My birthday

My birthday on Wednesday turned out really great. Doug surprised me by having the day off. He took care of Abi and got her dressed while I got ready. Abi and I , just the two of us, left and went to IHOP for breakfast. Doug doesn't like it so he opted to stay home and let us have some special mommy/daughter time. Abi was being so goofy from the start..

She really liked having her own menu to color.

She ordered the smiley face pancake which she got to decorate with yogurt. That thing was huge and she ate almost every bite. She loved it. I got the French Toast- so yummy!

After breakfast I dropped Abi off at play group and went home to get Doug. I walked in the house and had the best gift- he had cleaned and vacuumed the kitchen, family room, and front room! He even did the dishes. It was so nice. We ran errands together including going to Hollywood video and renting Quantum of Solace (did you know you get a free rental on your birthday? that's why I went) We did a little shopping and had lunch together and then went to pick up Abi from play group.
Emily surprised me by having a cake for me when we got there. All the kids were hiding and she said they were supposed to jump out and yell surprise but only little Sara did. It was so nice and thoughtful of Emily to do this. It really meant a lot.

Then we went home and had a couple of rest hours. Doug took a nap on the couch, Abi played with her toys and watched a Max and Ruby video I got for her at the library while we were out, and I laid in the beanbag reading. It was so relaxing.

After rest time we went to Hobby Lobby and I got to pick out some gifts and then we went to McDonald's for dinner with some cash my mom and dad sent us with a note to go out. It was so nice not to have to cook at all today! Then we had some ice cream at home and I opened my gifts. I was so excited. I got a card from doug's mom and dad with a gift card to Barnes and Noble ( I used it to purchase a Madeline hardcover book that has all of the Madeline stories in it!). My parents sent me a bag with a card that had the dinner cash, a gift card to Seagull Book, another years subscription to Family Fun, some hot chocolate mix, a cute frog stuffed animal, and The Spiderwick Chronicles. YAY! My friends gave me a lot of cards! My friend Taylor gave me a cute Willow tree figurine. My friend Andra actually dropped off a gift not pictured (it came later) that was a book by an author she likes that I haven't read and some red and black vine nibs (so yummy and I can't wait to read it!) and from Doug and Abi I got the new Fablehaven book, a scallop punch, some glue sticks, and a new pair of sneakers. I also got cards with some cash from my Grandma and my Aunt Celia. It was all so generous and thoughtful. I don't remember the last time I had this big of a birthday!

This is the frog my parents sent me. It wasn't in the other picture because Abi had hidden it. Before I opened presents I was sitting in the family room and all of a sudden she comes in holding this. I asked "What's that? Where did that come from?" She was like, "It's mine!" That's when I realized she had got into my bag!

We got good mail the next day (Thursday) that had a couple more birthday cards in it (one with cash and one from Doug's sister Wendy with some movie tickets!) I also got a little package from my parents with a guide I get to use in planning our road trip and some fruit snacks for Abi.

After all of this we put Abi down for bed and Doug and I watched the Bond movie which we both really liked (although I didn't like it as much as the last one). It was a great birthday. Thanks everyone for making it so special!