Birthday Celebrations!

I'm still reeling in shock that another year has passed and I'm now a year older! This birthday was so different from last year's...last year, I was so sad about turning another year older and still not having a baby. It was so sweet to celebrate this year knowing that a baby is about to join our family!

On Friday (my actual birthday), my mom & I met for lunch at Red Robin where I got my free birthday burger (what's better than a Whiskey River burger?). To be honest, lunch wasn't the happiest event since we had just found out that my grandma's tumor was cancerous and that she'd be having surgery soon. At least my mom & I could cry together. After lunch, we headed to Carter's where we picked out the cutest going-home outfit for Baby Rinn! I absolutely can't wait to put our little guy in the adorable sweater and miniature khaki pants that we bought for him! If you know me at all, you know I absolutely LOVE to shop...but, if possible, shopping for baby clothes may now be even more fun than shopping for me! (Dave is also relieved about this since baby clothes generally cost less than clothes for me, too!)

Dave had told me that we were going to a restaurant that started with a "B" on Friday night. Since Brio is my favorite, I was sure it was there...though Dave thought it was very funny to tell me he had made reservations at Braums for my birthday. :) He said we needed to leave around 6:30, but as it got closer to the time, he started acting strange (or so I thought). I asked him to put my necklace on me, and he took forever doing it...and then he "couldn't find" his wallet...and then he "couldn't find" his shoes...until finally the doorbell rang! It was our sweet friends Kimi & Rob who were coming to dinner with us!

All 4 of us headed up to Brio where we had an awesome time! It really couldn't have been a more perfect night...we lingered over our food, laughed a ton, and didn't leave until nearly 3 hours had passed! Plus, I got 3 different flavors of creme brulee all to myself...don't worry, they were the sampler size! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration! Thanks, Kimi & Dave, for planning such a fun surprise for me!

In my mind, birthdays don't just last one day, so we continued celebrating the next morning with one of our favorite traditions of going out for breakfast! Dave & I discovered a great bagel place that's not too far from our house. And, to make my day even better, they had pumpkin bagels with pumpkin spice cream cheese...definitely my new favorite! YUM! We opened all the rest of my cards and presents while out for breakfast. When I got home from Chicago, Dave had surprised me by installing an under-the-counter radio in our kitchen. Since I'm home so much now, I love being able to listen to the news and especially to Rush. My other gift from Dave (don't laugh) is...a clothesline in our backyard! I have been begging for a clothesline ever since we moved into this house, but my begging has become pleading lately since I really want to dry my cloth diapers in the sun. Dave finally caved and has promised to build one for me! I'm sure there's not many other wives who ask their husbands for a clothesline for their birthday, but I just keep reminding Dave that that's just another reason why he loves me so much. :)

On Saturday night, we went to Mom & Dad's for a birthday dinner with Grandpa & Grandma and Jon & Nate. A tradition in our family is that the birthday person gets to pick the meun...so, like I do every year, I requested my mom's strawberry poppyseed salad, tater tot hotdish, and her famous ice cream cake!

It was a lot of fun chatting with everyone and opening presents, including these babysitting coupons from my Uncle Jon Thanks, everyone, for your sweet birthday wishes, messages, and cards on my birthday! I'm sure this is going to be my best year yet!