Tag Archives: birthdays

Aug29

A Rough Morning

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A Rough Morning

Henry died last night.  I am not intending to make a big post about What Happened, because I don’t really feel like reliving it, so that’s really all I’m going to say about it.  Unfortunately, what was a fantastic birthday had a really horrible ending, but I am thankful I can separate the two events in my memory.  Anyway, some very good friends came over and helped us bury our buddy before we went to bed and then it was IM-POSS-I-BLE to fall asleep.  We finally dozed off about midnight, but every hour and a half or so one of us would wake up and then of course the other would too.  (Does this happen to anyone else?  Wake up the moment your spouse’s eyes pop open?  We’ve been doing that for about 3 years now and it totally creeps me out.)

And to make matters worse, Analie woke up an hour early again this morning.  So we’ve been dragging around like zombies AND my eyes are still swollen twice their normal size so it’s super hard to see. As in, I may actually wear my glasses today.

Anyway, neither of us really felt like doing much awesome parenting this morning.  Joey let me lay in bed for awhile and he got up with Analie first, and when I finally wandered out he had his favorite movie on (Bourne Ultimatum) and he and Analie were contentedly watching it.  Well, she was beating the brains out of her spinning bird and he was watching the movie.

After we fed her solids, she was having so much fun beating her high chair tray that I decided to give her a bit of prunes to smear around.  Because it was easy and she could play with it without much energy expended on my part.  She’d been up for almost 2 hours, and by this point of the morning we usually use Henry as our entertainment because the more tired she was the more HILARIOUS she found him.

The prunes will have to suffice going forward, I guess.  She liked them OK too, although she was pretty intense about it, and I’m pretty sure playing with your food is supposed to be fun.

I miss you, Henry.

Even though you smelled.

I keep expecting you to be in your chair looking lazy.

Bye, Buddy.

Feb15

Joey’s Birthday un-Surprise

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Joey’s Birthday un-Surprise

Yesterday was the Day of Love.  We don’t do too much for the Day of Love because we are on a Valentines Day card boycott (do you know how much they charge for those things?!  Write me a romancey letter on stationary we already own, that’s what I say) , as well as a flowers and candy boycott.  Don’t get me wrong, I like flowers and I like candy as much as the next girl.  I just like them at other times of the year in surprise form.

Anyway.  I promise that Valentines Day is related to Joey’s birthday.  I’m getting there.

Joey’s birthday is at the end of February, and back in November I was bored and sitting in my OB’s office, waiting for yet another test on poor as yet unborn Analie. I was flipping through O magazine, and I happened upon her Favorite Things (as chosen for her by other people) and noticed the BookBook case for iPad.

And I thought…poor Joey.  His iPad case is cracking.  He would really like this BookBook cover.

But, then again, Joey knows EVERYTHING that goes with/for/around his iPad.  Why didn’t he just buy the BookBook case instead of his Dodocase back in the day?  Maybe he doesn’t LIKE the BookBook?

However, he also needed a new wallet.  (He’d been dropping hints like last year’s fashion trends and yet somehow thought I’d hadn’t been picking up on them.) Obviously I knew he’d been drooling over some we’d seen at Fossil, so maybe I should get him a wallet?

Joey was using Valentines Day as an excuse to get me a new watch. Mostly he was tired of me yelling “WHAT TIME IS IT?” or “CAN YOU BRING ME MY PHONE, I CAN’T SEE THE CLOCK!” across the house whenever I’m feeding Analie.  So off we drove yesterday to the Fossil store and, on the way, I decided I’d better just crack and ask him if he wanted the BookBook for his birthday or not.

Turns out, he did.  It wasn’t available when he ordered his Dodocase, but he’d been secretly wanting it since the Dodocase started breaking.

So the dude struck gold.

He found out early that he’s getting the BookBook for his birthday AND a wallet for his Valentines present.

What a guy.

