March (Birthday) Madness

March is a month of many birthdays so we’ve been doing a lot of celebrating lately, culminating with my big day on Friday the 23rd.

I know so many people whose birthdays are in March. And a good number of them are immediately around my own—Marcy and Scott on the 20th, Chrisie and the newly born Baby Andrew (congrats Corinne!) on the 22nd, my cousin Alicia and me on the 23rd and Miss Lucy on the 24th. So much to celebrate!

Brayden and I kicked off last week with a morning play date at the house of Miss Lucy Caldwell. Lucy’s mom and dad, Lisa and Todd, had us over to pre-celebrate Lucy’s birthday since we weren’t going to be able to attend Lucy’s totally adorable Sock Monkey-themed bash on her real birthday, the 24th.

For her birthday, Brayden gave Lucy a Disney Princess Throne and glittery purple boa (what EVERY two-year-old needs!) After all three parents spent 20 minutes putting together the “no tools required” supposedly simple throne, the kids made play-doh art,



…formed a rock band,



…and reenacted scenes from their recent well baby exams.



Flash forward to Friday the 23rd, my birthday, and things picked up again. One of the best moments of the day happened first thing in the morning when Brayden said “Happy Birthday” to me. We had been practicing it for a little while, and he finally got the pronunciation down. It was so great hearing my sweet, little man say that to me!

Then we went to daycare where Miss Alex took our picture:



Then I went to work and enjoyed a great day that included lunch with my co-workers, cake and a visit from Brayden that afternoon. Perfection!

When I got home, my mom was there waiting for us. She whisked Brayden inside, and when I came in, he had flowers, balloons, a cupcake and presents!



I am such a lucky mommy to have such a thoughtful sweet baby boy. In addition to the things my mom brought, Brayden had his dad get me my favorite candle ever (Midsummer’s Night) and a gift certificate for a pedicure. To show my appreciation to little B, we cut right into my birthday cupcake.



Such a wonderful day all around. But the birthday fun didn’t stop there! On Saturday, my mom and I played in the Nugget’s $100,000 Bingo Blowout (one of our mother/daughter traditions). No, we didn’t win but we had a good time trying (including trying not to have a heart attack every time we were one number away!)

On Sunday, I went to dinner with my mom, dad and brother Ryan to a new Hibachi/Teppanyaki restaurant called ijji 2. For those of you who know of my Goten obsession, ijji is a decent option that curbs my constant craving for Goten (especially since Goten is 3,000 miles away in Sunderland, MA and not readily available!)



We had a fabulous time and a great dinner. Our favorite parts were the march of the flaming/steaming onion tower,



…the egg balancing tricks,



…and the subsequent egg chicken.



If you’ve never been to a teppanyaki place, all this probably sounds confusing. So I recommend you find one close to you and go there so it makes more sense. At the end of the meal, they sang “Happy Birthday” with an artfully carved fruit tower, and we left full and happy.



And I’m such a lucky girl that my birthday continues for yet ANOTHER day as my good friends Jaclyn and Hannah are taking me out Monday after work.

I truly, honestly, sincerely could not be more thankful for how kind and loving everyone has been. All the cards I received from family and friends were so wonderful too. I love getting good ol' fashioned mail! I am so incredibly lucky to share my special day with all of you! Thank you!