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Today was my birthday. If you've known me for a long time, you know that to me my birthday is usually a VERY! BIG! DEAL! I love it! It's really the only day that's all about you, right? I woke up this morning and was happy, thankful for my sweet friends and family who had already sent me birthday wishes, looking forward to going to lunch with a friend and dinner with my family. It felt like something was missing, and then it hit me...I hadn't received a call or text from my mom. My mom always made an effort to tell us "happy birthday" first thing in the morning on our birthdays, and adulthood was no different. If we hadn't anwered our phones, there was a message. So, I sat down at the kitchen table and thought about how much I miss her for a bit. This thought kind of stayed with me all day. My mom knew me from the very beginning, she knew she was pregnant before she even went to the doctor for a test. Just like I get so excited and am so thankful for Zooey on her birthday, my mom probably reflected on her children's lives and all that the future held, too. I missed her today. She was such a good job, and her example reminds me that it's not always even the big things we do as mothers that make the biggest impact. I don't remember most of the gifts, the parties, the cakes, the "extravaganza," but I do remember she made it a tradition to tell us happy birthday and she loved us on the morning of our birthdays. I hope to build some small and meaningful traditions with my children that I can even carry on into their adult lives. Something that lets them know they are loved and appreciated and how much they've blessed me. My mom did that; I appreciate her so much. I am thankful that the Lord helped shift my focus to thanksgiving for the blessing of having her for a mom instead of being depressed all day.

As mentioned earlier, I went to California Pizza Kitchen thanks to my wonderful friend Melissa and enjoyed a delicious, non-Paleo lunch, which included an amazing strawberry shortcake dessert. I also bought some dresses from Loft (courtesy of Ryan). I totally relaxed during Zooey's nap and read a book, then went out to dinner with Ryan, Zooey & my dad. It was a nice day. I had a lot of fun, and I realized once again how blessed I am by the family I have and the friends who I call family. I receieved so many wonderful birthday blessings that truly brightened my day!

The Party

Zooey had her party last weekend, and it was a lot of fun. She had family & most of her little friends over, and they enjoyed playing in the back yard, coloring at her little table and running around. We did a Blue's Clues theme, because that's the character Zooey seems to enjoy the most right now. We had hamburgers & hot dogs for the adults and chicken nuggets for the kids. My friend Melissa made two gorgeous cakes - she has SERIOUS talent - and my friend Carmelita took all the pictures, which was such a huge help to me & Ryan. There were a ton more pictures, but I chose these ones to show. She got lots of fun stuff (as you can see), and I think she really got the concept that the day was to celebrate her. And she got to open presents and eat cake. :)