Birthday Bonanza

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On Saturday, I turned 30!  The big 3-0!  First of all – I can’t believe I started this blog when I was freaking 24 years old.  Man – how time flies (if you’ve been reading that long, thaaaaaank you!).  And secondly, if you had asked me how I felt about turning 30 at 24, I probably would’ve crinkled up my nose and thought, “EWWW!”  But you know what?  Here I stand, 30 and happy.  My 20s were pretty epic, but I feel good about closing that chapter of my life and looking towards a new decade.

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Here’s how I spend my birthday!

 

On Friday night, DadHTP came over with a baked cake.  Henry observed as he iced it, and then Henry helped put on the sprinkled and candles.  So fun to watch!  Kristien got home shortly after, and after a nice dinner, everyone – including Henry – sang me Happy Birthday.  Henry *just* learned to sing songs last month and figured out Happy Birthday this past week, so that was pretty special.

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At the end of the song, Henry practically face-planted into my birthday cake, and after two pieces, I had to cut him off.  When he came downstairs on Saturday morning, the first thing he did was run to the counter and say, “Where’d da chocolate cake go?!” Hah.

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On Saturday, I slept in – glorious!  We had a nice family breakfast, and then we headed to the park to watch around the duck pond, which is truly one of my favorite things to do with Henry.  When we got home, we loaded Henry up in the jogging stroller and ran 2.5 miles.  After we returned and had lunch, Kristien (who, by the way, gets Husband of the Year for making my birthday so great) put Henry down for his nap, and I laid in the hammock and ate a Popsicle.  Pretty awesome.

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Random thought: When the weather is nice on my birthday (which is the 26th), I always think of this scene from Miss Congeniality when the judges ask the contestant to describe her ideal date.  Hah.

It’s true.  April 25 (and 26!) are almost always epic weather days.

 

While Henry napped, I laid on the couch and watched TV / read a book – another hour of awesome perfection (can you tell I really wanted to R-E-L-A-X on my birthday?).

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Meanwhile, Kristien prepared the meal and house for our party.  We had our two couple friends come over (Nicole + Isaac and Heather + Sean).  Heather and Sean brought their daughter Mirabelle, who I’m 95% sure will be Henry’s future wife. 

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Even the puppies got into the party spirit!

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James actually minded the hat a lot less than he appears to in this picture… He just turns into a wet noodle when you try to take a picture with him.

 

We had a lovely picnic on the deck.  We had salad, potatoes, corn, and Emily’s black bean burgers.  And beers and margaritas.  Yum.

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For dessert, BFF Nicole made me Never Homemaker’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Fudge Tart, which is rapidly becoming Nicole’s signature dish.  She makes the recipe with sunflower butter instead of peanut butter and it’s AMAZING.

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Another set of candles to blow out!  I felt lucky to get to make my birthday wish twice.

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The adults stayed up WAY TOO LATE talking and laughing.  Nicole and Isaac headed home once the yawning began, but Heather, Sean, and Mirabelle actually slept over, which is what they usually do when we have get togethers.   Sleepovers when you’re 30?  I’ll take it!  It was fun to wake up and still have our friends in the house.

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We definitely had leftover chocolate tart for breakfast…

 

And once everyone left, we picked up the house, ran a few errands, and did a walk/run through a local arts festival. 

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All in all – a FABULOUS birthday spent with family and friends.  Spent outside in the sun!  Spent relaxing, sweating, and laughing.  Spent eating A LOT of delicious chocolate cake. 30 feels good, indeed. 

 

Hope you had a fun weekend, too. <3 <3 <3

{ 32 comments }

 

  • Adrianna April 27, 2014, 4:06 pm

    welcome to the 3-0 club!! happy birthday! so glad it was glorious 🙂
    btw…your son is so, so adorable…I love reading about your/his adventures. seriously, cutest ‘blog kid’!

  • Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs April 27, 2014, 4:14 pm

    Happy Birthday, Caitlin! Glad to hear that you had such a wonderful weekend of celebrations! 🙂

  • Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine April 27, 2014, 4:21 pm

    Happy Birthday Caitlin! My brother’s 20th birthday was the 25th! Birthdays all around, haha 🙂

  • Tory @ tory of my life April 27, 2014, 4:32 pm

    Happy birthday! I totally agree with the Miss Congeniality thing; my grandma’s birthday is also the 26th, and the weather is almost always perfect!

  • Erin m. April 27, 2014, 5:23 pm

    Happy birthday!

  • Amber K April 27, 2014, 5:48 pm

    That sounds like a perfect birthday. Oh and the tart looks so good. Definitely going to have to try it out!

  • Sara @ LovingOnTheRun April 27, 2014, 5:51 pm

    Happy Birthday!! It sounds like a pretty awesome and amazing weekend to me! Glad you had such a great time!

  • Lee April 27, 2014, 6:50 pm

    Happy Birthday Caitlin! I hope your 30s are even more epic than your 20s.

