I have dreaded this for a while, but it happened anyway. On August 31, 2016 I turned 40 years old. Burke and the boys took very good care of me, my parents were in town, and some friends "kidnapped" me for dessert/drinks after a back to school event. So if it HAD to happen, it was as enjoyable as possible.
Burke had meeting during the day, so the boys and I went to the beach.
My parents closed on their new house on 8/29 and met with a designer to discuss renovation ideas on my birthday. What a gift!
Burke moved mountains to make this cake. Whoa! Chocolatey and delicious!
Serious business.
We continued the celebration in Chicago on 9/2. For my birthday, Burke made me a reservation for a pedicure at Bliss Spa. Lucky for me, my favorite NYC spa has a Chicago location. It was lovely.
Family picture at Cloud Gate a.k.a. The Bean.
We met Steve for dinner and all things Italian at Eataly.
Enjoying gelato.
We spent the night downtown, which we rarely do. That was a fun treat. The boys enjoyed the swimming pool on the 27th floor.
In the morning, we took an architecture boat tour. It was only okay for various reasons, but we got to see a few interesting things and learned a few things, so not a total bust.
Marina City is my favorite Chicago building complex.
Love the architecture and concept.
Never saw this place before... Merchandise Mart. Once the largest building in the world with four million square feet of floor space. An impressive structure.
While I was getting a pedicure, Ryan spotted this transparent building, and Burke and the boys took a moment to contemplate. It's all glass, and its reflections make it look invisible or holographic or something. Some sort of optical illusion/mirage vibe going on. I did a little research, but was not able to find the name of this building.
Then we headed out toward Joey & Christine's to celebrate Caleb & Emily's birthdays. We were almost an hour late to the party, because I had the wrong start time in my head. Oops! Luckily, Joey and I had the perfect text conversation to reroute quickly, and Caleb & Emily said they forgive me.
You remember Caleb is my birthday buddy.
He turned 3 on August 31, 2016.
Emily is also pretty much my birthday buddy.
She turned ONE on September 1, 2016.
Happy FIRST birthday, sweet girl!
She was interested in the cake, but tentative about the sticky frosting and general texture.
Very civilized of this baby to use a fork!
Then she walked around in her pretty party dress, holding her mommy's hand, waving hello and smiling for everyone. It was adorable and memorable!
Birthday kiddos and their awesome, caring parents!
So, happy [milestone] birthdays to us!
