Another Happy Birthday

This past week I celebrated another birthday, and I got to do it my favorite way, with my favorite people. We originally had plans for a little getaway, but we decided to switch things up and stay closer to home instead, which ended up being the perfect choice.

The day itself started out pretty typically with work. Throughout the day, though, I was flooded with birthday messages and well wishes from family and friends. It was really nice to hear from so many people and feel so loved.

Alison picked Madeline up from school, and before heading out we made sure to add her ornament to her advent calendar. Then we were off to dinner at Carvers. I really like Carvers. It is close to our house and also close to the aquarium, which was our activity for the evening.

Dinner with a toddler is always an adventure. Sometimes it goes smoothly, and sometimes it does not. This night leaned a little more toward the challenging side. Madeline did not really want to sit in her high chair, or even stay at our table for that matter. We coaxed her through dinner as best we could. We started with some brie, which is currently her favorite food and was an instant hit. We also ordered mashed potatoes for her main course, which helped. Even with her rambunctious energy, it was still an enjoyable evening. It is good practice for all of us, because I am sure Madeline has many fancy meals in her future.

After dinner we headed over to the aquarium for their lantern festival. This was the same event we went to last year, and since we had so much fun then, we knew we wanted to do it again. I could tell it was going to be a hit the moment we got out of the car. Madeline saw the lights and immediately said “woah.”

We met up with Debbie and spent the evening wandering through the glowing displays. We brought Madeline’s stroller, but it turned out to be completely unnecessary. She just wanted to walk, run, and lead us through the lights herself. She was especially adorable toddling around in her little polar bear suit.

One of her favorite spots was a light up floor that changed colors as you walked across it. There was some techno music playing in that area, and Madeline was very into it. She ran around, danced, and soaked it all in.

After we finished with the lights, we headed inside the aquarium to check out the sea life. Madeline was once again Miss Independent, confidently leading us from exhibit to exhibit. She loved watching the fish swim by and was especially fascinated by the sharks.

All in all, it was a fabulous birthday.