ada's sweet shoppe and finn's garage

i happened to have both of my children in the same month. not only was it the same month, but that month also happens to correlate with the birth of our savior and the busiest time of year. i orginally felt bad that finn's birthday was only 13 days away from christmas, then ada had to go and best him by being only five days away. needless to say, the guilt of them having to share birthday parties which had to be squeezed into an already busy christmas season made me want to give them the best party possible. i think it went pretty well.

all finn wanted was a cars party. cars cars cars. he's pretty fanatical about cars 2 right now. it's a phase that has not faded away over the last 8 months. (sidenote: i am also fanatical about cars 2. for christmas, i got absurdly engrossed in finding characters that he didn't have yet and bought every single one i came into contact with. this obsession is why we are now sitting on about $200+ of cars 2 specific matchbox cars.) in order to offset the obscenely boyish theme, ada got to have a pink candy party. she really doesn't care much about anything beyond food and pooping her pants right now, so this was clearly more my choice than hers.

overall, i think both kids had fun and got more than any kid could hope for. later in life, i think they might be bummed about having their birthdays and christmas in one month, but for now i'll let go of the guilt. a week after their party, finn thought he was having a second, even bigger birthday party with all the christmas festivities and MORE presents. it was the birthday that just never ended and he was over the moon. happy birthday, kids! i love you more than words can say.

when i turned a year older

i'm 27. it happened last weekend, but i was too busy being pampered and celebrating to worry about announcing it on here. oh, and that two kids thing. they keep me from doing anything beyond potty training, changing diapers, feeding/nursing, or wiping spit up out of ada's neck creases. yum! anyway, it happened. i graduated into the beautiful age of 27, which feels ridiculously older than 26. i never thought 30 would bother me, but if 27 is hitting me this hard, i'm sure 30 will rock me to my core. there is at least one thing that just gets better with each passing year and that is my awesome, ever-expanding family. they pretty much rock!

and then i was an adult

i don't know why this is, but the number 25 just seems so juvenile, naive, and annoying. yet 26. wow. it really kicks 25's ass. 26 is mature, confident, filled with certainty, knows where it's going. in other words, 26 is old and tired and has wrinkles around its eyes that weren't there a year ago.

i, my friends, am now 26. i never thought an age would make me feel any differently. i didn't understand women who got depressed over *gasp* 30! that being said, i am 26. i haven't hit many of the major markers that cause people concern and fear and apprehension and the need to lie about their age. i am definitely not depressed over my age, but i do feel different. older. i was lumped into the 25 and under category, but just got bumped up. i feel more grown up now than ever. i guess that makes sense. i am more grown up now than ever. and boy, do i feel it in my joints. okay, i'm sure you'll all tired of hearing me talk about how old i am.

i celebrated with wine and pedicures and shopping and some very lovely women and no babies. an entire weekend. so relaxing. minus the cleaning lady in the room directly above us who apparently likes to scrub the floors at 1:30. in. the. morning. the bed was too heavenly to complain too much. at least i was wide awake listening to the scratch scratch scratch at the same time as i was being engulfed in sheets and blankets that feel similar to being hugged by god himself. we could not drag ourselves out of it. in fact, saturday night was a planned 'sake and sushi' night and instead the four of us laid in bed watching pretty woman. saturday night. 4 grown women in 1 bed. it was the perfect birthday.

how to redeem yourself after lame birthday presents

at the pumpkin patch, i finally got my brother his re-birthday gift. in july, we were on vacation during his 29th and the joshes thought it would be a great idea to give him a skim board as a present. sure, i went along with it, but just recently realized how incredibly lame that was and how he was cheated out of an awesome gift. i mean, seriously, how often will jeff use a skim board in plymouth? so we gave him the best present ever. a snuggie in colts blue. can you imagine anything better? and they say "as-seen-on-tv" stuff is crap.

22 on 22

happy birthday josh! we love you!

oh dave!

no matter how old i get or how much older you get, i will always be your little girl! you have been such an influence on my life and still continue to be such an important man in my life, even though i'm all grown-up and adult-like. even during my angry teenage years with the teenage angst i brought into your life, you were there for me.

thank you for loving and approving of me throughout all my days. even the day when the police came to our house and yelled at me for tping with my friends (though i think you were a little amused). even when i somehow set my favorite sweater on fire in the bathroom at the waldwick house. even when i yelled that you were ruining my life because you made me get off of the internet at 4 in the morning. even when i spilled red nail polish in the middle of the family room carpet. even when i made you pay for a silly big wedding (though i think you were too proud to notice the price). even when everything. you have been an amazing father and now an amazing grandfather.

happy birthday papa! i love you.

two old ladies :)

two very important women are turning a year older today! our moms, chris and kathy, share a birthday, though one was born a year earlier (i won't tell which). these two ladies have been such amazing blessings in our life as a couple and as parents. growing up, my mom was such an amazing role model and gave everything to my brothers and i. my hope and prayer is that i can build a relationship with my children similar to the one i have with my mother.

happy birthday! we love you!