My Baby's Two

So, yesterday was Allie's birthday. She has now officially entered the "terrible two's," although I think she had accomplished that prematurely weeks ago. I was looking through some old pictures and decided to share a few from Allie's life. Here is one when she was just a few days old. I love how sweet newborns are, there is just nothing like it in the world.

This is from her blessing day, about six weeks old.

This one is from Halloween. She was six months old. I chose this one because for most of her first year, she wanted to be held. My Baby Bjorn was a good compromise and so we managed to work it into her costume.

This is last Easter and has to be one of my favorite pictures, just because not even an Easter egg was enough to keep her from crying. This was in Ohio, but that is Isaac sitting next to her, wondering why in the world she is crying when there is candy to be had!

And this is from her birthday last year, when she first got to try some birthday cake (I don't remember a time before that when she would've had any).

I know babies change the most during the first year of their lives, but that second year is full of changes, too. Somewhere along the line, she stopped being a baby and turned into a toddler with a mind of her own. I have written before about her love of baby dolls (Bexley, in particular) and so, of course, most of what she got for her birthday was geared toward her nurturing side (also a sly effort on our part to get her ready for baby sister). Here she is standing next to her new high chair and cradle.

The white on her hand is from yet another mess she made when she managed to get into the baby powder and diaper rash medicine and rub it all over Bexley AGAIN!

All she wanted for her birthday, though, was a cake with Skittles. She recently went to a birthday party where the little girl had one and she has been talking about it since. So, I did my best to get a lot of Skittles on there. I know it's hard to read, but it says "Allie's 2!" and her reaction when she saw it was priceless. Of course Damon had to comment that I am not as good at baking cakes as my mom (who made him a space cake for his fourth birthday), but who is?

We had a little barbeque with some friends at the park and we had a great time. The cake was a big hit with the kids and the weather was perfect for an evening outdoors.

It was a fun day to celebrate Allie and Damon made it that much more enjoyable for her by being nearly as excited as if it were his own birthday. I have enjoyed reliving (parts of) her first two years and I can't believe how much I love her. And it's a good thing, too, because if I didn't, we would've gotten rid of her long ago. Happy Birthday Allie!