He attacked the wallet-selection process like it was vital to national security.  Once he found a wallet style he liked (double fold with a flip out ID pocket), we proceeded to pull every single wallet that Fossil had in that style until he found THE PERFECT ONE to carry around in his pocket.

The process included, but was not limited to:

  • Did the wallet look awesome? (Obviously very important.)
  • Did the wallet have some kind of schnazzy detail? (Those went to the top of the pile.)
  • Did the wallet seem like something an old man would carry? (There were two.)
  • Was the wallet bulky? (If so, it went back on the shelf immediately.)
  • Was the wallet squishable?  (Because that’s important if you’re going to be sitting on it.)

Finally, he settled on a wallet I almost didn’t show him in the first place because I never thought he’d go for it.  Turns out the man just keeps surprising me.

And then when we got home from the mall?  He made me order his BookBook.  Actually he pulled it up online and sat there staring at the picture of it, but when I told him to order it so it would be here in time for his birthday, he got all “sad” and “gloomy” and said he wouldn’t order his own birthday present, that was lame.

So then he closed the window and made me go find it all over again.  But I ordered it.

Just for that, now he can’t have it until his actual birthday.  MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA.

Aug28

Béaba Babycook!

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Béaba Babycook!

I’ve been drooling over the Béaba Babycook since before the first time I was pregnant, which I think was waaaay back sometime in 2008.  We spotted it at Williams Sonoma once on a NorthPark browsing trip, and I was like, JOEY.  This thing is fabulous!  I NEED THIS WHEN WE HAVE BABIES!  But then shortly after that we discovered weren’t supposed to have babies so I put it out of my mind.

It’s a little four-in-one machine that gently steams fruit or vegetables while maintaining nutrients, and then purees it for you so you can put it into little serving-size containers and throw ‘em into the freezer for your munchkin to eat throughout the week.  It will also defrost and then reheat the same frozen foods back up to a safe temperature for your kiddo to eat.

It’s one of those New to the USA things that I tend to catch way too early on the upswing, so the price tag on this guy, um, a little steepy.  Especially when you consider you could simply steam on the stove and puree in your food processor and use your microwave to defrost/reheat.  But that’s a heck of a lot of dishes and monitoring things to make sure they don’t get too hot or overcooked and lose their nutrients…when you could really just do it all with the press of one button.

And in a cute little machine, to boot.

When you consider the cost of the nasty jarred baby food stuff, and the nutritional benefits of being able steam your own baby food, the Babycook really is much cheaper than that option…it’s just kind of a sucker punch when you look at the price tag the first time.

Anyway.

Yesterday afternoon, Joey disappeared to go buy my birthday present.  When he came back home, he looked all google-eyed and jittery.  ”Do you want your present now?” He asked.  ”Once I got it from the store I just couldn’t wait anymore so if you want it today you can have it.”

Psssh, when have I ever been the kind of person to wait for my birthday presents?  I’m pretty sure that’s a big fat NEVER if I had the option to open them early.

Joey disappeared back out to the car and reappeared…with a huge bag from Williams Sonoma.  Like, it probably have fit at least four newborns inside and had space for their kooshy blankets that newborns tend to carry around with them.

I just looked at it like, What in the world did you get me from Williams Sonoma that could possible be so huge?

“Open it, open it,” Joey said.

And I pulled out…the Béaba Babycook!  ”WOAH!” I squealed. “It’s…the BABYCOOK!”

“Yeah, with some accessories, too,” Joey said, whipping them out of the bag.  He got me the little silicone multi-portion freezer tray, and a set of extra steaming containers for food that doesn’t fit in the freezer tray, if I’m making a big batch someday.  I can easily freeze it right in the steaming container and defrost it on the Babycook and then portion it right back into a freezer tray.

“You….got me a Babycook?” I asked him.  ”Um, isn’t that kind of over budget for birthday presents?”

