Birthday Week

This weekend we celebrated both of Jace's aunts birthdays!  Mandi's birthday celebration was Saturday.  We headed to get dinner and drinks at Toast Wine Bar in Minneapolis and then went to Acme Comedy Club.  We love Mandi and it was great to be able to go out and celebrate her birthday with all of her friends this year.  Last year we weren't able to make it because I was overdue and could barely walk :)   Our friends Alli and Zach came over to hang out here with Jace for the evening.  It was great to hear that he had alot of fun playing while we were gone and went to bed easily for them.  I feel so lucky that we have a child who is comfortable around other people and very greatful that he's transitioned into such an awesome sleeper!  It's great to have some time off of mommy and daddy duty and get out on the town.  The comedy club was alot of fun, but by the time the show was over we were both exhausted and it was time for Grandma and Grandpa Broze to head home to bed.  :)

On Sunday we gained an hour of sleep for daylight savings time, too bad Jace didn't have the same clock!  It was nice to get that extra hour to get things done around the house before Jace and I left for Dana's birthday lunch, though.  We met my sister in law Dana, my brother Nate, and my nephew Micah at Buca's in St. Paul and split some amazing italian food.  My mom and youngest brother met us for dessert afterwards. 

We told the server we were also celebrating Jace's birthday and he got a free brownie sundae.  I was planning on eating it for him, since he hasn't had any dairy yet.  (He had adverse reactions to dairy when I would eat it while breastfeeding, so I eliminated it from my diet and never introduced it to his.  He is going to be re-checked for an allergy to milk protein at his 12 month check up, but I've optimistically been thinking he's over the allergy and can finally go ahead and eat a full range of foods.)  But, of course, eating the sundae in front of him felt mean so I gave him a few bites and he loved it! He couldn't stop laughing and screaming after he ate it. (Must have been his first sugar rush!)  He hasn't shown any signs of a bad reaction, which is GREAT news.  I'm soooo ready for him to be able to eat food that has butter, cheese or any other milk ingredient in it.  Right now his diet is so limited that I feel like he's not getting enough important nutrients.  We took the below picture before the sundae came, and as you can see he's a little less than enthusiastic to be sitting at the table watching everyone (including 10 month old Micah) eating cheesey pasta without him.

Now that the weekend is wrapping up we're looking ahead to our busy week.  Tate will be heading to Charlotte, NC for work.  It will be great for him to be able to check out the area for the first time, since it's one of the areas we are considering living.  He has traveled exclusively to Florida for work so far, so this will be a nice change of scenery.  Jace and I will be spending the week the way we typically do, with Micah during the day and at work at night... but we will also be busy preparing for his birthday party on Saturday.  Jace's birthday is coming up fast, and I'm getting really excited to celebrate this day with our family and friends!  The first year is such an exciting time for parents... you learn how deeply you can love this little person, what it is like to really worry, and how exciting the smallest accomplishments can be... oh, and how much even the smallest amount of sleep and alone time can mean to you!