  • Tess April 27, 2014, 7:13 pm

    The best birthdays are spent with loved ones….yours ROCKED!!!

  • Lauren April 27, 2014, 8:04 pm

    Sounds like there perfect way to spend your birthday. So glad it was wonderful!

  • Runner Girl Eats April 27, 2014, 9:21 pm

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! It looks like it was perfect 🙂 I am a firm believer of dessert for breakfast on your birthday so bravo!

  • Rebecca April 27, 2014, 9:23 pm

    Happy birthday!!!
    Caaaake. There was an episode of The Little Couple where their son started like demanding chocolate cake and they had to try to convince him he could not have cake that particular night. (He got a couple animal crackers or something instead.) Sounds like an interesting stage! Hopefully you guys don’t have too much trouble with H and desserts, but that part of this post reminded me of the episode and I thought I’d share.

    The weather here this weekend has been rainy, but I’m glad it was nice for you guys!! Sounds like it was a good way to start your 30s. 🙂

  • Jill April 27, 2014, 9:29 pm

    Happy Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Love that movie!

  • Katie April 27, 2014, 10:08 pm

    Your birthday looks fabulous! My 30th will also be my golden birthday, so we’ll see what it will entail.

  • emily April 27, 2014, 10:32 pm

    Happy belated birthday! It looked like a good one!

  • Marie April 28, 2014, 4:17 am

    Happy Birthday ! I have been reading your blog for 4 years but never actually commented… Glad you are that satisfied about turning 30, I hope I’ll be the same !

  • Louise April 28, 2014, 5:29 am

    Happy birthday! Glad you got to relax with family and have fun with friends the definition of perfection in your 30s 🙂

  • Kelly April 28, 2014, 6:47 am

    Yay! Happy Birthday!! Sounds like the best day! My brother turned 30 on April 26th too!

  • Nena April 28, 2014, 7:26 am

    Happy Birthday!! My birthday was the 25th. Taurus. Woot! Woot!

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat April 28, 2014, 7:46 am

    WOW! Happy belated birthday Caitlin!! This looks like an absolutely perfect celebration, full of family, great food, and wonderful memories. I think Henry might be the cutest kid EVER, and he’s lucky to have such an amazing mum! May your 30s be just as amazing as your 20s! 🙂

  • Elizabeth {Positively Healthy} April 28, 2014, 8:07 am

    Happy Birthday!! It sounds like you had an epic weekend to start this new chapter off on the right foot!

  • Abby April 28, 2014, 8:10 am

    Happy Birthday! Being 38, I can tell you 30’s are great! Plus with your positive attitude and perspective on life you will handle your 30’s with no prob.!

  • Kattrina April 28, 2014, 9:26 am

    We have the same birthday!! I’ve been reading your blog forever and I don’t think I realized that. I turned 34 though…I think I’m in my mid-thirties now. I didn’t do anything amazing, but it was still a fun day. I coached my little golf girls, went hiking with my son, and then had a bbq at some friend’s house. All in all, great times! I also bought myself some fun presents….

  • Colleen April 28, 2014, 10:20 am

    Happy Belated Birthday! Love the photo of everyone watching DadHTP frosting your cake! Relaxing is definitely the best birthday gift.

  • Reenie April 28, 2014, 10:41 am

    Happy Belated Birthday Caitlin!!

    “Where’d da chocolate cake go?!” OMG…. too cute!!

    Love how Maggie & kitty is watching your Dad. ha!!!

  • Joy April 28, 2014, 12:17 pm

    Happy Birthday!! I’m glad you had such a great entry into your 30s.

  • Stephanie @ Whole Health Dork April 28, 2014, 12:21 pm

    Happy 30th! Milestone birthdays really make you reflect–both looking back at where you’ve come from and looking forward to where you want to go. Welcome to the 30s. I’ve loved them so far!

  • Carolina John April 28, 2014, 2:15 pm

    So glad you had a fun birthday! Enjoy this decade. Your 30’s are soooooo much better than your 20’s were. And from what I hear, 40 sucks (I turn 39 [for the first time] this summer). and I think I have been reading since you were 24….

  • Jolene @ Homespun Heritage April 28, 2014, 3:44 pm

    ~*Happy Birthday*~ chicky! My b-day is on the 30th and we haven’t celebrated yet….I have two kiddos with April/May birthdays and we combined their party this past weekend…and true to tradition we have leftover cake for breakfast the next morning!

  • Kendall April 28, 2014, 4:06 pm

    HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sounds like an absolutely perfect weekend!

  • Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed April 29, 2014, 8:03 am

    Happy Belated! Sounds like a fabulous bday 😀

  • Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) May 1, 2014, 8:20 pm

    Just catching up on blog reading now – Happy belated birthday!!! I’m 31, and so far, 30s could not be better!! I’d never go back to 20s!

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