It was a great 34th birthday. It started with a kick in the mouth this morning from John while changing a poopy diaper, and ended with a poke in the eye tonight from Hadley as she whispered and signed “I love you so much.”  Honestly though, nothing I would have rather been doing than spending time with my family.

We had grand plans for the zoo with Nana, but the smokey air forced us to plan some indoor fun instead and postpone the zoo trip for another day. Nana had a wonderful idea for an indoor picnic. We attempted to make party hats but there was a lot of fighting and uproar about tape usage between Hadley and John, and I trimmed a piece of Hadley’s hat that she didn’t want me to, so she huffed at me like a dragon and turned her back to me. That ended the party hat making rather quickly.

Then we layed out a blanket in the living room and listened to some ocean wave music while munching on watermelon, chips, sandwiches and cucumber. Hadley performed various animal interpretations and John joined in as well. My favorite was when he howled at the moon and head went up towards the sky.

After the picnic, I came downstairs after putting John down for his nap and heard laughter from Nana and Hadley as they threw monster bowling pins back and forth at one another. I haven’t heard my mom laugh that hard in awhile, one of my favorite moments of the day by far.

I was able to sneak away,  get a haircut, and run a few errands too (thank you Nana)!

Jordan brought home pizza and Grandma and Grandpa came over with a surprise birthday cake that Hadley had planned out and help make. I really wanted a panda bear birthday cake according to Hadley, and that’s what she made. It was so cute and so delicious.

A favorite quote of mine lately has been, “You don’t have to be blooming to be growing.”- by Ruth Chou Simons. I find that the thirty-somethings at times can seem somewhat mundane or humdrum, as you put in the minutes, hours, days into raising your kids, taking care of your family, working etc. The everyday appears to be so much the same that it can feel as though there is no real evidence of growth or change happening. But I am reminded that just because change or the “bloom,” isn’t obvious right away, doesn’t mean that good things aren’t happening. It also doesn’t have to be “seen by others,” in order to count. The work I put in that no one else may even ever see is growth!

I’m thankful for such a great birthday with my kids and family. I look forward to celebrating more this weekend with the hubs and family too!