All my kids’ birthdays are special – but I always get choked up at Nigel’s.  My former preemie is a teenager today. 
We assembled in the hall in the morning to head in to wake him with a birthday song.  Nigel is pretty fortunate that Daddy ends up with his birthday off more years than not. 

 
Like last year, Nigel made a request to have a mystery date with Daddy in lieu of regular gifting.  This was the fourth year in a row, and honestly, this works SO well for us.  Stuff is stuff.  But time together is a treasure.  I’m sure that it is even more so in a larger family.  The one-on-one time for fun means a lot to us. 

Daddy isn’t a blogger, nor is he equipped with a smart phone.  So we have to just envision the good time that they had. 
Mini-golf.  Grand China Buffet.  Batting cages.  Go Karts.  Other stuff I don’t remember. 
They took it easy on dessert because Nigel was home in time for his requested dinner of angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce.  I had not been able to score a decent price on shrimp, but Nan came through with some from her freezer. 
After dinner we had some cards, gifts, and cake. 

And when I say, “Cake,” I mean, “CAKE!!!!!!”