Celebrating My Baby's 23rd Birthday In Ohio

Never in a million years would I have ever thought I would be celebrating any of my children's birthdays anywhere but in the south.  However, as fate would have it, I found myself far, far from my beloved south...in Ohio to be exact.

After driving (WHAT were we thinking?!) about 1200 miles to surprise Caitlin for her 23rd birthday, I decided that we weren't just going to sit around her apartment all day.  Kevin had to work, so I was really thankful that Robby and I had decided to make that long drive so that Caitlin didn't have to spend the day alone.  Before we left for the day, I gave her some birthday presents...

 A new sweater...to keep her and Baby Jarrell warm up there in the north.

A cute wrap bracelet that she declared she would wear EVERY DAY.

 A couple of new beads for her Chamilla Bracelet.

A new P.J. top and sequined slippers from her Mam-Maw.

After opening her presents we then headed out for a little Christmas shopping...

And Caitlin tried on some dresses for the holidays...

                                       How cute is that little almost 6 month Baby Bump?!

We could tell that Robby was a little bored with the shopping (although he endured it well for our sakes...he's good about things like that) so we suggested taking in a movie.  We didn't pick a chick flick but one we knew that he would really enjoy; "Skyfall".  OK...Let me just say right now, that is an AWESOME movie AND...it really confirmed that fact that I LOVE  Daniel Craig as James Bond; he's quite possibly my FAVORITE James Bond!

After the movie we checked in with Kevin, who unfortunately told us that he would not be getting off from work until late (the life of a resident...sigh) so we should go ahead and eat without him.  We decided to go to a place that Caitlin had visited a couple of times already and wanted her dad and I to try; The Melt.

The Melt is another one of those restaurants that has been featured on The Food Network.  Its specialty is grilled cheese sandwiches.  Oh, not the kind you might be thinking about.  Robby chose to order the one that Iron Chef, Michael Symon declared "The Best Thing He Ever Ate"; The Peanut Butter and Banana grilled sandwich with home made fries and coleslaw...It was YUMMY!

There are more than one of these restaurants in the area but we went to the "original" location and it was such a neat looking place...

After dinner we went back to Caitlin's apartment where I knew I would have to begin the dreaded task of repacking my suitcase for our return trip home early the next morning.  I could feel the sadness of that hanging over our heads and hated to be leaving Caitlin once again.  I was sure that this leaving thing was never going to get easy, especially after Baby Jarrell was born.  With her head laying on my shoulder, cuddled up beside me, Caitlin reminded me numerous times to wake her up the next morning as soon as I got up so she could spend some more time with me. 

I took this picture of Caitlin and her dad and believe it says it all.  Look at the smiles on their faces.  Daddy with his little girl...carrying her little girl inside her.  We hated to leave but all found a bit of comfort knowing that she would be coming home for Christmas in two weeks.  Two weeks...I suppose the next five years will be spent counting down the days until each visit.  And so it is with the life of your grown children who live far away.