“It’s 1/4 your birthday present and 3/4 for the baby,” he said, smugly.

Joey always, always gets around the birthday present budget rule.  It drives me crazy, and if I were to try to pull similar shenanigans, I’d be in trouble for about…two weeks.  He never lets me buy him anything nice because he doesn’t “need it”.  (Apparently I do, though?)

I just stood there staring at the Babycook for about a minute, then I said, “This thing is so amazing, can I sleep with it tonight?”

“Um….if you want to,” Joey said.  ”The box looks kind of sharp though.”

He was right, it was sharp.  So I just got up extremely early this morning to look at it again and squish the freezer trays.

It’s weird, because sometimes when you want something (like a Babycook) but it depends entirely on other things you want very badly but the doctor tells you that you aren’t ever going to have (like, for instance, a baby)…and then you DO get pregnant, baby accessories really throw you off.  Because I can still convince myself when she’s not moving around in there than I’m really not pregnant.  But when I see the Babycook, or the little pile of baby clothes we have been compiling, or look at the paint color we chose for her room, it just seems a little more real.

And extremely surreal, because I’ve wanted that crazy Babycook since back before the whole interfility journey began, and I never thought we’d actually wind up needing such a thing.  Which is why Joey got it for me.

Aug25

The Name Game: Week 7

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The Name Game: Week 7

I woke up this morning with three things burning a hole in my brain.  No, four things.

  1. Where’s my orange juice?
  2. It’s my mom’s birthday, do not forget to call her!
  3. We are closing on our house today.  ACK!!!
  4. I need some Rice Krispy Treats RIGHT NOW.  (Our daughter will be born and we’ll discover she’s made out of marshmallows or something, that’s how many I have consumed during this pregnancy.  It’s freakish.)

So.  I am currently drinking orange juice and I feel much better now. And since it’s Wednesday I am going to use my mom’s Year of Birth to eliminate two names from The List.  After that, I’ll do some lawn mowing and take a shower so I look decent when we go to sign our life and all our money away in order to have a house.  Oh, and I’m making a new batch of Krispy bars right after I’m done with this post.

I’d better hurry so I can get started on eating them.

Well.  Mom was born in the year XXXX.  I’m not telling you what year, exactly, or she’ll remove me from The Will, and Mom isn’t the kind of person to just remove her children from The Will all willy-nilly.  (That’s Pops.)  But I think she might just do it to me if I posted the year of her birth on the internet.

Therefore.

I added some numbers together and I got 10 and also 11.

HOLY COW, the 10th name on the list is Julianne!!!  I know this will come as a great shock and horror to about 75% of my family members, who have been convinced for weeks we are naming our offspring Julianne.

(Sorry guys, we’re not.)

The 11th name on the list was Kiera, and it’s gone too now.

Well…happy birthday, Mom.  Uh, yeah…that didn’t quite work out how I planned it; now you’re going to have to start over on your list of Names You Think We’ll Call Her since your birthday just deleted Julianne.  Hehehe.

Analie

Beatrice

Coraline

Darcy

Elinor

Frances

Gillian

Helena

Isabelle

Julianne

Kiera

Lenore

Marna

Nora

Olivia

Piper

Quincy

Rowena

Simone

Talia

Uma

Violet

Wren

Xara

Yalena

Zerubabella

Jun22

Unproductive

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Unproductive

Everyone.

Hello.

So, I’m moving to Indianapolis in a couple of weeks. Maybe you’d heard. I need to keep remembering this, though, because packing is NOT GOING SO WELL all up in the Woestman apartment. Last night we had Macaroni and Cheese because apparently I needed to eat it for dinner or my life could not continue. Then I felt so sick from all the chemicals and additives that are in it that we did nothing but watch Invictus for the rest of the evening. And after the movie was over we just kind of sat there looking all confused trying to decide if we liked the movie or if we were just confused by it, or if maybe the poor movie had just left out some parts of its plot line.

