Happy Birthday To Me!

Well, it's that time of year again... that's right... On Sunday October 19, 2008 at 7:30 a.m., I turned 24. I have to say it feels exactly the same as 23.. and 22. I think once you hit 21, the milestones are over. This year was a bit different though, because I woke up on my birthday to a crying baby with a husband fast asleep beside me. It's amazing what can happen in just a year! Anyhow, my birthday was great! Like I said, Jay woke up starving at 5:00 a.m. Normally I would have just put him back in his bed to sleep after he ate but I decided I wanted to hold him for a while and let him fall asleep in my arms. In case you don't know, this is the greatest part about being a mom. So I sat there... holding Jay... watching Joey sleep with his face plastered to his pillow... and feeling incredibly blessed. I love my family.

That night we went over to the Brady's to eat dinner and celebrate. I got to pick anything in the world that I wanted to eat... I chose hot dogs and hamburgers! Joe told me that was lame. I hadn't been able to eat them for months though and that was exactly what I wanted!

We ate outside on the deck. Look how colorful the table was.

Here's Uncle Ricky and Jay.The highlight of dinner was the sun... haha.. no pun intended! It was really bright so Dad started handing out hats...

Grandma looked like Indiana Jones...

Rick put a napkin over his face...

And I think Mom wants to be a rapper.

After dinner I was informed that it was time for cake and ice cream, and that I had to close my eyes while they brought it out.



Okay so pretend you are closing your eyes...



Warning: This is possibly the worst picture I have ever seen of myself...



I mean it's bad...



So you're closing your eyes and you hear a lot of commotion..



You can't possibly imagine what is taking so long...



People are laughing....



Finally, you are told to open your eyes and you see this:
The biggest cake you've ever seen!

Apparently Joe didn't know how big Winco's sheet cakes were! He said it didn't even fit in the cart. It was probably the size of five normal cakes and had a Hawaiian-Italian theme. It said "Aloha" and had "Happy Birthday" written in Italian. (but spelled wrong!)

It was pretty funny and definitely a surprise! We only ate a small corner of it and will probably have enough cake to last us until my next birthday. Then it was time for presents. I will now take the time to make a confession:

This may come as a shock to some of you but I am a horribly awkward person!... Especially when it comes to gift receiving. I never know how to act or what to say to express how grateful I am. I just feel awkward. Now if you add a camera to this occasion it gets even worse. No matter how hard I try, I always make the EXACT same face! I stick my neck out and smile as big as I can.

Example #1:

Mom and Dad got me a book called "I Am a Mother" (It's sooo good by the way) and I did this...

Example #2:
Rick and Katie got me "The Ultimate Gift" and yummy candy and I reacted like this:

Now, I knew I had a problem, but I didn't know how bad it was until I reviewed my photo album...

This was my bridal shower at the Brady's:

Sometimes I offer a slight variation with my smile, as was the case with my bridal shower that Abrie gave me:

And sometimes if you're lucky, I will even give you the look and put your gift on top of my head:
So you see... I am awkward! And now slightly depressed!


Anyway, Joe also got me a sewing machine! Yeah! And a front carrier for Jay. Awesome job Babe!I spent the rest of the night on the phone. Joe's whole family called to wish me Happy Birthday and before any of my siblings could call, my phone died! They all had to leave me messages. Thanks for trying guys!