
00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:41.960
their grandchildren grow. I think about the families who can't

454
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:45.359
be together, and I hold on to that gratitude because

455
00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:49.240
Leanna's first birthday was not just a party. It was

456
00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:52.160
a miracle. It was a family that made it through

457
00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:55.559
another year. It was a baby that is healthy and

458
00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:59.200
thriving and loved. It was children who came home. It

459
00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:02.839
was people who to each other. All of it, every

460
00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:06.200
single part of it, a miracle. We just stressed it

461
00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:09.880
up with Sloppy Joe's and frosting. Okay, before we wrap

462
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.079
up today's episode, we promised you a recipe because after

463
00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:17.680
all the mac and cheese talk, and trust me, there

464
00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:20.279
has been a lot of mac and cheese talk, it

465
00:28:20.359 --> 00:28:23.920
felt wrong not to share this with you. The creamy

466
00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:27.519
mac and cheese recipe, the one that disappeared at the party,

467
00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:31.039
the one that three separate people asked about before they

468
00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:34.720
even got the Sloppy Joe's. The recipe is exactly what

469
00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:38.279
it sounds like, real homemade mac and cheese that you

470
00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:42.559
make from your own scratch about forty minutes and that

471
00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:45.920
will absolutely ruin a box of mac and cheese for

472
00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.200
you forever. The recipe is exactly what it sounds like,

473
00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:54.240
homemade real mac and cheese. You're welcome. I think here's

474
00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:57.720
what you need for the pasta. One found Velbel macaroni

475
00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:02.440
classic traditional, the right call. For the sauce. You're gonna

476
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:05.920
need a half a jar of cheese whiz. You're gonna

477
00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:09.400
need a half a block of the velveta block of cheese.

478
00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:12.480
Then what you do. You chunk up half of that

479
00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:15.359
block of velveta. You set it aside, make sure the

480
00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:18.319
chunks are a little bit bigger than a quarter size.

481
00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:21.119
You're going to boil the noodles. And when I mean

482
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:25.039
boil the noodles, you should have a little bit of

483
00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:28.240
water still left in when the pasta is finished cooking,

484
00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:32.359
because that is going to be the juiciness while the

485
00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:35.359
pasta is cooking. Get all your cheese sauce ready. Once

486
00:29:35.400 --> 00:29:38.880
the noodles are cooked, you're going to add that half

487
00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:44.079
a block of chunked velveta cheese into the pan. Then

488
00:29:44.119 --> 00:29:46.599
you're going to add half a jar of cheese whiz

489
00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:50.240
into that. Then you're gonna just keep mixing and tell

490
00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:54.599
the cheese is melted, steady mixing. Then you're going to

491
00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:57.599
add pepper. Shake that pepper all over in it. You're

492
00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:01.480
going to remove it from the heat and mix it again,

493
00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:05.039
add a little bit more pepper, and then you're gonna

494
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:07.640
put a top on it. You're going to wait about

495
00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:11.839
four minutes, mix it again and taste it. You can

496
00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:15.680
either add a little more cheese to it, or you don't.

497
00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:18.640
Have to let it sit for about five minutes before

498
00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:22.039
you serve it. This is the hard part, the five minutes.

499
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:26.160
But let it sit, it'll hold together better. And then

500
00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.000
serve it. Watch it disappear, Wonder why you didn't make more.

501
00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:34.160
Make more next time. That's the creamy mac and cheese

502
00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:37.200
that we make. It is exactly what a big family

503
00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:41.079
gathering meats. It is filling and warm and comforting and real,

504
00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:45.279
and it will always always be gone before you're ready

505
00:30:45.279 --> 00:30:48.599
for it to be. Leanna's first birthday was everything. It

506
00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:52.599
was loud, it was full, It was messy, the cake,

507
00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:56.039
the wrapping paper, the sloppy Joe's and the whole beautiful

508
00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:59.720
disaster of it. It was imperfect in all the ways

509
00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:03.519
that make a day reel. And it was surrounded by

510
00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:07.720
love that I genuinely cannot measure. I don't know what

511
00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:11.880
Leanna will remember of her first years. She won't remember

512
00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:15.720
this party, she was one, after all, but she will

513
00:31:15.720 --> 00:31:18.480
carry it anyway. She will carry it in the way

514
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:21.119
she laughs, and the way she walks into a room

515
00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:25.920
like she belongs there because she was raised knowing she belongs.

516
00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:29.279
In the way that she reaches for people because people

517
00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:33.000
have always reached back. She won't remember the cake, but

518
00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:36.440
she'll know that she has always been celebrated. She won't

519
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:40.519
remember the singing, but she'll know she has always been loved.

520
00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:44.400
And that's what these days do. They don't get stored

521
00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:49.119
as memories, they get stored as foundations. And Leanna's foundation

522
00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:52.240
is strong. It is built out of mac and cheese

523
00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:57.039
and macaroni salad and Sloppy Joe's and fruit trays and

524
00:31:57.079 --> 00:32:00.519
singing and laughter and a family that's showed up for

525
00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:04.680
her before she could even ask. Happy birthday, sweet girl.

526
00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:07.480
We love you more than you know, and we can't

527
00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:10.160
wait for the next one. Thank you for spending a

528
00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:13.680
little of your time with our family today. If you

529
00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:17.359
have been listening since the beginning, we are so grateful

530
00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:21.759
for you. If this is your first episode, welcome. This

531
00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:25.359
is what we do here. We show up, we tell stories,

532
00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:28.599
We eat the mac and cheese, and we remember what

533
00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:32.799
matters this has been. We are the Hansens. I'm Maya Hanson,

534
00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:36.319
and we will see you next time, because in this family,

535
00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:38.680
there is always another story to tell