10.2.16 - Jack's birthday

Jack's birthday was a very pleasant day. Everything just kind of lined up.

He did work in the morning (he opted to), and he got home around 10:30am. After a quick shower and shave (since we'd probably be taking pictures, he said), he was ready and he, Clara, and I went downtown to Pieology for dinner. We found a pretty close space and walked in the (FINALLY) cool weather to the restaurant.

Oh and we got free parking!

Even though it was right near lunch time, I guess because it's a Sunday the place was empty. We walked right up to order, which was great because I was very hungry already. I really love Pieology - it's inexpensive and it lets Jack and I satisfy our entirely different pizza tastes. I almost always get pesto, mozarrella & ricotta, black olive, pineapple, sausage, and chicken. I think the only similar things Jack gets to mine are the cheeses and the sausage, and his is spicier.

Anyway, we sat in a corner of the restaurant and managed to keep Clara preoccupied by putting bits of our pizza toppings on her stroller shelf so she was continually eating. We also gave her her own straw to play with. Even so she wanted to get out and hang out with us at the table, which is tricky because she wants to drink from the soda straw and she can't really handle it. But overall she was very well behaved and we got to eat our delicious lunch pretty peacefully.

Right when we were done and about to walk the short distance back to the car, it started raining. This sounds like a downside but I was delighted. I had been checking the weather every day for about a week to make sure it was still predicting rain for Jack's birthday. I hadn't been in or seen rain in Sacramento in months, not even sure how long. So I was very happy to get caught in the rain when it finally did happen, and it smelled wonderful. Clara stuck both of her hands out from under her stroller cover to feel it.

It wasn't raining that lightly either. Fortunately we'd parked under a huge tree that gave us some cover while we put Clara in her carseat and put the stroller away, and then it continued to rain during our drive to Gunther's ice cream. (The drive ended up being the "scenic route" as Jack initially went the wrong way and we didn't notice, but again I didn't mind because it gave us more time to be driving around in the rain.)

The rain also made Gunther's even more pleasant, because it was pretty empty. It may be the first time we've gone to Gunther's and walked right up to order--there's usually at least a line to the door, if not out the door and around the corner. I got a scoop of mocha fudge and Jack got one scoop of maple nut and one of, of course, pumpkin, which he'd been waiting for. I'm always glad I only get one scoop because the scoops are pretty large and it takes me awhile to finish even that. While we were waiting for our orders we got seats right next to the window and we could watch it continue to rain on and off. Clara fell asleep on Jack's shoulder and, if I remember right, stayed asleep the rest of the time we were at Gunther's, which made eating our ice cream easy. As usual Jack finished his two scoops before I'd finished my one. I'd been calorie counting recently and had taken the day off, so all this pizza and ice cream left me very very full. But happy.

We came back home and Jack took a nap. I dozed on the couch briefly while Clara was still asleep in her carseat, then hung out with her in the living room and let Jack sleep for about two hours or so. As a parent, I now view naps as one of the greatest gifts. :-P

Then our nanny, Beth, came to pick up Clara for some bonus Sunday hours so that Jack and I could hang out together without interruption. I had already bought us some junk food snacks (kettle cooked potato chips, candy bars, and Mom had sent Jack chocolate fudgey cookie bars) and we watched the last three episodes of the first season of The Last Kingdom, which Jack really wanted me to see. You know, we used to make food and watch a few episodes of Netflix together pretty regularly, pre-children, but now it's a special treat. Anyway it was fun.

Afterward we drove to Folsom to pick up Clara, and when we got back we Skyped with Don and Merlene for awhile.

Overall it was a very pleasant day.