We really wanted to like it. We really did.

But we were so tired and basically confused about the movie, so…we just went to bed early. I wish I were kidding you. We didn’t pack a single box, paint a single wall, or really do anything productive last night.

I keep saying “It’ll come. Next weekend. I’ll be AWESOME next weekend.”

This is kind of a-typical of my personality. I think it’s because I’m so overwhelmed by everything coming up. Either that or Dr. Babyplease transferred some embryos AND a batch of the lazies back in February.

In other news, my friend Bianca rocked my face off and gave me a 6 pack each of Limonata and Aranciata San Pellegrino sodas as an (extremely early) birthday gift. I am staring at them right now!! I want to take them out of their package and drink them all at the same time, but I am trying to restrain myself.

Is very difficult.

I am not sure Joey will be able to entice me to share with him. MINE MINE MINE.

So far all that is left on my birthday list is several tempered glass cutting boards in varying sizes. All I need to do is add towels to that list and my birthday is going to rock its socks off this year. It’s still two months away. I have time to add those towels.

Actually, as soon as we buy a house I will have two showers and I will need more towels.   Towels, consider yourselves added to my birthday list.

Now I feel super old. Towels and cutting boards. Who even asks for that stuff for their birthday besides my mom?

(Hi Mom. But it’s true, you DO ask for that kind of thing for your birthday. I remember when you got the blue towels.)

Jun9

OLD THRESHERS

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OLD THRESHERS

Ever since it looked like we might be moving back to the Midwest, I have been asking for Old Threshers for my birthday. And every single time, Joey would tell me we’d try to make it happen but of course he couldn’t promise anything.

On Sunday afternoon, right before the big ole’ church vote that would decide the future of Joey and I (sounds really dramatic doesn’t it? hehe) I got an extremely good phone call from Joey. Well, good for me and bad for him. He’d been sitting down and talking through his contract and had mentioned something about how I wanted to go to Old Threshers for my birthday present…but he’s not supposed to take any vacation for 6 months. He starts in July and Old Threshers is Sept 3. It’s not even possible to do fuzzy math and make that 6 months, because trust me I already tried.

Well, turns out…JOEY GOT IT WORKED OUT and he was calling to tell me so.

I GET TO HAVE OLD THRESHERS FOR MY BIRTHDAY PRESENT!

This is extremely exciting for several reasons:

1.) Most importantly, Joey does not have to deal with me crying all day because everyone else is at Old Threshers and I’m stuck in Texas missing out on all the fun (unfortunately this has become an annual event in our house)

2.) I can have two Taffy Apples, one in the morning and one in the afternoon providing I don’t get sick to my stomach

3.) Maybe I can convince Joey to watch the Cavalcade of Power without falling asleep

Joey pretty much hates Old Threshers. This is unfortunate because Old Threshers has been an annual event in the Laird household for as long as I can remember. Either it’s really cool, or my parents (mostly Pops) brainwashed us from a very early age into thinking it was the best thing we’d ever gone to.

I go with that it’s really cool and Joey just needs to open his mind to steam engines and antique farm implements a little bit more.

Yeah I think I may have just made myself sound like a total nerd. Meh, whatever.

So this year, despite the fact that I will be something like 28 weeks pregnant, I fully intend to see EVERYTHING and do EVERYTHING and get really swollen ankles in the process. It’ll be great. I might even be so happy I’m there I will actually cry just because I get to go. (Might as well not break the recent Old Threshers crying tradition…)

I better start saving up my money so I don’t run out before I get to see EVERYTHING. I’m sure a lot has(n’t) changed in the last 4 years, but I have to see it all just to make sure.

Feb27

Yes, we went to Medieval Times

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Yes, we went to Medieval Times

A couple weeks ago I was riding the elevator and noticed on the elevator TV (what, your elevator doesn’t have a TV?) that they were offering  Medieval Times tickets 50% off.

