Daddy Turns 40!

For those of my friends who have children, please forgive the term "daddy" in my title because I am not referring to MY father, but my kids' father. Since this blog is for our kids to learn about our adventures in parenting - I will refer to Chris as "daddy"... and MY "daddy" as "Papa," which is what Kennedy and Brady call him.

So daddy just turned 40! If you know Chris, then you know he is NOT into birthdays...at...all. It's not that he doesn't like having a birthday. And it's not that he's in denial. He just doesn't like people to make a big fuss.

If you know me, then you know I LOVE to make a big fuss. Sometimes we mix like oil and water. This is one of those situations. But seriously - 40 is a BIG birthday! I didn't want to be tacky and obnoxious with "Over the Hill" stuff because 40 is NOT OLD. And besides, he's got a young, blonde 32-year-old wife! Haha!

Birthday morning, Kennedy and I decorated the kitchen, put out our gifts and snuck out of the house before dawn to get his favorite Starbucks drink. Kennedy was so excited to help me get things together for her daddy. The night before, she helped wrap presents and begged to keep them in her room because ..."Daddy would never find them there!" I agreed because who on earth could turn down such giddiness?! When I put her to bed that night, I told her I would be waking her up so we could get daddy's favorite morning coffee. My alarm went off at 5:45. I threw on some clothes and went to Kennedy's room and she was already awake and bouncing with excitement!

So we had our family celebration that morning and enjoyed the company of some friends that evening. Honestly, I think Chris would have been happy with just that. But mama doesn't know how to celebrate small. So the next weekend, we invited our closest friends over for a crawfish boil. It was soooooooooo good! Being in Louisiana has grown on Chris because he really likes crawfish! Crawfish + corn + potatoes + beer + his favorite dessert = THE best birthday party!

This picture makes me fall in love with this sweet face all over again. He is so handsome and so wonderful to me and is the BEST father to our kids. I am extremely lucky to have him. Oh - and you see that cute little button? That's his baby picture! It looks exactly like Brady! I had some buttons made for everyone to wear... they had very embarrassing pictures from Chris' mullet-pimply teen years. Did I mention he is a good sport?

About that favorite dessert - Boston Cream Pie - I ordered this one. I tried to make one the first year we were married and FAILED miserably. I will never try again. It was awful and took me two days to make it. That was the year I learned there is a difference between baking powder and baking soda. No blonde jokes people!

Chris' mom (Memere, as the kids know her) makes this dessert and I will never be able to live up to those expectations. It's just NOT possible. So I called around and there is one bakery in town that makes it. He said it was pretty good (I'm not a big fan, so I had one bite), but I'm sure it doesn't come close to his mom's. That's okay.... it's the effort, right?
One final funny picture of Brady eyeballing this crawfish. He wasn't quite sure what to think, but I just couldn't help but post this photo. Right after I took the picture, he ran off to play.

Happy Birthday daddy!!