Life with the Liggetts: My Birthday Weekend

This past Friday was my birthday, and although I wasn't super excited about tacking on another year to my age, I had great time celebrating with all of my very favorite people. I really lucked out this year because Ben took the whole day off from work so that he could celebrate with us, too. He had been talking about taking a day off at some point in the next couple of weeks, so it just kind of worked out that way, but you better believe that I will be asking for this every year from now on -- because an extra day with my two {soon-to-be three} favorite guys is way better than any gift money can buy.

The morning of my birthday, Ben took to Jackson to pick up breakfast and to get the truck washed. The original intent was to let me sleep in, but I'm not as good at that I used to be, and the baby inside my tummy had decided that it was time for a dance party, so instead I just laid there and thought about how blessed I was to get to celebrate another year and how lucky I am to have three wonderful guys in my life -- the two getting me breakfast and the one keeping me company while the others were away. It was definitely a great way to start the day.

After breakfast, we headed to Zilker Park. We let Jackson run around on the playground for a bit and then took him out on his very first boat ride.

He had told us earlier that week that he wanted the canoe to be red, and as luck would have it, that's the exact color of the one that they had available.

I picked up two paddles -- one for Ben, and one for me, but in reality, I figured Jackson would probably sit on my lap the entire time and force Ben to be the solo paddler.

I couldn't have been more wrong though -- because after just a few minutes of sitting on my lap, Jackson decided that he wanted to sit in the middle seat and paddle, too. Obviously, he wasn't the most skilled at paddling, but thankfully, Ben appreciated both the thought and the effort that went into it.

The weather was perfect, and because it was a weekday, Lady Bird Lake was so empty, too.

There were quite a few stand-up paddle boards out there, and Jackson had a hard time understanding why he had to sit when they didn't.

Lou Neff Point {one of mine and Jackson's favorite places along the hike & bike trail}

We were out in the water for about an hour, and on the way back, Ben made the mistake of pointing out how surprised he was that Jackson had never fussed about his life jacket. At that point, he wanted to take it off right then and there, but after Ben convinced him to keep it on, Jackson insisted that we put ours on and buckle them, too.

Needless to say, it was a warm ride back to the boat rental place for this chubby pregnant girl.

On the way home, we stopped at Schlotzsky's for lunch. We had planned to just go through the drive-thru, but because they didn't have one, we went in, and I quickly remembered why we typically don't go out to eat. After downing our lunch as quickly as possible {all while Jackson jumped up and down in the booth and blew raspberries on the window}, we went home for naps. That evening, Kyle and Steve came over to watch Jackson, and we went to Uncle Julio's for dinner with the Sotos and the Changs. As much as we love our own kids and each other's, Cheryl and I agree that it's nice to get away without them every now and then to enjoy a meal that does not have to be eaten at lightning speed or include any child-wrangling.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Jackson was having a party of his own -- complete with not one but TWO ice cream cones and bathtub paint.

Yesterday, we went to Georgetown for Ben's company's family picnic. It was at Reunion Ranch, and they went all out -- multiple playgrounds, bouncy/water slides, paddle boats, bingo, horse/pony rides, a dunking booth, a bunch of construction equipment {Jackson's favorite part!}, bingo, BBQ, snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn, ice cream, funnel cakes, and more! Because of Jackson's nap, he was only able to stay about an hour or so, but thankfully Kyle and Steve offered to take him back to their house so that Ben and I could stay all day.

Ben had volunteered to spend a little bit of time in the dunking booth, but unfortunately Jackson had already left at that point. I thought his employees would be lined up for miles at the opportunity to dunk him, but it turned out that this particular event was a hit mostly with the kids.

He was such a good sport and went completely under each time {mostly because the kids thought it was hilarious} -- despite the fact that the water was super murky and grass filled after the kids had spent a couple of hours dunking each other prior to Ben getting in. He later told me that the only thing grosser than the color of the water was the fact that it smelled like cotton candy, too.

Best action shot EVER.

This morning, we went to church and spent some time playing in the backyard. Having kids definitely has it perks, and just think -- one day soon, we'll have another sweet little boy to push me on the swings, too.

This evening, my mom had us over for dinner to celebrate my birthday. She invited Holly, Nelson, and John, too, and of course, Jackson loved having an audience to entertain.

Although this looks like a drainage feature, it's actually a stage. And it's right next to Mimi's house, which is perfect for our little ham.

While playing inside, Jackson spent a great deal of time hiding under his foam blocks. We would pretend to look for him and say things like "where'd Jackson go?" and "did he go outside?", and after awhile, Jackson would holler out "outside" every time that we'd ask "where did Jackson go?" So funny and so, so cute. Even Holly got in on the hiding fun.

Every year, Ben gives me a hard time about the number of times that we celebrate my birthday, but in my opinion, there's no such thing as too many times, and I think Jackson would agree.

Tonight's bedtime was a great way to wrap up the weekend. Ben and I were just as tired as Jackson was {if not more}, but this little piece of family time is often the sweetest -- even though Ben and I both know that Jackson only uses his sweetness to milk the whole routine. I mean, seriously, what bedtime routine is complete without a couple of selfies that include both Corduroy and Mommy with a smiley face sticker on her nose?