We celebrated with a date night, courtesy of my SIL, Katelyn watching Cooper at home. I wore a skirt and top, my hair freshly curled while Cooper rummaged through the bathroom cabinet at my feet, and lots of discussion about how this was a special date for just mama and daddy, but we'd take him on another date soon. In the car, we listened to music we loved when we started dating (circa 2010ish), all those years ago. Our reservations were at a new-to-us restaurant, not far from the lake...

His birthday was at the end of January, on a Tuesday. We celebrated with his family the weekend before, they came over for gifts, and I baked two cakes (a grain free almond cake and a kladdkaka). We lit a candle on his slice and sang, and Cooper was fascinated by the candlelight.It wasn't a fancy celebration this year, but most days, he'd prefer to have a nice meal at home and a cozy evening, tucked in...

As I wrote in my 2019 year in review post, "Once this is done, I can look forward, with clearer eyes, a lighter heart. I so often feel lighter from observing the heavy pieces one last time before putting them to the side, emptying my hands in order to take up the next year in our life." I still resonate with that statement. Knowing that some things are meant to be set aside before proceeding and some might need to be carried on a bit longer...

Saturday, two days before our actual anniversary, after lunch, we grabbed some coffee to-go and then dropped Cooper off at my in-law's with anything he would need for an afternoon and early evening with his Aunt Katelyn and grandma and grandpa (including his swim trunks for the kiddie pool ;). We drove to a local garden, and since that was busy with a wedding and guests, we parked at a nearby park and just walked. We walked around the park and into interesting, hilly neighborhoods, taking turns sipping on our shared iced decaf latte (we're one-cup-of-regular-coffee-a-day-folks these days). He wore a t-shirt and shorts, I wore a t-shirt dress...

On Sunday, Nicholas' actual birthday, his family came over for cake and Katelyn and I stopped by a local coffee shop for coffee for everyone. Cooper took a few really good naps, and we watched basketball on TV, Nicholas opened his gifts, and we just visited. And it was lovely.What a year we've spent together...