ina [28 years]

Last week, I celebrated my first birthday since the birth of my blog last year!  (And I'm now feeling guilty for not writing more for Eric's birthday last October... oh well haha).  Being my "First Mommy Birthday" as Eric put it, the day was sweet and special and full of emotion.  My wonderful hubby began the celebration just after midnight on the day of my birthday, which is in part with our accidental tradition of staying up until 12:00 in the morning to be the first to wish each other "Happy Birthday!"  He surprised me with one dozen beautiful long-stemmed roses and cards from both himself and Simon.  After going to bed all smiles and waking up later that morning, Eric gave me a Starbucks gift card loaded with almost a week's worth of coffee money!  This I plan on using sparingly.

 my roses and cards from Eric & Simon

After getting ready for the day, Simon and I left to pick up my dad, who took us out for a delicious sushi lunch at Blue Nami.  We stopped for a few errands and came back to our house to hang out.  My friend, Jen, stopped by for a visit with her boys and brought me another Starbucks gift card!  Her sons, Tahoe and Brydon, played with Simon, who was all smiles for our visitors.  After they left, my dad helped me with Simon until Eric got home from work and began cooking my delicious birthday dinner for the two of us.

falling asleep while being fed by Cho-Cho

Before we ate, I opened my last 2 gifts from Eric, which were beautiful dresses he picked out and bought for me.  As the weather's gotten warmer, I've been complaining about not being able to fit comfortably into my capris and shorts quite yet (I know, only 3 months postpartum) and thinking that cute summer dresses would be a smart purchase for the heat.  He did great with his selections and I absolutely love them!  Shortly after dinner, Simon was exhausted from the day's fun and went out like a light before we had the chance to take pictures.  He roused for a few shots before getting cranky and passing back out immediately after we put him down in the bassinet.  I was emotional about sharing my first birthday with my son but really wanted a few, albeit poor-quality, photos to record the day.

 Mr. Fussy Pants

out like a trout

My birthday continued into the day after, with Vanessa taking me out to lunch at Panera Bread and Nicole treating me to coffee.  Both of these ladies were looking forward to some exciting events happening in the days to come.  Vanessa was preparing for her graduation from law school, a goal she began striving toward 10 long years ago and has now finally completed.  Nicole just reached full-term of her first pregnancy and is waiting the arrival of her baby girl, Lila, hopefully any day now.  I had a great time catching up with both of them and celebrating the great milestones in each of their lives in addition to my birthday, and Simon was his perfect, no-fuss self during both outings.

after hanging out with Nicole

The year of 28 has started out wonderfully.  My dad was 28 when I was born, and here I am at the same age with my beautiful 3-month old baby boy.  This was just the first of many more birthdays to come that will be completely different from those celebrated in my past; it's not only just "Happy Birthday, Christina!" anymore, but also "Happy Birthday, Mommy!"  And the best part about that is the fact that my little man might be able to say those three wonderful words to me himself when it comes time to celebrate next year.  I already can't wait!