Multitude Monday #3: Birthday Edition

My little Anne had her first birthday yesterday. We woke up to a world covered in snow, and it snowed on and off all day. The result? Lots of people were snowed in (or sick), so it was a small gathering for her first birthday party. But it was a good crowd (with the focus on "good"), and I was thankful for those friends and family who braved the weather conditions to help celebrate a baby's birthday.

(OK, so my cake-decorating skills need some work.
Fortunately, Miss Anne didn't seem to mind!)

Continuing my gratitude list, here are some things I'm thankful for today:

#28: First birthdays

#29: Chocolate buttercream frosting (Anne is thankful for this, too.)

#30: The sight of a one-year-old eating her first birthday cake

#31: The first snow of the season

#32: My crazy Yankee (Ohio) husband who never wears a coat

#33: My sweet niece, Ella, and the friendship she's already begun to develop with Baby Anne

#34:: Chicken and sausage gumbo

#35: A big brother who comes through in a pinch

#36: The way the snow brings everything--particularly the tree branches outside my bedroom window--into such sharp relief

#37: Used baby clothes

#38: Digital cameras

#39: Camelbak water bottles

#40: Warm, heavy sweatshirts

#41: Time to snuggle with my husband and watch part of a movie (This weekend, it was the last half-hour of "The Godfather"--we started watching it quite a while ago!)

#42: Getting lost for weeks in a thick masterpiece of a novel (I just started reading Anna Karenina again this week, and will probably be reading it well into the new year.)

#43: Time to play piano

#44: A sweet two-year-old niece who shows an interest in piano (speaking of piano ...)

#45: Early-morning snuggle-and-nurse sessions with my baby girl. I'm appreciating them even more now that she's beginning to wean herself.

#46: Pop-up books

#47: My little brother (actually, half-brother), Jonathan, who celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday. We didn't meet until we were adults, but I knew, from the moment he first tried to "mute" me with the TV remote control (the first time we met, no less), that he really was my brother. I love you, kid.

I have a few other friends with December 12 birthdays:

#48: Karen ("POG"), whom I met through the online hiking community over ten years ago. It's hard to believe we've known each other that long. She met her sweetie, Ed, at a Walkin' Jim concert years ago; Dan and I were planning to go, so I invited my friend Karen, and Dan invited his friend Ed ... and the rest is history. I'm so glad we could play a small part in her happiness.

#49: Mrs. Shirley. I just love Mrs. Shirley. She's one of my favorite people in this whole world, and has been for, oh, about 40 years. She's one of the most musically talented people I know, and she has played the organ at First Baptist Church in Plaquemine, Louisiana (where I grew up) for who knows how many years. She always makes me smile, and I always look forward to seeing her when I make my (unfortunately) rare visits to Louisiana.