My 34th Birthday

Today marked my 34th year. Wow. THIRTY-FOUR. Yikes. I remember when that used to sound old. Honestly it still does. A few people asked me how old I feel. Most days I feel about 27. In fact,  I hear people talk about being 27 and think "Oh, they are my age". Um, no.  They are not my age. Not. Even. Close. Haha.  Was 34 bittersweet? Not really. It was pretty much just sweet. Chip had things planned to celebrate. The first was a complete surprise. Friday, I went about my day as I normally do (which included a total makeover of our front yard bushes!)and was surprised to see Chip walk in the door about an hour early. He told me to get dressed, we were going out to dinner with Elijah. Well, that turned out to be not the case. He had arranged for his folks to come and babysit Elijah while we went out, just the two of us, for dinner and to sing some karaoke. It was a super sweet surprise! He topped the evening off by giving me one of my birthday presents early. I have wanted a pair of neutral colored Toms for a few months and was so excited to open the box and find exactly that! Unfortunately my husband thinks my feet are smaller than they are (I wish!) so they are one size too small BUT he has already taken care of the exchange and  should have the correct size soon. I can't wait! We had a great time out. We tried out a new to us Mexican restaurant and went to a local bar to sing. The smoke was a bit more than I could handle but I had a nice time and got to sing a song....99 Red Balloons....which was the song I was singing just moments before Chip proposed to me.

Saturday was a great day. We went to Chappell Hill to take pictures in the bluebonnets. You can read more about that here. And Sunday we had a nice laid back day of church, lunch and resting at home.

Monday was THE DAY. It was "clean the kitchen" day for me. I am following this awesome cleaning schedule that is working perfectly in to mine and Elijah's "rhythm" of life and I felt especially great about the results on this day as I tackled the windows which had not been done in an embarrassingly long time. Anyway, I was just about finished when there was a knock on the door and flowers were there waiting for my from Papa John and Mimi. It was a nice surprise and Elijah enjoyed the mylar balloon (supervised of course!)

I finished getting ready and Chip came home.  He gave me my other birthday present which is something I have wanted ever since before Christmas. I have wanted a pretty Mama Looking apron for when I cook in the kitchen. Well this is just the prettiest apron I have ever seen and I love the colors he chose. My husband has great taste! I'll have to find Elijah a mini brown chef's apron to match when he gets a little older. .

After than we went to my in laws house to visit a bit before heading to the Woodlands for dinner. There was I presented with some more awesome birthday surprises! Mom Parish knew that I was having issues with my dishes cracking and this is especially troublesome with an almost toddler. Well she found the prettiest plastic dishes for every day use complete with bowls and small plates as well! It is something I never would have that of but I am totally excited to have and cannot wait to use!

Next, I have talked about having a garden to grow veggies, fruits, herbs etc. Chip is talking about setting aside a small patch of land for me in the back yard and fencing it off to keep dogs, babies and small critter out. Well now I have seeds to get started! And all the seeds that Mom and Dad Parish game me can be planted in pots to start! So excited!!!!!!!!!! I hope my thumb gets a little greener as this process unfolds but I can't wait to try my hand at gardening!

I chose a really cute Mexican restaurant in the Woodlands for dinner. (Yes I have been enjoying a lot of Mexican lately.) My choir director, Andy and his wife and my friend and fellow choir member, Sara and their two kiddos joined us all.  Elijah had so much fun with the kids and he really enjoyed sitting with Andy. Plus, this kid loves his Mexican food. Avocados and black beans are two of Elijah's favorites. It was an yummy dinner with incredible company and to top it off, my thoughtful mother in law had baked gluten free cupcakes for dessert! This was a pretty awesome birthday and I a so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life that care so much about me and Chip and Elijah. This has been an amazing year and I know that this next year will be even m ore incredible. So CHEERS to the next birthday.......THIRTY FIVE YIKES!!!!!

Beautiful birthday flowers!

Yay for new TOMS!

Babysitting time with Granddaddy and Grandmother!

He was such a good boy!

Mr. and Mrs. Parish ready for a night out in Cypress!

Looking like quite the chef in my new apron!

Love my pretty new dish set!

What could it be.......

Yay for the start of my garden!

Ready to celebrate Mama's birthday!

Look Elijah, here comes Grandmother and Granddad!

My sweet little angel baby

"Hmmmm.....will Grandmother let me chew on these?"

Sweet snuggles from Granddad.

Loved chatting with Sara and discovering we have so man of the same interests!

The was my favorite birthday present last year and is definitely the gift that keeps on giving!

Yummy homemade gluten free cupcakes!

Elijah decided that purse did not go with his shoes.

New buddies.