Double the Fun!

This past week was full of excitement for our family, as I turned 28 on the 22nd and Collin turned 4 months on the 21st. September is a ridiculously busy month for us as we have LOTS of events including at least 8 family anniversaries/birthdays/events, so sometimes we have a hard time keeping things straight.

So, to keep with the craziness we celebrated by going out to dinner, like we always do, except it turns out I have a knack for picking places that are closed for unusual reasons. This has happened three times now, and our most recent "attack of the closed restaurant monster" happened at Jay's Cafe in St. Paul. We had decided to try this place, after lots of good review on the critics blog at Minneapolis St Paul Magazine's restaurant guide and I was excited to eat something delicious. Unfortunately, as we pulled up we noticed the lack of life in the building. I thought, seriously? Again? What the heck is wrong with me?

So, as a back up plan we made our way to tried-and-true D'Amico, which I love
(specifically, I LOVE the key lime pie), but wasn't exactly what we usually do for birthday dinners. To top it off, Collin wasn't liking it either, and was super sad and fussy during dinner. We did figure out though that he liked to watch the flames in the brick pizza oven, so nearly all of dinner one of us spent time walking him back and forth in front of the oven. It made for fantastic birthday dinner discussions.... (right..... if talking to yourself qualifies then this statement is true).
But, to make up for the lack of fun I did get some fantastic gifts, including Collin's three month picture CD from Jenn, our fantastic photographer. Drew also did a great job shopping, deciding on a small nightstand for Collin's room (that I desperately needed for drinks and such when nursing), the Strap Perfect, which I've needed for a handful of shirts, and a toy, which was really for Collin, but I had asked for it earlier since Collin doesn't have too many lights and sounds toys- and really seems to like them. I also got lots of fun things in the mail including some cloth napkins and Bath and body works (thanks mom!) and some of the national letter books (Thanks Andrea!) to add to our growing collection.






Overall, it ended up being a great birthday. Not because of all the dinner mishaps, or because I've turned a year older (meh...). But instead because of what Drew wrote in my little card. He's always very sweet about what he writes, but this time, the best part was one little sentence:

" I love you so much, and I'm so lucky that we've created a family"

hmmm...
Its true. We've created a family, which is so much more than just a mom, dad and baby. Instead, we've grown together as we've welcomed Collin into our lives and I can honestly say that we are closer now as a result of building a family through love and respect than we ever were before Collin came along. While Drew wrote it, I am feeling like I am the one who is so lucky to have such an amazing family.





So this year, I have LOTS to be thankful for. I've been extra lucky to have a tremendously helpful husband, beautiful, healthy baby boy and an extended family that is supportive, caring and compassionate. Growing a year old doesn't seem so bad when I realize all of the love and support I am surrounded with.
Order up: I'll take many more years just like this one, please. Minor troubles on the side, with a large helping of double the love and double the fun.