birthday boy.

this crazy guy turns eight today...

e i g h t

i want him to be two again.

i miss his blonde hair.

i miss his curls.

i miss that cheesy grin.

now he's halfway through elementary school.

he's dancing to justin bieber & singing zac brown band.

he eats just about anything.

his hair is no longer blonde.

but, he still has that cheesy grin {trust me}.

happy birthday, aidan!

one year.

last saturday, aidan turned 7.

today, we're celebrating...

frisco's first birthday

he's lucky he's lived to see this day {not because he was from a bad breeder because he wasn't, but because of situations in his life thus far...oh, you'll see what i mean shortly}.  he had a shaky start due to that whole eye business.  then, just YESTERDAY he ate his first shoe.  and, it wasn't just any shoe.  it was a pair of my flip flops.  my favorite flip flops.  you would think that a new {memory foam} bed, new doggy toys AND a couple of doggy treats would have made him happy, but no...apparently the taste of rubber laced with foot funk {not that my feet are funky, but they are rubber flops...i'm just sayin'} was what he really wanted.

but, i digress.

he's certainly brought a lot of joy & companionship to our lives.  we were convinced that we would ONLY be a cat family {we have three of them}, but adam fell in love with a friend's boston terrier and now we cannot picture our lives without frisco in it. 

he is the sweetest dog.  he's a fierce protector.  he loves the kids.  he's my snuggle buddy.  he kisses adam more than i do when he comes home from work.  he's named after one of our favorite beach spots {did you know that?}.  he's frisco.  he's loyal.  he's our guy.  he's our love.

and, today, he's a year old.

11:52 a.m.

seven years ago we welcomed another beautiful soul into our lives.

malia, who was only 27 months old, was no longer an only child.  she became a big sister.

seven years have come & gone.  quickly.  

our happy-go-lucky baby is now a happy-go-lucky little boy.

happy 7th birthday to aidan.

double the birthday fun.

malia's birthday was on friday. adam's birthday is today.

no parties {not yet, at least*}. no fancy dinners {chinese take-out doesn't count}. we didn't even have birthday cake. well, we had an ice cream cake on friday night for malia, so i guess that counts for something. i did bake cupcakes per malia's request on saturday afternoon, but even those were pretty much gone by the time sunday morning rolled around.

as for adam's birthday, it's on a monday. we have nothing planned. honestly, the older you get, the more it just becomes another day. irregardless, i'm sure we'll do something because i certainly can't expect adam to cook dinner on his own birthday!

happy birthday, l♥ve...we're finally the same age {at least for the next six months...ha!}.

*malia's actual birthday celebration {that's code word for sleepover} will take place later on this month. perhaps after our home returns to a somewhat state of normalcy {i'll get to this later...}.

Show me the cake! {psst...it's a giveaway, too!}

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED - THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

{source}

The day is here. I'm 32.

My father told me that after turning 21 birthdays seem to come faster & faster - he was right.

A friend of mine said that after having kids your birthday will seem like just another day - she was right.

Do I feel different now than I did when I turned, say, 22? Oh, yes. Very much so.

Am I older? Indeed, I am.

Am I wiser? Perhaps.

Entering my thirties was pretty scary. I mean, it was what most of us considered 'old' once upon a time! As it turned out, it wasn't so scary after all...it was actually kind of refreshing! And, here I am, eight years from 40 {I know, I'm being a bit dramatic today}, and I am okay with it all. Sure, I'll complain & kid about my age, but a really smart girlfriend of mine told me that she will never let a number {age} define her, so I should not let it define me. She's got a point.

So, today I turn 32. I will celebrate tonight with friends & tomorrow with family. It honestly feels just like another day...and I think I'm more excited about the fact that today is Friday!

---

In honor of my birthday, I'm giving one of you lucky readers the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Sephora.

It's my birthday gift to you!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post...that's all! I will announce the winner on Friday, September 25th...good luck!

She's simply the best!

That's a picture of my parents dancing at my sister's wedding last November
{click the pic for a close up...aren't my Mom's shoes sassy?}.

Happy birthday, Mom!

Needless to say, I think my Mom is pretty darn awesome. We didn't have the best of relationships growing up {but, then again, don't most mother-daughter combos hit a rough patch when puberty hits?}, but my Mom is the world to me. She's sacrificed so much for both my sister & I and she's one amazing grandmother to my children.

I also think it's pretty damn cool that she was carded over the weekend while we were at Wegman's buying some booze! If I can be half as amazing as my Mom is {and still get carded in my 60s}, then I will have accomplished something wonderful in my life.

Here's to you, Mom! Enjoy your day!

Happy birthday, Aidan!

Six years ago - well, at 11:52am...I was just getting settled into my hospital room around this time (it's only a bit after 8am) - I gave birth to my second, and last, child. A son. We named him Aidan. He was one week overdue. He was a pound bigger at birth than his older sister. And, laboring with him was a piece of cake compared to the nearly 24 hours of agony I went through with his sister, who is exactly 27 months older - to the day - than he is.

It's amazing how quickly six years goes by.

---

So brand new...

Always inquisitive...

And so it begins...

Got candy?
Oooh, a cake for me?

Wild thing is right!

Just crabbin' around...

Can I get a sponsor?

Surf's up, dude!

Spider-Aid!

Picking the perfect pumpkin...

Such a sweet kid - the first baby he's ever held
(friends of ours had their first daughter in May &
she's named Malia as well!)

---

Happy birthday, Aidan! You are the sweetest boy and you are loved by so many people, but especially by Mommy, Daddy & Sissy. I hope your day is wonderful - I know your weekend will be. We have a great party planned...now go clean your room!

48 cupcakes later...

And I'm feeling a bit sick to my stomach.

I suppose it's a good 'sick to my stomach feeling' - it's quite bittersweet, actually.

My baby turns SIX tomorrow.

While we were in the car this afternoon waiting to pick up his sister, I stole a glance at him in the rear view mirror. He's so grown up looking - thinning out - his lil' boy chubby cuteness is evolving into lil' guy handsomeness.

Six. Headed into first grade next year.

He's not as independent as his sister nor is he as headstrong & demanding as she is - he still has his "baby of the family" charm.

But he's going to be six. Tomorrow.

It didn't really hit me as hard when Malia turned six. I suppose it's different now. Because now I no longer have babies...I've got children. Children who - in the blink of an eye - are growing up so fast that, just once, I wish they would slow down and let me hold them again like I did when they were infants.


A proper birthday post is to follow - tomorrow, of course - I just really needed to get his off of my (teeny) chest.