Turning 29: A Sweet Birthday, Baby Milestones, and Thoughtful Gifts

Now that the birthday festivities are behind us, I can finally share the details. My 29th birthday was low-key and lovely. It didn’t feel dramatically different from previous years, but it was full of small, memorable moments—from a foot massage that involved shaving cream (John mistook it for lotion) to Clara taking her very first crawls. It was astonishing. Everyone, including our pediatrician, assumed she’d skip straight to walking since she’s been scooting on her bottom and recently started pulling up. Instead, she decided to try crawling just for fun, and we even caught it on video.

Yes, it’s all about the baby these days. Sorry if I sound repetitive, but Clara is kind of incredible and was the best birthday present I could ask for.

The weather on Saturday was a perfect spring-like 70 degrees and sunny. It reminded me of how my birthdays used to always include snow when I lived up north, so this mild, bright day felt extra special. We took a long walk through one of our favorite neighborhoods—Clara and our dog joined us—and I enjoyed taking in the scenery (including a gorgeous house we passed along the way).

On our walk we even spotted turtles in the river. Clara was fascinated; our dog, Burger, seemed a bit ambivalent.

I also broke in the birthday present John surprised me with: Reebok Easytone sneakers meant to tone the thighs and glutes. I’d been begging for them and he humored me. On the first three-mile walk they didn’t bother me at all and I thought maybe they were just hype. But after repeating the same walk the next day, my legs and buns definitely felt it. So yes—they do make a difference if you keep them on for a while.

For dinner we went out for sushi, one of our favorite treats, and had a nice, relaxed meal together.

John and our family gave me some really thoughtful gifts. Beyond the toning Reeboks, John picked out a beautiful book called Love Life from a local shop. The greeny-yellow cover caught my eye and proved to be the perfect wrapper for the book’s messages. It’s full of simple reminders about balance and making time for life’s small joys—timely advice for anyone who spends a lot of time online and struggles to unplug.

• “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 make you reflect—where you’ve been, what you’ve learned, and where you want to go. We joked about renaming our blog Middle Aged House Love someday, which felt funny and oddly fitting. But mostly I just want to keep savoring small moments: baby snorts, puppy sniffs, and quiet family time.

We have a habit of exchanging wish lists between family members, which makes gift-giving easy and exact. John’s sisters gave me some lovely prints for our hallway gallery—in particular a road-trip themed print from Katie that will complement the family photos we’re planning to hang. John surprised me further with an adorable bee print, a nod to our mutual fondness for bees.

I can’t wait to arrange these new prints with our family photos and keepsakes on the hallway wall. We still have a stack of frames waiting to be hung on the other side of the wall, so pictures will follow once we finish a little finishing work.

My friend Heather surprised me with a bouquet of lilies in a lime green vase she knew I’d love. I’ve been wandering into the room just to admire them—small, joyful things like this can brighten an ordinary day.

Overall, turning 29 was wonderful. Life feels full and good—the near future is uncertain, whether it’s 30 or 35—but I’m focused on making the most of every day without losing sight of the little things that make life meaningful. If you’ve asked about how we organize Clara’s toys, we’re using a simple “dump and cover” toy storage method that keeps things tidy and easy—more on that in our BabyCenter post for anyone curious.

Thanks for indulging my birthday recap and baby-bragging—this season of life is full of small joys, and I’m trying to savor each one.