Buddy Turns Two!

We had a big two year old birthday on the 13th of June. (That should tell you just how behind I am.)

I didn't want to make too much fuss, but I did order a cake. An ABC cake no less.

Buddy blew out the candles:

and then he ate it, too!

The little boy got some gifts, of course, from very generous family members.

A Scooter! (from Mom and Dad)

But what really made his day?? Going to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa B's house and getting to hang out with his family.

He and Aunt JoAnn made some kind of connection during the evening (I'm not entirely sure what that was about) JoAnn couldn't look at him without the following reaction:


At two years old:
-Buddy can sing several songs (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Sing a Rainbow, Push me on a swing, A Tisket A Tasket) He surprises me every day by knowing all of the words to a song I didn't think he knew.
-He can count to 12 and on a good day can get most of the numbers up to 20.
-He has known his letters for a while and is now starting to learn how to recognize, sound-out and spell some words.
-He has an amazing memory and is starting to become quite a magpie.
-He has decided that he doesn't like posing for photos, but he will do a good "funny face" here and there.
-He loves to lose shoes in restaurants.

-He is still OBSESSED with clocks and the alphabet. I can entertain him for an hour by going to the Target website and looking at the different clocks. He still plays with his fridge letters every day.
-He can walk backward, sideways and spin in a circle. :)
-At nap time and bedtime he must have his three stuffed friends (Matey, Cuckoo and Blue Bear) as well as his ABC blanket.
-He likes talking to Jellybean and I can tell it makes him happy when she smiles at him.

While he is starting to defy us on occasion, he is still a very sweet, obedient child. I couldn't be more proud of him.

A Baby Blessing

Jellybean had her baby blessing a few weeks ago. She wore the dress that I wore when I was blessed and D gave her a beautiful blessing. Jellybean is so blessed to have such an amazing father.

I'm so glad that so many family members were able to attend the blessing and come to the brunch afterward. I only wish I had gotten pictures of everyone.

Smiles courtesy of her cousin Alex:

Grandparents:


Great-Grandparents:

One of my older brothers checking out the buffet:

Jellybean's cousins! Aunt Jessica insisted on getting three poses: Moms, Siblings and Dads.



There is a better sibling picture, but I love how much is going on in this one. I especially love the sneak-attack on Jellybean's hair-bow.

Oh, and Buddy refused to pose for pictures, but he loved hanging out with "Papa":


It was a great day!

2 months

This is a long time coming. It seems like every time I'm in front of a computer and have time to post, I only have one hand. Trying to type with one hand is not pleasant for me and it takes forever!

Anyway, Jellybean is now 2 1/2 months old. Her stats at her 2 month appointment were very good. She is gaining weight and is very healthy. She is in the 60th some-odd percentile for both height and weight. I plan to have them weigh her at Buddy's 2 year appointment next week and I expect her to be at least 12 lbs.

I won't lie, Jellybean has been a challenging baby. We were so spoiled with Buddy being so mellow that we weren't prepared for the amount of crying a little redhead can produce. ( Yes, we have theorized that the crying is due to the redness of her hair.)
I have never met a child that stays so stubbornly awake during long car rides (crying the entire time) or one so particular about how fast you walk her around the house. She loves to be held and looked at and will bursts into almost immediate tears when you set her down.

She has decided that she won't take a bottle.
She still eats every two hours or less during the day. If you try to feed her and she is not hungry, she will get mad.
She hates to be swaddled.
Pacifiers make her angry.
She can only stand her swing for about three minutes or less at a time.
When held, she will often insist on standing up and will scream if you cradle her.
She starts total melt down mode by around 6 o'clock, just in time for Daddy to come home.
Oh and the kicker, she almost always acts like a complete angel around other people.

All that said, here are the things that make me love this little girl:
She is starting to have longer sleep periods at night.
She is becoming more social and her smiles and coos are adorable.
She is scrappy and can already propel herself to her side and almost to her stomach.
She laughs.
Lately while she's eating, she will decide that she'd rather smile and talk to me.
She LOVES to stretch.
She is extremely expressive with the sounds she makes whether happy or complaining. (which makes me believe that she is brilliant of course)
She is starting to smile at Buddy (He likes this, too)
Her little face when it is lit into a smile can just about kill you with cuteness.

While the list of happy things seems a bit shorter than the list of frustrating things, it seems to just about make up for everything.