Welcoming a new member into the family is one of the most memorable feelings of all. Be it for a regular individual or for a sporting legend who boasts a massive portfolio of 23 grand slam titles, the level of joy remains the same. Already exploring parenting adventures together, it was the same time of the year when Serena Williams was preparing herself mentally to bring her second daughter into the world. Although her first birthday has yet to arrive, the tennis legend has already started reminiscing about the memories.

Williams recently posted a glimpse of her maternity shoot from 2023. The tennis legend can be seen unleashing her aura from the time when she was about to approach the date of Adira’s birth (22nd April). “A year ago today – August 15th – I gave birth to my second baby girl, Adira River Ohanian. She is a true light,” she wrote, adding a description to the post which included three adorable pictures from one of the most special days of her life.

The post not only acted as a pre-birthday celebration but also reminded fans of a time when their favorite sporting legend was crossing dates in the calendar to embrace a special moment. However, besides the happiness, only a mother is aware of the pain and suffering that the body has to go through. Months after welcoming Adira into this world, the 42-year-old shared a message that not only revealed her feelings as mother of two but also inspired her countless fans.

“Loving yourself is essential. I find that I have to remind myself of that self-love through all different stages in my life,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. Along with acknowledging the fact that her body was not “picture perfect” during the moment, she still decided to flaunt and accept her present self. “It is a change, but it’s a change that has been well worth it. So start this week, knowing that you are loved, and that starts with you,” she added.

Although plenty of fans might know this already, Serena Williams stands on the belief of not celebrating her daughters birthdays. As Alexis Ohanian faced criticism from his followers because of this, the Reddit co-owner made sure to present a satisfying response.

When Serena Williams’ husband explained why he doesn’t believe in celebrating birthdays

Back in 2018, Serena Williams chose not to celebrate her daughter Olympia’s birthday because of her beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness. She stated this in an interview back then, saying, “Olympia doesn’t celebrate birthdays. We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses; we don’t do that.” Instead of celebrating with a party, Alexis Ohanian, Olympia’s father and Williams’ husband, posted an adorable picture on Instagram to mark the occasion. The picture showed Olympia with a big smile and was accompanied by a caption that said, “One year ago today, you changed our lives forever. My adventure princess.”

While many of Ohanian’s followers found the post quite touching, some came forward to complain about the absence of the words “happy birthday” in the caption. They felt that it was important to include those words when acknowledging the special day. Ohanian responded to the criticisms in the comment section.

He wrote, “I’m not a Witness, but I considered how made up it all is: the purpose of celebrating a birthday is to celebrate life with the people who love you (and to eat cake). This baby is loved and will get to celebrate life with people who love her plenty of times, with plenty of parties (and eat cake—in moderation) throughout her life.”

His response clearly highlighted that Olympia would experience many celebrations and moments of joy, which she surely has done throughout these years. He reassured everyone that Olympia is well-loved and will have plenty of happy moments to cherish with her loved ones. As another similar moment approaches, it still remains to be seen if it will be celebrated traditionally or not.