Today is my 33rd birthday! And what a great day it has been! It began a little earlier than usual when Banner decided to wake up at 6:45 - about an hour before he normally does. Sam got up with him and let me snooze a bit longer, but mostly Banner just kept getting in our bed telling me "Happy Birthday!" at Sam's request. Then, we got up to get our day going. My mom picked Banner and me up for swim lessons because she wanted to go with us today (she'll be taking him tomorrow on her own, so she wanted to see how it's done beforehand). Banner did well - got a little clingy after going under water a couple times - but he likes the water, likes jumping to me, likes playing on the little water gym they have in our class.
Then, we headed to my mom's house before Mom treated me to a pedicure. This was a great pedicure; the foot massage was amazing! On the way home, we grabbed a quick lunch, and then it was nap time. Once Banner woke up, we played for a bit then got ready for dinner with the family. Since I was 17, we have gone to the same restaurant for my birthday every year - minus a few years here and there for various reasons. This year was a little different there - they offered us a free bottle of wine and a free birthday cake with our picture on it! So neat! It's a hibatchi restaurant, so Banner was in heaven being able to watch the chef prepare our dinner right in front of him. The whole family could see each other, we played games with our chopsticks per Caden's directions, and then enjoyed some yummy cupcakes Mom had bought (we took the free picture cake home!).
On the way home, Banner spontaneously said, "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" which was so sweet. He finally seemed to understand it was my birthday - not his again. He sang a portion of the birthday song that went something like this: "Happy birthday, happy birthday, cake!" It was on tune, but missing a few words and obviously ending with his favorite part of a birthday!
As I rocked with him tonight, he turned to me after yelling "I love you, Daddy!" and whispered, "I love you, Mommy." When I told him I loved him, too, he said, "Mommy, I love you!" again. This was so sweet because he never says it this way, with my name first. I just hugged him tight and said, "Banner, I love you so much!" And, man, I do!!!
Today was a great day! I heard from lots of friends and family members, got some pretty awesome cards - loved what Brock, Mischelle, Blair, Caden, and Mara wrote; Banner's made me laugh; Sam's made me cry, and started my THIRD TRIMESTER as a birthday gift from my second son!! Tomorrow, Banner will get to see the first live images of his little
brother at our 28-week sonogram! I'm pumped for this and hope Banner
"gets" it a little better!
Here's to an amazing year as a 33-year-old! So far, it's starting out pretty darn fantastic! :)
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| Banner brought me flowers - love it with this shirt, too! |
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| Caden and Banner |
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| Our little cake - after the waitress took our photo and put it on this cake! |
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| With Mara and Banner |
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| Brycen playing with Banner |
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| Banner giggling with Brycen |
