Dolla dolla birthday, Ya'll

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband, who turned 32 on Saturday (last week, August 20, another late post, I suck)! The in-laws brought over a fabulously yummy burrito dinner (Adam's fave) and his traditional birthday cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting and M&Ms), and we all just hung out for a while. Very nice and low-key, just like he likes.





I've got to say though, Adam is THE hardest person to shop for! He occasionally mentions stuff he'd like to have, but almost inevitably, he goes out and buys it for himself right before his birthday, Christmas or Father's Day. This year, he mentioned a few times how he wanted new music to listen to while he's traveling and waiting around in airports all the time. I was starting to think about what CDs to get him, and next thing I know, he's downloaded a bunch of songs from iTunes!

I ended up with my go-to gift: the always classy t-shirt. He's a t-shirt hoarder collector so it's usually a good way to go. This year, I picked out a Brazil soccer shirt because thanks to some shoddy googling on my iphone in the middle of Target, I thought his fave professional soccer player, Christiano Ronaldo, played for Brazil. Turns out, that's some other dude named Ronaldo. Oops. He says he likes his shirt anyway, though. I also got him a Sprite shirt, which now makes him the king of soft drink shirts. I got him a Dr. Pepper one last year, and his sister Anna got him a Coke one this year. I guess it's a natural fit, combining his love of soda and his love for t-shirts :)



The boys had already told me they wanted to get him a Lego Star Wars toy because they've all been obsessed with that Wii game since Aidan got it for his birthday. I picked out a Lego set they could all assemble together, which the boys were super excited about.

But that still didn't seem enough, in terms of the effort and thoughtfulness Adam deserves. I wanted to do more to get the boys involved in picking out gifts, so I remembered something I read in a blog not too long ago about her annual tradition of taking her daughter to the dollar store and letting her pick out anything she thinks her daddy would like.

I thought it was a great idea that would work well for the boys. The only rules I gave were that it had to be something they thought daddy would like, or they wanted him to have (aka, they weren't shopping for themselves), and that they weren't allowed to have any input on what the other wanted to give (aka, no bossing your brother around and come up with your own ideas).

They did pretty well staying focused. Along the way, they got seriously tempted by these silly hats...




...and by some 4th of July decorations. Silly boys.



I let them each pick out four things, plus a card. I was hoping for a card that was inappropriately hilarious, like an "It's your birthday, Son" or a "Happy 60th birthday, Grandma!" card, but the one they picked out was actually very appropriate, and Adam loved it (he cracks up at those doggie denture commercials, so this was perfect).



I bet you're dying to know what they came up with. Well, they were just dying to show Adam what they got, too. They were so excited, they could hardly contain themselves. They couldn't even wait until his birthday. When we got home that Friday, we quickly packed their items into gift bags before he got home, and they made a fort they could hide behind to surprise him when he walked in the door.



Of course they weren't hidden at all, and it took them a good 20 seconds after Adam walked in the door to actually jump up and say surprise. Clearly we'll need to work on their "surprise" technique for the future :)

So without further ado, here's what Logan picked out especially for Adam:

* a magic growing snake
* hair cutting scissors (a subtle hint that he and/or daddy need a hair cut?)
* a jar-opening gadget
* a baseball-shaped water bottle



Aidan was a little more practical in his choice of gatorade, but also picked out an "original shammy" and a giant bendy pencil.



But he absolutely takes the win for most hilariously inappropriate gift for a grown man: a glitter baton (or wand, as they boys insist it's called).



I have no idea why Aidan thought Adam needed or would want a baton/wand, but I do know that Adam and I were practically rolling on the floor laughing about it. Aidan said he got it "because Daddy will think it's cool" and Logan agreed. You know what? They were right. He did think it was cool. Not because it was glittery or blue or because it was a baton/wand, but because Aidan picked it out especially for his daddy, with love. Memories were made, the boys felt important, and Adam felt special and loved. Mission accomplished.

As a bonus, Lorelai really loves the glitter wand, too!



I can't wait to do this with Lorelai when she gets old enough! A new tradition has been born :)

Also, I FINALLY took down all of the decorations for Lorelai's party the morning of Adam's birthday, since a Lorelai name banner and pink flower pom-poms don't scream "manly 32nd birthday." But you know what does?



Yep, a Spongebob balloon. Bet you'll never guess who picked that one out! ;)