and party hats too!!

As we began telling Ben my birthday was approaching this year, his expected emphatic cheers for CAKE! were continually followed with, "and party hats, too!"  While we're not quite sure where this excitement started as his parties have never had hats and most he's attended haven't either, the insistence continued.
I remembered that the first birthday party he ever attended at just two weeks old to celebrate friend Cadyn's big 0-1, included uber-cute home-made hats so I got up early on my birthday and got to work. Thankfully Ryan took over the assembly after I had them cut and I pulled together a few stickers and letters for the day's expected guests to be able to decorate their own hats. 

The boys wore their new "Best Friends" shirts at my request

The day started with a visit from Nana and Papa and snacking on butter braid and coffee.  Gifts of 40-day aged all-natural rib eyes from a local butcher and charms for my Pandora bracelet were incredibly thoughtful and right up my alley. 

Ben had a lot of fun helping me open gifts-there's hope!

 

YUM!!

A visit from the Witherspoon clan the day before for Christmas and birthday gift opening meant I was feeling pretty blessed and lucky when the day had just begun.  The fun was really just beginning and Tante arrived shortly after a Craigslist shopper had looked at our dining room table which I was hoping to sell in order to replace for my birthday gift.  It was a successful sale and I'll post about the new table soon. :)
Tante arrived and we headed to the playground to enjoy the 60 degree+ temps and Ryan stayed home and began diner prep.

The playground plus the morning's visitors required a brief snooze.

Neighbors Kelly, Jason and son Joe had invited us over to watch the Bronco play-off game so we headed over there for a couple of hours and a Bronco win!! While I think dinner prep overwhelmed Ryan somewhat, dinner was delicious and gave my husband a renewed appreciation of what I do each day.  MeeMee stopped by for a hug before dinner and Tante stayed and we all enjoyed a relaxing evening capped with viewing of a recent favorite Duck Dynasty episode.  
While there was less excitement and pomp and circumstance than last year's big surprise party, I had a delightful day and look forward to discovering what 34 has in store.  It was hard for me to keep from giving Ryan pointers while cooking (though thank goodness I did,) so next year I think we'll go out or order take-out. :)