Daddy's Birthday

We celebrated Daddy in all the best ways last week, dedicating most of the week and weekend to making him feel special.  If you haven't gathered this by now, birthdays extend well beyond the actual day of birth around here. :)  We recreated activities that have become traditions we anticipate every year, and sprinkled in some new little treats and surprises to throw things off a bit.  Beau's birthday falls right at the beginning of summer, and always becomes this fun kickoff week to this very happy season of ours.  Sunshine and lunch on an outdoor patio, presents after work, and cake, of course.  This year, a savory homemade chocolate one with a cup brewed coffee and basil infused buttercream.  

A slew of pictures to document Daddy's (34th) birthday week...

Beau had a late appointment the night prior to his birthday, so the rest of us used that time to do a little painting.  It was so windy out that night (hence the bottles of washer fluid bordering our paper), and we had just as much fun chasing our paper plates of paint than we had actually painting!  We also got lots of giggles watching Mila paint with her butt.  It was a half hour of sheer chaos and possibly took more time to set up than it did to paint, but it was well worth it when it created the perfect backdrop to our birthday boy's spread.   

Rest assured Grandma, every drop of paint came out of that onesie. :)

Thursday morning, we picked up Beau at his office and took him for lunch.  Mila was teething so bad this morning and was an absolute bear for most of the day.  Thankfully, Beau chose the outdoor patio at Newtons, so our chaos didn't cause too much of a distraction for the other noonday lunchies.  Mila was only happy with a salt shaker in her hand, we haphazardly ordered enough food for an army, and Cruz asked the waiter if he could order some booty, but we made the most of it and decided maybe next year's birthday lunch would be at McDonalds. :)

While the kids napped, I made Beau's favorite chocolate chip cookies and set up a little birthday spread with a few surprises I couldn't wait to give him.  Jordan helped me pick out a few different craft beers he would love, and I finally bit the bullet and splurged on a new guitar Beau has been obsessing over for quite awhile.  Now, can we please go back to dress shirts and beer mugs?!?!

Cruz most definitely helped make his daddy's birthday special with a few surprises of his own.  For the fourth year now, Cruz and I make a trip to Dollar Tree where I give Cruz $10 and let him roam around the store for as long as he wants with the goal of picking out a special gift for his dad.  I remember every year, not only what he picked out, but our conversations, his thought process, and how he matures a little more with every new year.  

This year, Cruz proved to know his dad well.  He picked out a wire bristle brush the grill, two packs of gummy bears, a pack of floss sticks, a package of Doritos with the Incredible Hulk on them, and two styrofoam swords, "because Daddy will love to sword fight with me."  He completed his gift with a gift bag and a birthday card, fit for a grandson instead of a dad.  I agree with Cruz, the pictures were far more fitting for our dad than the adult cards. :) 

After a really fun night with friends Saturday night, we spent Sunday with my family.  Beau got to spend a little time with his Big Green Egg and smoked a big ol' brisket.  I made potato salad and cucumbers, and we had fruit, baked beans, and big glasses of lemonade.  We hung out on the back deck all afternoon long.  And we ended the day with this baby, an absolutely delicious chocolate cake with a basil-infused buttercream frosting.  Beau isn't much of a cake fan, but he's a sucker for unique food pairings and this cake sold him. 

And Beau wasn't the only one sold on this cake...

It was the perfect way to spend the day.  And while you can definitely see some baby grass starting to pop in our backyard, we aren't quite there yet.  The kids got creative and Beau made it rain for them for awhile.  We await the day we can walk through green grass and not mud out there!

Happy Birthday to our favorite.  We love making you feel special because you make us feel that way every single day.