happy happy

Today marks a particularly serendipitous day for me.  
Not only is it Stefan's birthday, but it is also my parent's 30th wedding anniversary.  
Two rather important events for me. :)

My parents have celebrated anniversaries in all sorts of glorious fashion.  One year, my dad surprised my mom with a mystery trip to Hawaii that came with one of her favorite things: A Plan with Activities.  Every second of every day was planned out.  (We don't like downtime in our family.)  While they could have gone anywhere or done anything to celebrate this pretty big marriage milestone, they decided to go to - wait for it - Indiana.

Don't get me wrong, I like all good Midwestern states, but their choice seemed a little anti-climatic for the couple that has ridden camels in Egypt, hiked the Inca Trail, and climbed the Great Wall of China.  Still, they decided that all they really needed to celebrate was each other (and some champagne and good golf courses, which apparently Indiana has).

Similarly, I offered Stefan all sorts of exciting options for his b-day celebration including getting a sitter and going out for a fancy dinner with decadent wine, but he couldn't imagine celebrating his day without his new favorite little lady.  All he wanted was to stay in for a home-cooked meal where he could have Samantha by his side.

One of the things that has been most surprising to me about parenthood is how incredible it is to watch the person you love fill their new role as a parent.  Per usual, Stefan took the job very seriously and has exceeded all expectations of what it means to be a father.  Watching him light up as he holds Samantha or calms her down (or changes her diaper!) and watching her as she settles into his comforting arms, makes me fall even more in love with him and this new stage of life for us as a family.

While I could go on and on about how wonderful he is as a father, a husband, and a friend, I'll stop here.  Stefan calls these types of posts my "thank-you" posts and claims they are not nearly as interesting as those where I share my latest mishaps and misfortunes (coming right at ya tomorrow!), but alas - I couldn't help myself in pushing the sappy-meter to shout into the blogosphere how happy I am for my wonderful parents and how much I love that child-at-heart husband of mine.

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad!  Thank you for teaching us kids what it looks like to be an incredible husband/wife, parent and grandparent (!!).

with Samantha

And happy birthday Stefan!  We can't wait to celebrate with you tonight! 

xoxo

KK