On the morning of my 37th birthday I woke up to the sound of Annie’s little feet plodding across the floor toward me. She was juggling a couple presents in her arms, and Heather trailed close behind whispering for her not to drop them. It was very sweet.

We had a nice present opening session in bed, and I made out with a couple good looking sweaters and some CDs I wanted. My favorite present, though, was an electric blanket! Since I get cold at night like a little old lady (Heather’s words, not mine), it made my day. It’s funny, the older you get the less you want toys, and the more you want practical gifts. At breakfast I mentioned my new, beloved electric blanket to my brother-in-law (who has a few years on me) and he told me that he wants a new toilet for his next birthday! That’s a little too practical for my tastes, but who knows? Maybe in a few years that’ll suddenly sound like an incredible present.

Though Heather wasn’t up to doing as much as she’d originally planned, we did get to go to the movies during the afternoon to see Flight. We didn’t just go to just any movie theater, though. We went to this new theater near us, Cinepolis, which bills itself as a “luxury” theater. They charge a whopping $20 per ticket, but have waiters who bring food and drink right to your recliner – that’s right – you watch the movie chilling in a leather Lazy Boy style recliner!

recliners at the movies

I loved watching the movie with my feet up, but I didn’t love the snoring of the older gentleman next to me who got a little too relaxed in his recliner.

When we got home Heather’s mom, Linda, had made my favorite dinner, and Heather pulled an ice cream cake out of the freezer. I hadn’t had an ice cream cake since the surprise party Heather threw me seven years ago, and had mentioned wanting another one in passing, so that was awesome.

The cutest thing, though, was that Annie got to blow out the candles with me. You see, at every birthday party Annie has gone to in the last six months or so she’s desperately wanted to blow out the candles, but since none of those parties were for her, I had to tell her she couldn’t. At one party she REALLY wanted to blow out the candles, so to cushion the blow I said, “You can’t blow out the candles today, but when it’s my birthday, I’ll let you help me blow them out. Sound good?” This, believe it or not, actually appeased her, and at every party since then, whenever she got itchy about blowing out the candles, I reminded her that she could help me when my birthday came. Well, yesterday came around and she didn’t forget.

“Dada? I’m gonna help you blow out the candles, right?”

And so she did:

helping daddy blow out his candles
Good work, kid.

I know Heather felt bad about not being able to give me the all-out birthday weekend she planned, but I was appreciative that she was able to do as much as she did considering how poorly she felt. I had a very nice birthday, and in the end the only thing I want for my birthday is for this pregnancy to advance as well as possible. With any luck this time next year I’ll have another little buddy to help me blow out my (many) candles.