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My Last Birthday Without Children


These are Marshall's actual eye color--no filtering or editing.
Look at how blue they are! 
Kansas City Temple, US Figure Skating Championships at the Sprint Center, Ethiopian food for dinner. It was a full day of birthday fun--my 27th birthday, and last birthday without children. 

Ladies, you know those moments where you start crying for no real reason whatsoever, and then five minutes later you are back to being your awesome self again? Whatever you want to call it, be it hormones, pregnancy, fatigue, PMS, or just being a woman, I had three of these moments during my birthday. Oh it could have been a miriad of things, but I think the main reason was that I was exhausted, with not sleeping well for too many consecutive nights. I wanted to say I ruined the entire day, but my sweet man reminded me that I had more "thumbs-up" moments than "thumbs-down" moments, so the day was a success, and not at all ruined. How right he was! 

My birthday was a success, and I don't want to forget any of the smiles or laughs we had along the way. 

7:50 AM
My husband had lit a candle and made me blow it out before I got to open any gifts. I suppose that is what is necessary if there wasn't going to be a birthday cake! I thought my present from my husband was the pool pass he gave me a week ago, but he was sneaky and bought be 2 more gifts: a cast iron griddle and a 3-qt saucepan. I asked him why he did this, and he told me that he wanted to buy something for me, not for the baby, as it seems everything we've bought recently has been for. I am also a lover of practical gifts. My sweet, ever-thoughtful baby sister gifted me a set of nursing pajamas, and mom and dad gave me an electric knife to replace the one that died a few months ago. 

8:15 AM
We stopped by Einstein Bro's Bagels to use a "free egg sandwich" birthday coupon my husband had insisted that he sign me up for. It was nice to not have to make breakfast!

10:00 AM-12:00 PM
This was quite possibly the last temple trip with my husband before baby comes because it will be closed for cleaning for 2 weeks in February. I was grateful for the bottle of water one of the workers offered me. It sure made my time there a lot easier. We enjoyed the sweet time we had inside together.



12:45 PM
Thermos lunches!

1:15 PM-5:30 PM
Back in September I purchased two tickets to watch the US Figure Skating Ice Dance and Pairs Championships at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. I've always loved watching skating, but having a husband who enjoys it with me is quite a blessing. We absolutely love watching pairs and dance together, and I know Baby A also enjoyed it! She was moving the entire time we watched the skaters. 


Pairs Champions: 

Ice Dance Champions:




5:30 PM
I love city skylines, especially at night! Growing up near San Francisco, I have always had a special place in my heart for city life. 

The Sprint Center

    




5:45 PM-6:45 PM
Where do you go for dinner when there are no Indian food restaurants close by that are still open? Try Ethiopian food, of course! By the time dinner rolled around, I was STARVING. I have been so grateful for a husband who is willing to try new foods. I don't think he was exactly an adventurous eater before we got married, but he has always had a willing heart and now I think he enjoys trying new foods as much as I do. 

The Blue Nile Cafe in City Market was amazing.


Blue Nile Cafe seemed to be a little hole-in-the-wall, but it was full of customers the entire evening we were there--a good sign for a restaurant!


Based on recommendations I had from a couple of friends who love Ethiopian food, we ordered the combination platter for two, which consisted of a variety of the restaurant's specialties and a healthy portion of ingera. Oh WOW! I wish I were a food photographer. It took us only 19 minutes from the time we took this picture below to when our bellies were stuffed and we had to call quits.


We really should have stopped eating here...


...but we were enjoying the food so much that we kept on going until we had to stop. Marshall was a sweetheart and let me eat our leftovers the next day. "It was your birthday dinner," he said. He is a keeper!


7:45 PM
Home at last and in our pajamas, we cuddled up on the couch and watched the live coverage of the US Ladies Championship round on NBC. Again, Baby A was quiet all through dinner and the drive home and then started moving again while the skaters were on. It was quite enjoyable to witness her excitement.


Now I am 27 years old. I am going to be a mom in roughly 5 weeks. I've felt the love from all of my friends and loved ones, and know this new year will be a special one for me and all of those close to me. I may not have had a perfectly smooth emotional day, but it was a fabulous day, one to remember and cherish.

Don't let a few unhappy moments ruin many wonderful moments.




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