My very happy birthday

I had a very happy birthday this year. It wasn't like my golden birthday when all my presents were wrapped in gold paper, but it was pretty dagum close.

It was just a regular Thursday, and we didn't make super big plans. I went to work.

My morning started with a bunch of happy birthday emails from my coworkers. Better than one of those "you screwed up again" type emails.

Then Grandma called my desk to say happy birthday.

Later, I went to a meeting. Came back to my desk and beautiful purple tulips were waiting for me. Everyone, say "ahhhh."

Checked in with the WCF girls on my message board, and there was a post wishing me a happy birthday; now that was an unexpected surprise. And a couple more emails, including one from a certain family member who apologized for a belated birthday present to come. How silly to apologize for a birthday present, right?

When I got home, I got some cards in the mail. You might not know it yet, but Dad, you got me Photoshop Elements, and Grandma, you got me some awesome pillows for my birthday. Thanks very much to you both.

Then I found Lily some entertainment while I loaded the dishwasher.

Is this that terrible?
We had an awesome dinner and no sinkload of dishes to follow, so we went outside to enjoy April in Florida. (LOL, like we'd do our dishes right after dinner on any other night.)

Then I saw a box on the floor wrapped in leftover paper from Lily's birthday presents. I smiled big at Khan, and he said, "Do you want to open it?"

I'm assuming that was rhetorical.

The biggest surprise was that it wasn't from him, it was from my mom. I thought she already gave me my present, so I was a little confused. And then I opened it, and this is what I found.

This is Belle. Isn't she beautiful? She's a camera bag. A CAMERA BAG! And so very pretty.

Not to be outdone, Khan and Lily gave me a couple more camera accessories. Lily tried to take one back. She hasn't quite figured out the whole "sharing" thing yet. Actually, I'm not sharing it with her, either.

Then, Khan, Lily, and I just hung out for awhile.

Lily and Khan practiced expressing their emotions.

This is sad.

This is happy.

Hmmmmm...this is surprised?

Then they played peek-a-boo.

Then Lily wanted to hide under the covers.

When I tried to play, she said "no. moo." (translates to get out. moo is toddler for move.)

My role was to be surprised when she and Daddy popped out. When I tried to hide with them, I ruined the system, and that's why I had to moo.

Before the night was out, I got texts and phone calls from friends and family. I checked into Facebook and found even more happy birthday wishes. Good stuff.

I've had more than one birthday celebration since at least 1987, and that trend continued.

Saturday night a couple of our friends came by and Khan made the best kabobs ever on the grill. Mama, wine, Lily, and blanket. Does it get any better than this?

Lily and Jade sat together. Lily shared her green beans.

When we went inside, Lily and Jade took turns in the rocking horse while the rest of us watched a Big Bird movie. Truthfully, the movie was awful.

We finished off our night with chocolate covered strawberries, bananas, and pineapple.

Yum.

Thank you all for making this birthday so wonderful. You all know how to make a girl feel special.