Sunday was my birthday. I wasn’t feeling that great on Saturday, and we didn’t really make any concrete plans to celebrate. So, let’s just say that I had some pretty low expectations for how the day was going to go. Lucky for me, I was pleasantly surprised.
I have a whole bunch of pictures from the weekend…
… And each and every one of them is of Lilian eating some sort of food at our dining room table.
Because, apparently, that was important enough to document.
We did discover that she looooves taro pastry. But still.
Kristian got up with Lilian so I could sleep in. I suppose I should say “sleep in.” Because there is a part of me that sortof remembers what college was like. And that part of me completely scoffs at the idea that 9:30am could be considered “sleeping in.” Ha. I dropped my meal plan my junior year because it was a complete waste of money to pay for breakfast.
Speaking of breakfast, Kristian made swedish pancakes for us. Lilian was a fan. I was too. So was the dog.
Oh, you want to know what Lilian looks like when she’s stuffing her face with little tiny pancakes? Never you fear, I’ve got you covered on that end.
What’s that you say? Those bibs look really similar? I have no idea what you’re talking about. No idea. We don’t reuse bibs in this household. Especially not when they just have a few crumbs of taro pastry on them.
Lilian finished up her pancakes and headed off to a nap. Only one year old and she’s already living the life of a college student! Kristian and I took the opportunity to hang out in our hammock. And then sit on the day bed on our sun porch. Basically, we made the rounds of all the nice places at our house to hang out, while I talked on the phone with all three of my sisters.
After Lilian woke up, we packed off to Concord where we bought some tasty sandwiches, met up with Pepper, rented a canoe, and set off on a river adventure. I was on my standup paddleboard, and Kristian and Pepper paddled with Lilian in the canoe. I’ve been dreaming of an adventure like this for over a year now, and it was so great to finally make it happen. We’ve been getting Lilian used to wearing a PFD and sitting in the bottom of a boat, and I think she’s finally coming around to the idea that this can be fun.
Kristian made a little nest for Lilian in the bottom of the boat (the folks at the boat rental were kind enough to give us an extra cushion for her to sit on) and she hung out while we paddled down stream. After a while, she got tired and took a nap. I wish I had a picture of it, but she looked a little something like this.
We saw about 20 different turtles, a couple of herons, and a bald eagle flew overhead when we were back at the parking lot! Pepper is a first-rate wildlife spotter. I highly recommend her services.
For the most part, we had a nice, leisurely paddle. And then, at the end, the wind kicked up and I really had to dig in. In other words, perfecto. Nice and relaxing, with a little bit of a workout thrown in for good measure.
We packed everything up, and headed to Bean’s farm to pick up some fresh veggies. Then we stopped for ice cream on our picnic blanket at a local dairy farm. A quick trip to Whole Paycheck and Kristian started working on a special dinner. I watched the Pats game on TiVo, because when it’s your birthday you can bend time and space to watch a football game 5-6 hours after the fact.
The Pats obliged me with a win. Or, should I say, the Bills obliged me by coughing up a loss. I even beat my Dad at fantasy football. And then we all ate chocolate pastries.
The end.
All in all, I’d say it was a pretty kick-ass birthday!
