I'm Two

Two years.

Two incredibly quick years, as it seems like NorthernBaby was just born: wasn't it only a day or two ago that we were marveling at his tiny hands and feet? I'm sure that only a week has passed since we sat on the sofa in a stunned silence as we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into and how in the world could we ever raise this baby boy into adulthood.

Two agonizingly long years, as many things seem to slow time: was it only a few months of sleepless nights full of a baby's cries? It seemed like decades. How many times do we have to tell him not to throw his fork on the floor/draw on the sofa/put that in your mouth (what in the heck is that, anyway? And where'd you get it?) before he understands? I'm positive that only a week has passed since we sat on the sofa in a stunned silence as we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into and whether or not the circus would take him....

Two years are what they are, and last week, Northern Baby celebrated his second birthday.

He came gift-wrapped for the occasion. We gave him a party at a local pizza/arcade joint, and he got to wear the birthday-boy crown.
Isn't he cute in that picture above? We had to light the candles on his cake twice - all week we had been practicing the candle thing by letting him blow out the candles at dinner (what? - don't all of y'all have candlelit dinners every day of the week?!). When the cake was set before NorthernBaby and the two candles were lit, he knew just what to do: Pwooof! The candles were out. We had neglected to tell him that he couldn't snuff the flame before "Happy Birthday" was sung! Cue Take Number Two (and shield the candles until the song is over...).

There were many games to be played. SkeeBall was a NorthernBaby favorite - he likes to stand on the machine to gain an advantage (it's all about getting the tickets, baby!). He shot hoops with Grandpa, beat Daddy at air hockey (because Grandma helped him lay across the goal), and drove a fast car with one of his friends.

Many, many presents were, um...., presented. The NorthernBaby house is chock-full of new toys. Good thing, too, as Mommy and Daddy needed something different for the Little Dictator to tell us to do. Playing "truck" with the same truck for four months gets a little old....

Too many gifts to post pictures of them all, but he did get a tricycle. I mention it because the day after he got it, he wanted to take it out on the patio and ride around. If you look out the window in the picture below, you might notice the blurry whiteness obscuring the tree - that's snow. Right about the time he got ready to head outside, it started snowing about an inch per hour - too much to go play in. Poor guy!

Through the miracle of technology, we even got to include our SouthernGrandparents: Skype let us video call and open presents as a family. (It was fun for NorthernBaby, and I just think this is a really cool picture!)