Birthday 2012

I am still behind on one post for May, and it is past when I said I was going to go to bed, but I really want to write this before the birthday high goes away.  I have always been a big birthday person, and don't really understand those people who refuse to celebrate their birthdays.  Obviously the older you get, the overall less exciting they become, especially when you have to work all day on your birthday.  Fortunately mine typically falls on Memorial Day weekend, although I was on call for it for 4 years in a row during residency.

This year just happened to be a great birthday.  Although I was in ATL the weekend previously for the AUA, I knew I wouldn't have time to see any of my friends and so we planned to visit over Memorial Day weekend for one last throw down in the ATL before moving back to the northeast.  Plus it was going to be my birthday.  The weekend, and my birthday, was a perfect balance of family time, visiting with friends, and personal time.  I mean, when your day starts out with a run with your friend, followed by lazing around for a couple of hours, then visiting with same friend and her kids and your daughter at said friends country club and pool while the husbands golf, then back to other friends house for more pool and then dinner cook out and cake, what can be better?  Plus I got to go to the mall for a couple of hours with Autumn sans kids the day before and managed to get a pedicure on Monday after returning home.  Mike got to get in 18 holes of golf and we spent greater than 75% of the weekend outside.  Boom.

It was very sad to leave the ATL.  It has always been my home away from home, not only because it was the first city I lived when I moved away, but also because I have continued to travel back since a lot of my friends still live there, on almost a yearly if not more basis.  While it can sometimes make for hectic visits trying to cram in seeing everyone, it always feels like going home.  Now with baby No 2. on the way and everyone having more people in their family to make traveling more cumbersome, the realization that the amount of time between visits with all these people is going to get longer is very sad.  Fortunately, since I have been friends with everyone we saw for greater than 10 years, I don't worry that we will lose touch.

Lots of pics, and after going through them I get to relish in the fact that in none of them can you really tell I am 6 months pregnant!  And trust me, I do look it.  Just maybe not from the chest up (although the chest is an indication of said pregnancy).

Lunch with Lisa, Noelle and Andrew Chatigny at the DCC.  We were living the high life!

Chelsea Swann chillin' in her chair. 

Proud new Mama!  Jen (Waters) Fair and Maggie (10 wks old)

You can't tell but Autumn is due a month after me! 

This picture is in purely for the hilariousness of the farmer's tan.  Someone has been getting in a lot of golf...

Although Maggie was a peanut, this bathing suit was a few months too big for her.

The Fair family

The girls and their girls.  Amazing we all had baby girls first!  (Autumn is expecting a boy, we don't know and Jen is still recovering from Maggie)

Autumn made me a birthday cake.  Unfortunately it sort of fell apart.  It was quite funny, mostly because if it had been me making the cake, it would have been guaranteed that something in the kitchen would have gotten broken because of the hissy fit I would have thrown.  While Autumn was very disappointed, she held it together and it was a great laugh (nevermind it still tasted awesome).  I can't remember the last time I had a birthday cake, so I was thrilled.

I mean, it really fell apart.

Our family birthday celebration at home.  I wasn't digging at Mike about not having a birthday cake.  He is so great about birthdays and goes all out, but I would never expect him to bake a cake.  He always picks up a little something though and this time was no exception.  Those chocolate goodies were yummy! (PS my hair do' is an Ellie special after she "braids" my hair)

I wasn't the only one enjoying the "special treat"

Me opening my birthday presents.  At this juncture Ellie was actually asking me if I knew what it was.

New stationery with my name on it!  Yeah!

There was a recent casualty in the kitchen (not by me, but Mike really likes to curse the electric stove because he constantly leaves the burners on when they are on low.  Sometimes the mitt catches on fire when that happens...)

Now my turn!