April is always going to be the busiest AND the most
fun month of the year for our family! With my birthday on the 11th,
Emma’s on the 28th, and Sam’s on the 29th, we are
celebrating pretty much all month long. I LOVE BIRTHDAYS. Love them. Of course,
I love my own birthday. (Who doesn’t enjoy being pampered a little bit??) But it's especially exciting to celebrate Sam and Emma's birthday. I have so much fun planning
little surprises and finding the perfect gifts! It’s honestly one of life's greatest joys in my opinion.
Birthday month started with my big day (25) and boy was I
well taken care of! Sam had to work in St. George so, Emma and I went down with
him to spend the first part of the day with my family. I walked in to mom and
dad’s house to find a cute 25th birthday balloon and several gifts
on the table from my parents and siblings! It was a total surprise and so
sweet! After opening several fun, thoughtful gifts, mom and dad took Emma and I
out to lunch. My sister, Olivia was able to come too which made it all the more
fun. We went to Cliffside Restaurant-a new experience for all of us. The food was delicious but the view and company were even better! We even
got dessert-crème brulee-yum!
Later, my parents babysat so that Sam and I could go out
together. I am completely aware of how spoiled I am to have parents that are SO
willing to babysit at any time and for basically any length of time. It has been
awesome! Sam and I had a wonderful time together. We ate a nice dinner and
spent the rest of the evening shopping. (The fun kind of shopping where I get new clothes)
Dad had gathered me several, beautiful roses from their
garden that were ready for me when we picked Emma up at the end of our date. After leaving their
house, we stopped at Sam’s mom’s house. Mary and Katy had recently returned
from Hawaii (Maui) and were sweet enough to remember my birthday while they
were there. They brought me back a beautiful little purse, some lovely soap and lotion,
and (my guilty pleasure) black licorice candy!
I spent the drive home with a smile on my face, thinking
about how many wonderful people had shown their love for me, and breathing in
the scent of my beautiful vase-full of roses. Birthdays always make me feel
grateful to have such wonderful family and friends. I am truly blessed.
Birthday number 2 was Emma! I am going to do a separate post
about Emma’s party because it was quite the affair and really deserves its own. I will just talk about her
actual birthday. First of all, can I just say (AGAIN!) that her first year went
by WAY too quickly. I did it. I blinked. I blinked and it was over and now she's a big one year old instead of my little newborn baby. If this is any indication of things to come then, I am going to have to keep my eyes wide open
and do my best to enjoy every second because before I know it, she’ll be all
grown up!
Emma’s birthday was on a Thursday and because we wanted all
of our family to be able to attend a celebration, we waited until
Saturday to have her party. On Thursday, we wanted to make the day all about
doing things that Emma loves to do. In the morning, we made Emma a yummy
breakfast with some of her favorite foods-eggs with pepper and applesauce with
cinnamon. Next, we headed straight to
the park. It had been a cold and rainy couple of days but the sun came out just
long enough for a park visit. Emma LOVES the swings. She’s loved to swing from
the first time we put her in one but, now it’s one of her absolute favorite things. In
fact, this time she didn’t want to leave! Every time I’d try to pick her up,
she’d shake her head and let out a few disapproving squeals! She was not
interested in getting out any time soon! We spent at least a half hour taking
turns pushing her in that swing and she had the biggest smile on her face. She watched Daisy run around in the grass and
her grin grew bigger and bigger the higher she went-the girl is fearless.
We were finally able to convince Emma that it was time to
leave and after a short nap, headed on to the next phase of birthday fun; lunch
at The Brick House. We ordered Emma a little side of macaroni and cheese and
fruit but, I made the mistake of letting her try one of my fries before
they brought it out for her. After that, she was really only interested in my
fries while we ate. Her healthy lunch was followed by a sweet surprise from our
waitress! A mini cookie sundae just for her in celebration of her birthday! Oh
she gobbled that right up. I tried to take as many bites in between her’s. You
know, because I didn’t want her to eat all that sugar. ;)
In the evening, Sam had to work so Emma and I had our own
little adventure at the Cedar City Aquatic Center. It had been pouring rain and
by the time we reached the door of the pool, we were already soaked! Emma had a
blast climbing all over the playground, splashing in the water, and talking to all
the other kids around us. She’s definitely not shy and she LOVES the water. I think she could have stayed there all night.
It was a fun day celebrating our sweet little Emma and I did
my best not to get too emotional throughout the day. Every hour or so I’d look
at the clock and think “last year at this time I was….” I was reminiscing about
her tiny toes and her giant eyes and soft cheeks. Wasn’t she just a tiny little
new baby yesterday? How did I wake up with a sassy one year old that can climb
and walk and get in to just about anything within her reach?? I love my
outgoing, wild, little princess but, I miss my tiny, wide eyed little baby
sometimes. At 9pm I kept a close eye on the clock so that I could be sure to see when it turned to 9:09. She'd already gone to bed but, for a second I was tempted to wake her up just so that I could be with her. Sometimes, I miss Emma when she sleeps, is that weird??
Sam’s was birthday #3. I’ve been celebrating Sam’s birthday
for 10 years now and I’ve gotta say, it’s one of my favorite days of the year. I just love that guy so much, having an excuse to celebrate him is the best. The morning started off with a surprise breakfast. I made him blow out the
candle on the donut I bought him before we ate. Next was presents. Sam is so
easy to buy for because he drops little "hints" all year round. He doesn’t think I
know that’s what he’s doing but, I do. ;) Because of all of the hints, I knew
he’d love his Fish On Energy T-shirt, Strip-Set fishing book, and Cacao nibs.
Once again, mom and dad were kind enough to offer to babysit
so that Sam and I could have some fun together on his birthday. We filled the whole day up with fun. We had lunch at the new seafood restaurant in Cedar City;
Lighthouse Seafood and Grill. It was excellent. After lunch, we enjoyed a
couples massage-something we both love-and really, what's not to love?? We ended the day with some delicious crème
brulee and The Jungle Book.
April flew by but, we had a wonderful time celebrating.
Thanks to all of our family and friends who thought of us on our birthdays and made them special! We
love you all and are just so blessed to have you. Hope everyone had a happy April!
Happy Birthday! <3
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