And Joey’s birthday was coming up.

Well, my Seminary Wife brain clicked on and thought, Well….we’ve never done THAT before….might as well give it a shot.

So I bought tickets.

Not for the night of Joey’s actual birthday, which was Thursday of last week, but for last night.

Traffic was an absolute nightmare, so we took a different route and made it there in fairly record time, which pleased me because usually when we take alternate routes it winds up taking us longer.  But we got lucky this time, probably because it was Joey’s birthday.  Or maybe just because our number was up.

We arrived early, like the ticket told us to do, and fortunately we had brought my iTouch because we wound up having to stand in this large entrance hall with about 1,000 middle schoolers for about an hour and a half.  And I like middle schoolers considerably more than most of you (because I’m almost a youth pastor’s wife) but nearly 1,000 of them in close quarters for an hour and a half with nothing to do is enough to make me want to jump in front of a Mack truck on the Stemmons Freeway.

Joey noticed me getting that wild I AM FEELING CLAUSTROPHOBIC look in my eyes and he knew that it was time to find a different place to stand.  So he whisked me away to a less cramped part of the waiting area and we sat on a bench that me miraculously found and played Monopoly on my iTouch for the next 45 minutes.

It was a long wait.

Also it was 8:00 and I hadn’t had dinner, and that makes everything worse.

Finally, it was time to enter and we poured into the arena with all the middle schoolers. (I do not understand how it was basically  us and I AM NOT JOKING about the 1,000 middle schoolers.  We counted.)

And those discount tickets I got?

Were in the worst possible seats in the entire place.  Like when I say worst possible seats I mean that we were in the back corner with 1/4 of the arena blocked by the place where the king and queen sit, and my chair was an inch from falling down some stairs if I made one wrong move.  (Which, incidentally, I did and then I fell down the stairs.)

But we’re used to our cheap tickets getting us lousy seats, so we sat up there and giggled like middle schoolers (when in Rome…) and wiggled while we waited for our food.

Our waiter came and filled our plastic cups up with Pepsi, and Joey looked at me guzzling mine with wide terrified eyes as he sneaked a peak at his watch.  It was 8:30, and we all know how Pepsi trips me out on caffeine.  But I told him that I hadn’t had Pepsi in two weeks, so I would surely be fine.

Whatever.

Soon our soup and garlic bread came and as we sat waiting for the waiter to FINALLY get to us already.  He was just about to serve the person next to us (who was actually not a middle schooler) when he said, “Would you like some garlic bread sir?”

Then there was this awkward pause, and the server finally realized his mistake and said, “I’m sorry, MA’AM, would you like some garlic bread?  Sorry, I just….the eye patch….one of the guys downstairs has an eye patch.”

The lady next to us was indeed wearing an eye patch, which I had been trying not to stair at.  She continued to stare, one-eyed, at the server, and he continued to ramble.

“The guy downstairs is a Knight and he was sword fighting and a piece of Titanium came flying off one of the swords and got stuck in his eye.”  Then he paused long enough for the eye-patched lady to speak.

“Well, I had a brain anuerism and now I can’t see out of this eye,” she said, obviously peeved.

“Oh.  Well, do you want some garlic bread?” Asked the poor server again as he mentally tried to calculate how much THAT mistake was going to cost him on his tip.

When he finally got around to serving us we were so hungry that we totally inhaled our garlic bread and soup, and then we sat in our super bad nosebleed seats and tried to calculate how much money Medieval Times was pulling down every time they opened their doors.  Joey figured it out, after some quick calculations, and we were like, woaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

And then, the jousting began.

We screamed just like the middle schoolers until the Pepsi wore off and we started getting tired and feeling our age.  And as soon as it was done?  We hit the road, Jack and booked it home before all the middle schoolers made their way to the doors.

“Want to stay up and watch the Olympics that we recorded?” Joey asked as we sped up Central Expressway.

