Birthday Love

The Rowe household treated me to a nice birthday morning, with a pancake breakfast made by Ethan and cards and gifts from him and the kids.  When I first awoke, the girls were watching tv in the living room and didn't seem to notice my arrival downstairs.  It wasn't until I hopped into the shower that I suddenly became Mrs. Popular.  Julia sat on the toilet seat to chat with me, and Madeleine, hardly able to contain her excitement over my birthday, came to the bathroom doorway to shout things out to me.

MADELEINE: Mommy...it's your BIRTHDAY!
ME: I know!
MADELEINE: And...your PRESENTS are on the BIG TABLE.
ME: Thank you!


(Good thing she pointed that out.  I'm not sure I would have spotted them myself):

MADELEINE: (hopping up and down in excitement.)  Mommy!  I was HOPPING AROUND in the BATHROOM!
ME: I saw!

Probably the best gift of all was the banner that Ethan and the girls had collaborated on for me:

I mean, this banner really has it all.  It has the Lorax, truffula trees, a flying monkey, a flying purple banana (all according to Julia), as well as the names of the everyone in our household, and: GET THIS.  Numbers from 1-36 all written BACKWARDS.  I'll forgive Julia for giving me two extra years beyond the age I'm turning today, because I'm no dope and I can read the hidden symbolic message here.  I mean, I assume the backwards numbers are an indication that the clock is moving backwards and I don't look like I'm aging AT ALL, right?  It has NOTHING to do with the fact that she generally tends to draw her numbers backwards, I'm sure. 

To add to this wonderful display of home-made love, Julia has been drawing pictures for me all morning, warming my heart with her sweet love of giving.  Madeleine has also been drawing pictures all morning, and really, nothing says "I love Mommy" more than black demon eyes and faces:

We're in the midst of planning an outing for the afternoon, either into Boston or Cambridge, so it promises to be a birthday afternoon full of adventure!