Thirtysomething

It's my birthday, y'all.

Yes, I'm 31. It's a milestone year, I tell ya.

This year is the first year I have had the delight of being extremely and/or knowingly pregnant on my actual birthday. As of today, I am 33 weeks along! This bundle of boy is coming soon, folks!

(Obligatory belly shot, since I think I've failed to post one anywhere. I can't imagine why...I mean, I'm obviously looking my best here. Ha!)

Though the boys were a tad bit too eager to wake me up this morning (Jacob had a nightmare at 3am that woke all of us up eventually), it was fun to see them come running at me at random times today, shouting gleefully "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" (Imagine the cute little-kid voices. Especially Ethan.)

Many thanks to my mom drove up from Alabama for a helpful turnaround trip. She arrived Friday and left Saturday afternoon, but despite its brevity her visit brightened us all up considerably! She agreed to watch the boys last night so we could go out for a "birthday dinner." She's the one who encouraged the boys to wish me a happy day. Plus, she stayed with them all day while we made our first real vehicle purchase as a couple. (Our previous purchases were either at auction over the phone or just Gaines by himself.) We realize we cannot fit three car seats in the back of a Honda Civic, and so now I am officially a mini-van mom. Van shopping took up a considerable part of our day, but I hope to tell you all about it tomorrow when I get a chance to take a picture of the new swagger wagon.

Have I mentioned my parents' have been running a restaurant for a year? Well, my mom brought us some yummy pulled pork to enjoy. BBQ birthday dinner!

She also brought furniture. (More on that later.) We are in full-on nesting mode around here at the Team Redd home.

A highlight of my day: the boys and my mom surprised me with homemade cupcakes, homemade cards, and a familiar-looking kid-crafted bead necklace. I wore it proudly while enjoying my feast of BBQ sandwiches, home fries, and the aforementioned cupcakes. Ethan did the "sprinklers."

The Redd boys serenaded me while I blew out my candles.

Gaines, leading the choir:

Ethan, singing dutifully:

Jacob, pausing mid-note to pose:

Me, enjoying the festivities:

(Question: Do the numbers on the necklace mean that Jacob thinks I am 127 years old?)

(Q2: How did I spend all day with Gaines and it took me until just now to realize that our shirts matched? Oh yeah, we were up late last night planning that one.)

What a fun family I have! I love my boys and can't wait to add another one to the mix. What a year this is going to be!