2...The Celebration!

It begins with a modest stack of gifts... Two of which you may open before breakfast... Since it's Sunday and wearing a '2' shirt to church is out of the question...a new dress... and a new doll (thanks Grandma Lee) - fittingly named 'Svetlana' by your dad (we're sticking with an international theme, think 'The U.N. of dolls')... ...then a yummy gourmet breakfast of muffins and scrambled eggs (Mommy's quite the chef)... ...complete with candles for you to blow out (because we know you've been practicing for weeks with Mommy's scented candles)... ...fortunately Daddy's there to lend a hand if that candle just won't go out! Then it's time to put on your pretty new birthday dress, and get some fancy big-girl birthday hair! Daddy's always happy to give you some extra birthday cuddles! For dinner, you get one of your favorites (pizza) on the special birthday plate... ...as always, you reserve the right not to look too thrilled about it. For dessert, you get a chocolate Dora cake... ...but not until you open the rest of your gifts! You were surprisingly good at opening gifts and being really excited with what you got. Yay, your own backpack! Now perhaps the fighting over the backpacks can end (maybe). Ahhh, Aunt Kerstin is a much better photographer than Mommy! Apparently, 2 is the 'age of the doll' if you are a little girl. Total baby doll count - 5. Total still wearing clothes - 3 (although that number is bound to go way down tomorrow). Ahhh, it's finally cake time! We'll be civilized and use a fork (after all, you are 2 now)... ...forget the fork, it's much tastier and more efficient to just dig right in! It's fun to be 2!

2!

From this: To this: Then on to this: And this: And now we're here: I can't believe Josie will be two tomorrow. It's a good thing I have another baby coming because I don't think I'm ready not to have a 'baby' anymore! It seems like the past two years have flown by. A few facts about Josie at two: -She loves to dance. She gets really excited when she hears a song with a fast beat. She claps and dances and ALWAYS cheers for herself when the song is over! -She loves animals! She loves to see Disco in the morning and gets really excited anytime we go anywhere with animals. She identifies them by the sound they make instead of their names (so ducks are 'kaks', cats are 'meows', chickens are 'bocks', etc.). I think it's so cute! -She talks constantly and has the cutest voice. She's still in that phase where it's hard to understand her sometimes, but she's becoming more articulate everyday. Her most popular phrases are, 'I wannit' (I want it), 'Woggybub' (water cup), 'I Peeey' (I'm pretty), 'Soos' (shoes), 'Sie' (Outside), 'Daggy' (taggy), and 'Bye Bye Daddy' (it is what it is). I love this talking stage. It's my favorite. I love hearing what she'll say every day. -She's girly. When I fix her hair she loves to sit with my make-up bag and use the brushes and puffs to fix herself up (she then tells us how 'peeey' she is when she's done). She will also comb and put product in her hair every chance she gets (when no one is watching), whenever we go to a store and pass a shoe aisle she gets really excited and squeals at all the pretty 'soos!' She also loves having her nails painted and will sit so still while you do it. She's also a BIG fan of jewlery. I think she's going to have a very assessorized style when she gets big enough to dress herself! -She's a Daddy's girl for sure! She gets so excited when Justin comes home. Every night, when I get her ready for bed, the last thing she always says is 'Ni ni Daddy' whether he's home or not. She has him wrapped around her little finger and I think she's starting to know it (although I don't think her daddy minds too much)! -She loves babys. Real ones, ones in books, ones on TV, dolls, you name it. She's fascinated with babys in a way that my boys never were. Even though the boys did, in fact, own a doll, they never had any interest in it. Josie loves to walk around with her babies and give them hugs and kisses. She also prefers them to be naked. She gets frustrated if they have clothes that are sewn to their bodies. -She loves to play with/play near her brothers and gets really angry if they are playing in their room with the door shut (which I encourage sometimes because *sometimes* she's not the most sharing playmate). For the most part they are very patient with her and very good at sharing with her. It's very obvious to me how much they love her and it's equally obvious that she adores them! -She LOVES to color. With crayons, pencils, pens, markers, whatever! We have to be VERY careful with our supplies because if she finds a stray crayon she goes straight for my walls. I can't tell you how many magic erasers I've gone through taking her 'art' off my dining room walls. -She's a light eater. By far my lightest. She's not too picky though, which is good. Like Noah, she loves fruit but is not such a fan of meat. Her favorite things are oatmeal, cereal, pretzels, blueberries, strawberries, and anything with chocolate! -Her favorite cartoons are Dora and Little Einsteins. She calls Dora, 'Boos' (Boots) and identifies Little Einsteins as 'Rockee' (Rocket). -She loves to play outside. She gets really excited whenever we get our shoes on because she always assumes it means we're playing outside. It's not pleasant when she realizes she's getting in the car instead. -She's a bit dramatic (by a bit I mean, 'she's rocking my world by how different she is from her brothers') and into EVERYTHING! However, she is very sweet and has already learned how to use her charms to diffuse an angry situation. We sure love our Josie and are so glad that she came into our lives (almost) 2 years ago. Happy Birthday Miss Jos, we're absolutely CRAZY about you!

The AG Fair!

When Ashley and Anisha were here we were lucky enough to discover that the 4H Agricultural Fair was taking place during their visit! We didn't really know what the AG Fair was going to be like, but we figured we'd take the kids anyway. It did not disappoint! It had something for everyone! When we walked in, each kid got a basket. There were seven stations and at each station the kids had something they needed to collect in their basket. At the end of the stations, the kids could turn in their basket of goods in exchange for a free cookie! On top of that, there were animals, demonstrations, and activities. The best part? It was F-R-E-E! Awesome! Getting their baskets and collecting their goods. One of the highlights (THE highlight for Josie) was all the animals. Josie is animal crazy. I think she could have spent days looking at and (attempting) to touch all those animals. Even Max enjoyed the animals! They had a sheep shearing demonstration. This was Josie's face the entire time she watched that sheep being sheared. They had a cow milking station. Clayton was really good at milking that cow! Poor Noah. You'll notice he's only using one arm. He was playing a game with Aunt Ash and ended up getting something called 'Nursemaid's Elbow'. It's not really a big deal, but it's where your elbow is basically dislocated and you just need someone to pop it back into place. We actually thought he was fine until we were at the fair and he just stopped using his arm. Fortunately, by the time we came home from the fair, Justin was home from the hospital and popped it back into place easily. Noah was back in action right away. He was such a trooper though. He didn't let being one-armed stop him from participating and having a good time! They had a station where the boys could practice lassoing sheep. Max may have been the cutest cowboy there. (By 'may have been' I mean 'definitely was'.) Josie and Max. Clayton and Noah. Taking their baskets of goods to the market to trade for cookies. YUM! Aunt Ash and Josie. Aunt Nish and Max. Cookies, and animals, and activities 'Oh My!' The AG Fair was a HUGE success. (On a side note: can you believe my baby will be 2 tomorrow! When did that happen??) We had such a great time at the fair. It was a hit with everyone who attended. They really had something for everyone. We're already looking forward to going again next year!