Now that the birthday fuss is over, I can finally share the details. It was sweet and relaxed. Turning 29 didn’t feel dramatically different from recent birthdays and included everything from a foot massage involving shaving cream (John accidentally grabbed the shaving cream instead of lotion) to Clara attempting her first crawls. It was incredible. Everyone, including the doctor, assumed she’d go straight to walking because she’s been scooting on her bottom and recently started pulling up, but she surprised us by trying crawling for fun. We even caught it on video:
So yes — baby talk. Sorry if that’s mostly what I write about lately, but Clara is pretty amazing. It was the best present.
The weather on Saturday was about 70 degrees and sunny (funny, since it used to always snow on my birthday when I lived up north). We took a long walk in one of our favorite neighborhoods (I couldn’t help pointing out that gorgeous house behind me) with Clara and the dog.
We even spotted turtles in the river — Clara loved them, Burger seemed indifferent.
I spent the walk wearing my new bun- and thigh-toning Reebok Easytone sneakers that John gave me for my birthday. I begged for them and he obliged. On the first three-mile walk they didn’t hurt at all, but the next day the same distance left me needing a serious break. So yes, they do work — my legs and glutes felt it after a while.
We went out for a nice sushi dinner (we have a soft spot for it)…
…and I received some lovely gifts from John and family. Along with the Reeboks, John gave me a beautiful book called Love Life (picked up at a local shop), which has a perfect greenish-yellow cover. It’s a nice reminder to find balance — something we’ve talked about before since the internet is always on and it can be hard to unplug. The book is full of thoughtful quotes, such as:
- “The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you finish the work.” – Pat Clifford
- “If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.” – Lin Yutang
- “I think the most significant work we ever do, in the whole world, in our whole life, is done within the four walls of our own home.” – Stephen R. Covey
- “It is a great art to saunter.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “I haven’t a clue how my story will end, but that’s all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, that’s when you discover the stars.” – Nancy Willard
Birthdays always prompt reflection — where you’ve been and where you’re headed. We joked about renaming the blog Middle Aged House Love, which somehow doesn’t have the same ring. On the practical side, John’s sisters contributed to my home-related wishlist. We trade wishlists to make gifting easier and more useful, and I’d picked out a few prints for our expanding hallway gallery. I was thrilled to receive some of them:
That print was a thoughtful pick from John’s sister Katie, and John surprised me further by gifting an adorable bee print — perfect since we also have a soft spot for bees.
I can’t wait to hang these new prints alongside family photos and keepsakes in the hallway. We’ll share pictures once we make more holes in the wall and arrange the Ikea frames that are still leaning in the kitchen. Also, my friend Heather surprised me with lilies and even picked a lime-green vase she knew I’d love.
I adore the flowers and find myself wandering in from another room just to admire them. Overall, birthday 29 was wonderful and life feels good. I don’t know where I’ll be at 30 or 35, but I’m focused on making moments count and appreciating small things like baby snorts and puppy sniffs. Maybe this post is a bit personal and sentimental, but that’s become part of my style.
Pssssst — For anyone asking how we organize Clara’s toys or about the big brown basket next to our sectional, check out our BabyCenter post for the simple “dump & cover” toy storage system that’s been working great for us.