and then there were none.

On the Fourth of July I noticed there was only one egg left. And the next day, none. So sad. It made me sad for Mr. and Mrs. Robin. And it made me sad for a few other reasons that I won't delve into.

38 on the 28th.

I had a great birthday yesterday! The day was SO much better than the day before. Max even went to his swim lesson without any fuss. I asked him if he'd go to his lesson for me; if he'd do that for me as my birthday gift. And the little wise guy said, "It's not your birthday present. I'll just go." Smiles. I enjoyed coffee and a mani/pedi with a good friend while Max was at Vacation Bible School. It was a fun time.
This was the year of the camera related gifts, as I received a fun new camera strap cover, a polarizing filter, a new battery (I was in need of a back-up!), and a small travel charger. All just perfect for my trip to Denver in a few weeks. Max and I had pizza for dinner. This momma was not about to cook on her birthday! And my husband even surprised me with a small chocolate cheesecake. Oh, so very rich, but yummy!
Tonight I'm headed to the Alison Krauss concert with a friend. It was supposed to be a couples night, but her husband had last-minute work travel, and my husband just offered to stay home and save us the babysitter money. (Plus, while he would go with, I'm not sure folk music is his favorite.) At this point I'm just praying it doesn't rain!
Update on Mr. & Mrs. Robin: There are now three eggs in the nest! She laid one egg a day for three days in a row. I told my husband I though it was quite brazen of that Mrs. Robin to go laying that many eggs right there in front of me when I can't even produce one good, mature egg of my own! :) He thinks it's good sign and will bring us some baby luck. We shall see. (Hope it doesn't mean I'll have triplets.)
I think I will always miss having my mom cook my favorite meal and bake a cake for my birthday. I guess that's the kid in me that keeps me young at heart. It is very much a tradition I would like to continue for my family. Birthdays are special days. They come just once a year. I hope Max will always feel like his day was all about him and his parents smothering him with extra love on that day. I hope he will feel as completely, utterly and unconditionally loved as my parents make me feel.
And thanks to you kind souls out there who sent me birthday wishes! It was so very sweet of you. Thirty-eight is pretty good so far.
A.
Post Edit - My drivers license photo - hideous! Just awful. I may be getting my photo retaken in a few months. (Ok, this is actually post edit #2. I had to correct a grammatical error.)

nest.

Last Sunday afternoon I noticed a Robin had started building a nest on a planter on the deck off of our bedroom. I watched for awhile as Mr. Robin flew back and forth, gathering grass and debris for his nest. I went about my day and check on the progress every time I was in our room. It was really quite remarkable to see this little engineer's work. As I told my husband, "He's built a nice little place for his lady bird to have babies." The nest sat empty for a day and I wondered if it was really going to be used or not. My husband's reasoning - the bird was out looking for a chick (pun intended) now that he had a nice nest built. I mean really, what self-respecting guy is going to try to find a chick without first building a really great home to show-off to her, right? (Good thinking husband. Good thinking.)

On Tuesday morning I noticed Mrs. Robin (I'm assuming it was the Mrs.) chilling in her nest, all fluffed-up. I went about my morning and later, when she was gone, I took a peek and found one lovely, little egg. The perfect shade of Tiffany blue. I'm excited to watch this little family life unfold right before our eyes. I think it will be a great experience for Max to see how birds go about creating their family. I will keep you updated on Mr. & Mrs. Robin's little family as it progresses.
Happy weekend! (I just couldn't wait till Monday to post this one...)
A