Yesterday was my birthday!

In honor of blessing this earth with my presence for 32 years, I thought I would share with you 32 thoughts about my 32nd birthday—thinking out loud style.

1// Waking up yesterday morning was a little tough—despite it being MY day. Bazooka has a bit of a cough so he spent the night coughing and moving about in our bed.

2// Having to work on your birthday usually sucks, but at least I had a fairly productive and busy day. Work is weird right now—I’m supposed to be moving to another department toward the end of March, so hopefully that will bring some positive changes. I have been working in the same department for almost 9 years (what?!) so I’m very accustomed to how things work here.

3// I’m also not so sure how I feel about having my birthday fall on Ash Wednesday. I’d planned on no meat and no wine, but we ended up cheating at dinner time. #Fail

4// Birthdays are weird. Before I turned 30, I was mortified of the idea of being in my 30s. My life is so different—but wonderful—than I imagined it would be when I was in college, but I’m betting on 32 being an even better year than the last (although the first full year with Bazooka will be difficult to top!).

5// It was soooo cold yesterday morning! I really regret not wearing thicker socks—or at least doubling up. But seasonal socks = fun, right?

6// Speaking of the cold—when I was a child, I hated having a winter birthday! All of the cool kids got to have pool parties, and I was stuck inside—usually at the skating rink or my own house. Now that I’m a parent, I can see how this was probably a blessing to my own—who wants to deal with that kind of liability? Thank goodness Bazooka is an October baby!

7// So, I originally woke up in a bit of a funk yesterday, but receiving so many text messages and, yes, even Facebook well wishes, helped brighten up my day. Thanks guys! <3

8// The phone calls were nice, too!

9// But not a single person at work knew it was my birthday. Sniff sniff.

10// Since having cake for breakfast didn’t seem like a good idea (ok, it did—but I decided against it), I whipped up a birthday smoothie with the Be Fit WHEY protein powder I received last week. Chocolate + peanut butter + banana = perfection.

11// Lunch consisted of leftover “fried” rice. What is it about rice, eggs, and veggies that is so comforting?

12// And my lunchtime walk was thoroughly enjoyed—it was a gorgeous day that warmed up just enough to be comfortable yet breezy.

13// Want to see a throwback? This is the photo my mom sent me yesterday morning as she wished me “happy birthday”—I’m not even sure how old I was, but look at that blonde hair!

14// Speaking of hair—I really need a haircut. Maybe I’ll treat myself to my twice-annual trim sometime this weekend. At least today was a good hair day—thank you low humidity!

15// How exciting that it was announced on my birthday that one of my favorite books EVER—To Kill A Mockingbird—is being adapted for Broadway.

16// Fun story: one of my childhood besties and I were born exactly a week apart (well, different times of the day, but still…), which makes remembering each other’s birthdays super easy!

17// I also have 2 cousins who were born on Feb 10th. Must be a good day to be born.

18// I have to say, my most memorable birthday would be 2 years ago—my 30th. I was an emotional wreck ALL DAY (I even burst into tears whenever I deemed the nice jewelry box Mark gave me too big to fit on our dresser!) so it only made sense that the following morning, I discovered I was pregnant with Bazooka! Although it was a shock then, I’ll always remember Feb 11th as a special day.

19// Another special birthday was my 29th—when we visited Mark’s grandmother and uncle in FL and then went to DISNEY WORLD + UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. Such a fun trip!

20// Turning 32 means that I will celebrate my TEN YEAR college reunion this spring. UN. REAL. I can’t believe that I received my degree along the Avenue of the Oaks nearly TEN YEARS ago.

21// You better believe king cake happened in the afternoon. I’m going to miss you, delicious sugar-covered, cinnamon-filled pastry!

22// But…I did get to work off a little bit of the sugar with another Be Fit workout. This one was all about the legs and butt!

23// For dinner, Mark surprised me with takeout from one of our favorite restaurants (that we haven’t visited in forever), Jerusalem Café.

24// My favorite part? Their lentil soup. It’s soooo creamy. We also cheated and ate gyros. We plan to go meatless for dinner today—and no more wine during Lent. Eek!

25// Bazooka helped us eat the hummus and baba ganouj. And he even enjoyed some of the soup. This kid will forever eat pureed foods!

26// Dessert included a piece of baklava. Yum!

27// Because my husband is oh-so-kind, he took care of bathing Bazooka. I love bathing him, but lately he’s been so fussy when I dry him and put on his diaper and it just drives me nuts. I enjoyed the break.

28// He also put Bazooka to sleep so I could be lazy—and watch American Ninja Warrior instead of doing more important things.

29// Sadly we did not get to bed early (we sound like such old people!) but the most amazing birthday gift happened: Bazooka slept in his crib ALL NIGHT LONG. He even was tough to wake this morning!

Old photo – but you gotta love that baby butt!

30// My birthday “celebration” will be extended through the weekend. We’re going to dinner Saturday night, either at Von’s Bistro or Pizzeria Delfino, both fairly new downtown restaurants we’ve never tried.

31// And…I remembered I have a $100 Nordstrom gift card that I haven’t used, so I think I may treat myself to a little something.

32// Here’s hoping year 33 is as good as—and even better—than the 32 previous. I’m incredibly blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends in my life.

• Were you a summer, fall, spring, or winter baby?
• Do you do anything special for your birthday—or do you keep things low-key?
• What would be your dream birthday dinner?