Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday! I had a nice, fairly quiet day. Quiet, that is, if you don't count the hour before supper when Andrew went running around the house yelling "Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!" at the top of his lungs. I got to have a nap in the morning with Aaron when he fell asleep. I asked Dave if I could sleep for 20 min. or so, and was woken up by the phone an hour and a half later. Shortly after I woke up, Dave and Andrew returned with these (picked by Andrew):


I had to bake my own birthday cake and make my birthday supper, since I'm just in that stage of life, I guess. But I decided not to be grumpy because it was just my little family I was celebrating with. Instead I decided to just enjoy my family and make the table a little fancy. Considering the amount of unbroken nice bowls and our complete lack of nice table linens, I set the table as best I could:

I remembered these little kitty napkin holders my friend Lisa gave me for my birthday about 12 years ago. Aaron and Andrew loved them.


We had supper and then ate carrot cake. The recipe calls for buttermilk, but we subbed coconut milk and got a bit more sticky result that was edible by Andrew. Unfortunately this meant we had to bypass the cream cheese icing, so it wasn't quite as good as it could have been, but still very delicious.


I got two birthday phone calls from friends, and spent a lot of time on etsy, trying to decide how to spend the money my in-laws sent me, which made the day extra fun.

One of the best things about this year was that Andrew was more aware that it was a special day, and Aaron picked up on the excitement. Andrew spent much of the day reviewing how he and Dad were going to light the candles and sing happy birthday and then we would all eat cake! Aaron sat at the table saying, "Hap Birday, Mommy. Hap Birday!" It is really lovely to just be able to enjoy your children and have them delight in your special day with you. Moments to cherish, I tell you.