Happy birthday to me!

I always laughingly tell people that my birthday is my favorite holiday, and we both get a good kick out of it - except that I'm not joking. I LOVE my birthday! This year was no exception. It's a good thing too; I need to start 29 with a bang because according to my mom, it's the age I will claim for the rest of my life.

I woke up to a rare treat these days - Brad! He's been on OB/GYN the last several weeks, which means he leaves at 5:15 am and gets home at 6:30 pm and then studies at night. Boo! But he had a lecture that morning, so he was able to be there to make me French toast (my favorite) with Nutella and raspberries before he had to go in. The kids and I loved it!

Story time at Whipple Park started up again that morning, so I took the kids over and they had a great time. Ever since then I've been hearing Annie wandering around saying, "Lama lama wants his mama." Then we headed over to Mary's for a delicious lunch. It was so fun and tasty! Immediately following lunch, I took Annie to her first day of her new preschool!! She has been SO excited for this experience. She was always asking when it would be my birthday, so that she could go to preschool. I was up in the air about whether or not to send her for a while, but as I dropped her off I felt so excited! I think it's a great choice and that she will thrive there.

I spent most of the afternoon chatting with family and friends. The only disappointment came when Brad called at 7 (he thought he'd be home by 6:30) to say he still had one more surgery. Boo! Luckily he was home by 8:30 which was early enough for a late delicious dinner at Cheesecake Factory. About a month ago we read this post, and we've both been craving Cheesecake Factory ever since. I'm always wanting to go on walks at night, and even though Brad agrees to go on these walks a lot, they aren't his absolute favorite thing. So he surprised me by taking me on a long walk by the river looking at Rochester's beautiful skyline (the city looks really nice from far away . . . up close, not so much) and telling me why he loves me. I seriously ask him to tell me new reasons he loves me every day, so this was a great treat. Mostly, it was just great to spend time with him. OB has been a pretty grueling rotation, and we haven't seen nearly as much of each other as we'd like.

I felt so happy and loved all day. I figured out why my birthday is my favorite holiday - it's because I spend a whole day thinking about how lucky I am to have such wonderful family and friends who love me! So thanks to anyone reading this who has been there for me - you made it a GREAT birthday!