The Big 3 0!

Last week I celebrated my 30th Birthday, it was a great day!  Paul was able to have the day off, so we enjoyed the day as a family :)  I woke up to coffee and breakfast from my amazing husband, we had talked about going to this little "children's zoo" in Cedar Rapids called Old MacDonald's Farm, the city calls it a children's zoo, but that is a huge stretch :)  It is still fun, and free :).  After we were up and getting ready Paul asked if I wanted to go to the farm or the real zoo, and I opted for the real zoo!  About an hour away is a nice small zoo in the quad cities, and I LOVE going to any zoo :)  So we finished getting ready and set off to the zoo (I will share pictures later).  It was a gorgeous day out, sunny and warm!  Emily loved all the animals, she would follow them with her eyes, and squeal in delight and laugh at some!  She really seemed to like the black bear, elephants, and giraffes the most though.  This zoo is the perfect size for little kids, we did the whole thing in about three hours and that included a break for lunch.  We were able to take our time walking around and just enjoying the day!  On the way home as we were getting into town Paul asked me if I wanted to go look for a new van!  And we were able to find one!  We had been looking for awhile for a better family vehicle, we wanted a SUV or a mini van.  Something that down the road we can comfortably put more than one child in :)  We had not had much luck, we wanted something used but not too used (something that would last several years), and a set price range.  We lucked out and found a 2004 Honda Odyssey, we have, had it for about a week now and I love it!  It has so much room, it is so easy to get Emily in and out of her car seat, when she is very fussy I can sit in back with her while Paul drives, I can comfortably breastfeed Emily, I could go on and on!  But its the little things that are really nice it has tented windows so Emily does not have the sun in her eyes anymore!  I wish I could have got a picture of her riding in the old car on a really sunny day she would ride with her eyes shut and yell, or look down and yell out - she just seemed really annoyed.  It was cute, but I felt bad and the windows of my car were too small for the pull down shades :(

Spending the day with my family was enough of a gift, but I got to go do something I really enjoy, Paul took me out to get some things for me (clothes), and a new van!  It was great to turn 30!