“Pssssh, YES,” I squealed.

And we stayed up until 12:15 screaming at our TV while we watched short track and bobsled crashes.

Our poor neighbors.  They must really worry about us these days what with all this yelling at the TV that we do, and of course we do it about 2 feet from the only wall we share in our entire apartment.

Speaking of, it’s almost Olympics time.

And we know where my priorities are.

So whatever I was going to type in this post is now irrelevant because I have only two more days to bask in Olympic glory until have to wait 2 1/2 more years to do it all over again.

Oct12

Good Gifts

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Good Gifts

I love giving people gifts, especially if it’s something I just randomly saw in the store and KNEW would be perfect for them.  Specially selected gifts like that tell the recipient that you really know them and that you think they’re special.

On Friday evening, I came home to find TWO packages in the mailbox waiting for me.  I was really surprised because I wasn’t expecting anything, even though The Kid had told me he’d finally put my birthday present in the mail.  (I have a short memory and I had forgotten.)

I sat down on the floor right inside the door and immediately tore the first package open.  It was from my mom, and I couldn’t think why she’d be sending me anything, so I was curious.  Inside the envelope was a long, slender gold box.  I tore the top off and immediately began to laugh.  It was a wooden bookmark with an armadillo delicately inlaid.  She, Sister and Laura had seen it when they were in Yellow Springs while visiting The Kid, and they bought it for me.

IMG_1785That is a pretty sweet bookmark if you ask me.  I haven’t seen a real armadillo yet, but I have the bookmark and so basically one lives in my house with me.

After laughing about my armadillo for awhile, I tore into my second package.  The Kid had told me a month or two ago that he’d gotten me the sweetest birthday present, and that he’d spotted it in the Clearance aisle at Wal-Mart.  Honestly, how many great things come from the Clearance aisle?  I was hesitant, Internet.  I was hesitant.

Although, I should have realized that The Kid would not fail me.  When I pulled the Mr. Men and Little Miss Laundry Hamper out of the package, I yelled, “WOAH!  This is AMAZING!”

I love Mr. Men and Little Miss books.  I absolutely LOVE them.  Someday, if we have kids, I need the whole set to read to them, because I recall spending hours in the church library reading them while Mom and Dad were at choir practice.  They are amazing.

The Kid’s card directed me to: a.) stay out of jail, and b.) always use the laundry hamper, OR ELSE.

So I immediately rearranged our laundry baskets in order to make full and prime use of my new and, quite frankly, most amazing one.

IMG_1784I see Mr. Happy, Mr. Messy, Mr. Bump, Mr. Noisy, Little Miss Chatterbox…

Every time I go into my closet now, I smile.  I simply have to, because I HAVE THE BEST LAUNDRY HAMPER EVER.  And every time I pick up my book, I see my armadillo bookmark and realize how much cooler that is than a real armadillo.  (Mostly because it’s the only kind I have seen. But even still, I can’t figure out how the dude made it, it looks real complicated.)

Good gifts like these, gifts with thought behind them, seriously make my day.

Thanks Mom, Sister, Laura and The Kid!

Aug29

My Words of Wisdom

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My Words of Wisdom

As Tradition dictates, each year the birthday Laird (or Laird-in-law) must provide words of wisdom to our Patriarch.  This usually occurs at the Traditional Birthday Meal (steak and party potatoes).  But, as Joey and I are ridiculously far away, we are permitted to call our Words of Wisdom in to said Patriarch (aka Pops) on our birthdays.

This year, I was having trouble coming up with something.  I mean, srsly.  Everything that happened to me prior to May 14, 2009 kind of got deleted from my memory, and everything afterwards has been, shall we say, predominantly cwap.  So…I was stalling.  I couldn’t come up with any wisdom, no matter how hard I squeezed my brain.

