My Birthday

I have to admit that this was one of the tamest birthdays I've had in years! Rather than hitting the bars with all of my friends for a night on the town, I had a quiet dinner at Maggianos with my husband followed by a weekend trip to the inlaws'.

Nikki, Jamie, Eli and Atticus joined me and Jared at his parent's home for what we called "Beer Camp." There was a lot of food, a lot of festivity and a lot of good drinks! The boys spent most of Saturday with Jared's dad, Brad, learning to brew the finest of ales while the girls stayed in and played with the kids. Eli got to feed the chickens and grab their eggs. Another highlight for Eli was playing with their pool table. He was mesmerized. Atticus had a great time stealing the balls and walking around with them to Eli's dismay. Jasmine got to run wild in the creek and get soaking wet...dog heaven. Fun times!

Valentine's Day

Our first Valentine's Day was a very relaxed one. We spent most of the day lounging around the house other than a short outing to Target. I did make a splendid dinner...or at least a splendid dessert. It has been our tradition so far to stay in for Valentine's Day and make something special rather than braving the crowds at the nicer restaurants. I made Mussels in a Tomato Wine Broth and Pan-Seared Scallops on Linguine with a Tomato Cream Sauce. Our dessert was a divine Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse Cake. It was Yum-o! All in all, it was a nice relaxing day with the man I love.

Sips & Strokes

While my mom was in town this weekend, we met Nikki and Julie at Sips N Strokes. This was what I wanted to do for my birthday. There is a studio where you bring your favorite beverage and you paint a picture. There is an instructor and a couple of helpers. What a fun time we had! We all painted the same picture, but each of ours looks so different based on our personal preferences. Check out our works of art.

Eli's First v. Atticus's First

Who likes cake more?

Atticus is One!

Nikki made a delicious chocolate pound cake in the shape of a train!

The kids had a great time decorating their cake!

Most of Claire's icing ended up in her mouth.

Atticus love his ball popper!

He didn't love his cool shades quite as much.

Looking a little unsure about this cake idea.

It's alright...

I'd even say it's good...
Alright, I'm all in.

Thanks for a wonderful birthday.

Happy birthday to the sweetest, happiest most loving baby that I know.