A Day to Celebrate!

The man that I love was born 27 years ago today!

It was sooooooooo hard for Eden to keep the secret that she'd made him a card days ago. For the past few days at breakfast it was like she'd suddenly remember and say, "HEY MOMMY!!! CAN WE GIVE DADDY HIS...."

And then I'd "SHHH!" her real loudly in a very award-winning-parent type of style, and she'd remember that it was a secret.

So today when she woke up and I told her that today was Daddy's birthday she was beyond thrilled about finally presenting him with his birthday card.

And because Brandon is an awesome dad, he was beyond thrilled with his covered-in-stickers blue construction paper card that Eden and Salem made themselves.
He was also super impressed with my planning ahead-edness when I presented him with a birthday card I bought in the States before we left. I was impressed with my planning ahead too though...and impressed that I didn't lose it somewhere in between the move overseas!

We celebrated by starting the day off with Pioneer Woman's Coffee Cake. And after consuming almost entirely 3 sticks of butter, we labeled it a breakfast that should be eaten only once a year, and decided we had to get out for a walk!

We headed for a big lake not too far from our apartment...via bus:


We went all touristy, bought the kids balloons, and broke out our tourist smiles for a family photo.


Pausing for a 28 weeks preggy photo.


We're getting fairly used to feeling like local celebrities everywhere we go. With constant stares, occasional picture taking, and non-stop questions about whether both kids are actually ours, we didn't think things could escalate much more than that.
But something about being out in a very public and touristy spot, really brought on the crowds today. Eden's picture was snapped by no less than 174 cameras. No lie.
Occasionally, it bothers her and she doesn't understand why complete strangers want to pose with her for a picture. Good question, Eden. Good question. Most of the time, she handles it really well.

And then other times she totally hams it up and gives them a real show.


Lets zoom in on that and take a closer look...


Um yes. Totally eating up the attention.
What you can't see in this picture is how many people are standing to the left and right of Brandon (taking the picture). I was back behind the straw hut thing (which Eden labeled as Jesus' Manger) managing Salem who was less than enthusiastic about the impending crowd.

After our picnic lunch of pb&j, we concluded our park adventure with a carousel ride!


We returned home to nap out the afternoon, and to continue our high-calorie day with cupcakes and a Mexican Pile-On Feast with guacamole and all. Avocados cost a pretty penny kuai here, so we broke them out in celebration of Brandon today!
Happy Birthday Brandon! I love you and look forward to many many more of your birthdays!


Your kids love you more than their tongues can express!!