But, at 8:00 last night, I finally thought of something.  Two things, actually.  I told Joey about 10:30 last evening, and then texted Pops (because calling after 9:30 is not OK and could cause my removal from The Will) to tell him I’d call him in the morning and report.

Therefore, I now dispense my Words of Wisdom, here for everyone to read.  Or not read.  Whatever you want.

Oh, I have two this year.

Wisdom #1

When you’re in the hospital and your doctor says “you can go home today, or you can stay until tomorrow or so”, just STAY IN THE HOSPITAL.  While under normal circumstances you’d sleep better at home, the whole laying awake in bed and wondering

a.) if you will die, and

b.) if you could even get out of the bed if there was a fire

is just not worth it.  Not worth it at all.  So spend your insurance money, people, and stay in the hospital until they kick you out.

Wisdom #2

Rather related to the above, this year Joey and I really, truly understood what it means to have community, and WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT.  Being so far away from our families, I don’t think we would have survived without our friends coming along side us, carrying us when we fell, picking up the pieces, and handing us tissues.  It’s easier to be all Lone Ranger and skim through life with surface relationships.  It’s easier to be lazy, to not invest in the lives of people and to not allow them into your own where they can see your garbage and help you throw it out.

But wisdom says we need community, that we need people around us to sharpen us.  We need to make that investment.

This summer, we needed our friends, and they were there for us.  And, friends…thanks.  We love you all, and we praise God for you.  Without you, we’d have gone insane for certain sure.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10,12

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Aug28

BIRTHDAY!

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BIRTHDAY!

Today is my birthday.  And, because there are no secrets on this blog, I’ll just go ahead and tell you: I AM 27 YEARS OLD.

I decided to go to bed early last night and “sleep in” until 6:45.  Unfortunately, I woke up at 6 anyway, but it felt good to not HAVE to get up.  I must have fallen asleep again, though, because at 6:44 I realized I was being stepped on and sniffed by Henry.  Joey must have brought him to me to be my alarm clock, and it worked.

I opened my eyes, rolled over and said, “It’s my birthday; where are my presents?”

(Don’t judge me, you probably do that too.)

Last week, Joey told me that the presents my mom sent had arrived at DTS, and he was holding them hostage until the appointed time.  Yesterday he brought them home, but he wouldn’t even let me look at them (and they are wrapped) so I have been very, very curious.

“Look on the floor,” Joey told me.  I rolled over and – ching! – there were two presents and a card sitting on the carpet, waiting for me to snatch them.

“Woah, how did you get them there?” I asked.

“I brought them when I got Henry.”

I scooped up the presents and unwrapped them immediately.  From my parents I received a couple of gift cards, a CD which I am very eager to listen to, and a new W for my collection.

Tonight I’m having a surprise party.  It’ll be amazing, and my third birthday party in recorded memory, too.  (Mom says it will be my fourth party, but I don’t remember the one when I was three, so it doesn’t count.)

The first party I remember was for my sixth birthday.  Mom invited my friends from church (Sheri! Kelli!  Other people I don’t remember!) over to the yellow house and we played games and ate birthday cake.  This birthday stands out in my memory because SOMEONE gave me a BARBIE doll, and I was not allowed to play with Barbie (because she had a boyfriend and unattainable physical proportions), only the Heart Family (which all came with built-in underwears).

I always wanted a Barbie anyway, though, and was super excited.  Mom was chagrined, but she let me keep the Barbie on the condition that it was the unmarried sister of my Heart Family doll, who I had named Candy.  I was all, whatever sounds find to me.  Candy this is your new sister.

But I will never forget opening that present, seeing the Barbie and wondering if I’d get to keep it.  Best birthday memory ever.

Ten bucks says I don’t get any Barbies for my birthday this year.  But I’m looking forward to the par-tae, and the fact that it’s Friday, and Joey said we would go to Sprinkles sometime this weekend.

Somehow, this birthday is turning into a weekend-long extravaganza.  Meh, I don’t mind.  :)