Sally's Second Birthday!

Sally's second birthday was a snowy one. I wanted it to be a special day for her, so we spent the morning and the afternoon at the park. We went to Central Park in the morning and Riverside Park in the afternoon. Her favorite gift was her stroller, so I let her push it as far and long as her heart desired in Riverside Park. That night, we had pizza (Sally's favorite dinner by far) and some chocolate cake from Trader Joe's and ice cream. Sally got the pizza ALL OVER her face, but birthday girls can do whatever they want.

I considered throwing Sally a party, but we were still getting settled, and it seemed like a bit much. And since it was just the three of us, I just bought a small cake instead of baking one. The poor girl had a toothpick for a candle because I dropped the ball on that, too. Sally, I promise your birthdays will be more exciting in the future!

So, two! I can't believe Sally is two. Sometimes I get sad that Sally is growing up, but I also love watching her grow. Although, it's crazy how much she's grown up since moving to NY and turning two. And that is kind of bittersweet.

Sally struggled with our move. She had major separation anxiety, and I couldn't even attend playgroups without her freaking out. But she seems to have gotten over that hump. She's such a fun little girl. Some nights Johnny and I are exhausted when we finally get her in bed. But other nights we miss her immediately. And we talk for several minutes about what an incredibly fun, smart, and beautiful little girl she is.

So let me share a little bit about little Miss Sally at age two.

• Sally is quite the chatter box. It cracks us up, but I think other people are amazed (in good and bad ways) by how much she talks. She will try to say pretty much anything, and I can understand pretty much all of it. But she's not super articulate, so I think others have a hard time understanding her. She especially does it when she's in a new situation, and I love it about her.
• Sally started a pre-preschool program to help her be more independent and have some guaranteed social time each week. I was so worried that she'd be too clingy to be able to do it, but she loves it! I love seeing her blossom in an environment away from her mom and dad. It's only two days a week, but she asks to go to "school" every day.
• Sally goes to bed at around 8:00 and wakes up at 8:00 each morning, and she takes a 1.5-2 hour nap each afternoon. 
• Her favorite show is Curious George, and she also loves Toy Story and Frozen.
• Her favorite toys are trains. She's obsessed, almost too obsessed. She especially loves the Thomas train, and refers to him as "Homas." 
• Sally's favorite foods are cheese, pretzels, popcorn, fruit, and pizza. I can't get her to eat vegetables or much meat. She'll drink milk and eat eggs and chicken occasionally, so she gets most of her protein that way. I also give her a daily vitamin to help with whatever else she's missing. I'm not sure what else to do with such a picky girl!
• Oh, and she also loves candy. I cannot eat it in front of her or she will plead for it incessantly until she gets some.
• Sally loves to look at herself in the mirror once I've fixed her hair. "Mirror! Mirror!" She also loves looking at pictures and videos of herself. She says, "I cute!" and is very unabashed about her vanity. If this stage is still around in a few years, we may have to work on scaling it back some :).
• Sally isn't potty trained yet, but she likes to sit on the toilet every day, and she lets us know when she needs a diaper change, mostly by saying, "I pooped!"
• Sally loves her baby doll and George stuffed animal, and she likes to practice changing their diapers. She also sleeps with them every night and tucks them in before she gets out of her crib each morning. 
• Sally loves the playground! She loves the slides and swings and could spend all day every day there.
• Sally also really loves books. Her favorite right now is Dragons Love Tacos ("Taco book!"), as well as several others.
• She asks to "fly like Buzz" when her Daddy's home, and he usually obliges her.
• Instead of saying "Yes," Sally says, "I do!" It's so cute and enthusiastic. "Sally, do you want to take a bath?" "I dooo!" 
• Sally asks to take baths every day, which means she takes one almost every day. She says, "I need a baf all day!"
• Sally also likes dinosaurs a lot, and for the last few weeks, she's been roaring as a greeting when Johnny comes to get her out of the crib in the morning. 
• When it's almost time for Johnny to be home from work, she says, "Daddy home little bit!" 
• When Johnny gets home each night, Sally can barely contain herself. She squeals, runs up to him, and flails her arms in excitement. She loves her dad. 
• Sally can whistle, and she loves practicing with her dad. I love watching the two of them work on her whistling skills.
• I'm working on counting with her, and Sally pretty much knows how to count to 10, but she doesn't like to do it. I think it seems kind of pointless to her, which is understandable. 
• Sally also knows most of her colors and shapes, and she loves showing off to her teacher Michelle in preschool.
• Sally gets toys taken away from her a lot by other kids. She used to cry when it happened, every single time. But now she says, "I share!" and I'm so proud of her for that. 
• In other manners, Sally has finally started saying "Sorry" after she does something naughty. It's never very remorseful, but we'll work on that.

It's almost impossible to keep track of her milestones because she hits so many all the time now. Two is a crazy age for learning. Her vocabulary is endless, and sometimes Johnny and I don't even know where she learned certain words. She pointed out a "camel" a couple weeks ago, and we were shocked.

It's so fun to see her learning so much. She's an incredible little girl, and I LOVE being her mom. It's the best, really. I can't believe how lucky I am to be her mom, even on the hard days. Some days Sally will go from one naughty activity to the next, just to get a rise out of me. Those days are really hard. But other days, I feel overwhelmed by how great she is, and I don't want her to grow any older. I'm so excited to see her as a big sister. She is such a sweet little girl, and I'm sure it will be hard for her, but I know she'll be a great friend to her little sister eventually. Sally, your dad and I love you more than you'll ever know!

Sally Turns One!!

Get ready for a picture overload! Sally's first birthday party was quite an event in our house. I wanted everything just so for it. We invited Johnny's family over, and it was so fun to celebrate our little girl.

The cake took a ridiculously long time to make, and by the time it was out of the oven, Johnny and I were both a bit ornery. And then I remembered that I'd forgotten to buy ice cream to go with the cake. And Johnny said, "It doesn't need ice cream." And I said, "Yes it does. I can't even think about eating cake without ice cream." And he said, "No one will care." And I said, "But I care." Or some sort of nonsense like that. And then Johnny went and took a shower, and then came upstairs and said he and Sally would go to the store and get ice cream while I finished everything else up. Because he loves me. But this day was supposed to be about Sally! you're thinking to yourself. But the truth is that first birthdays are all about the parents because the little one-year-old couldn't care less and is completely oblivious. But someday maybe Sally will care and say, "I'm so glad you documented my first birthday so thoroughly, Mom and Dad!!" 

Now, on to the next question. Was I emotional about my little baby turning one? Yes, a few days before her birthday I felt a moment of overwhelming sadness at how quickly it had all gone. But for the most part, I am just enjoying each new stage. I love the little girl she is becoming so much that it's hard to be sad about the baby she once was, if that makes any sense.

And now, onto some pictures:

Can you find a cuter naked baby? I don't think so. (On her birthday, I'm allowed to publicly gush.)

 Sally wasn't sure what to do with the piece of cake we gave her. But she got pretty comfortable with it before long.

We had to take the plate away since she kept wanting to lift it up and fling it around. She shed a few tears when we took the plate away, partly because everyone was staring from three feet away at her every move. 

Right after cake, it was nap time for Sally. We could have let her stay up and open her gifts, but it would have likely meant a meltdown from her. When it's nap time, it's nap time. So after cake, I took her downstairs and cradled my little girl, sang her a song, and laid her down in her crib.

I can't imagine a day of my life without little Sally in it. The line from a movie I saw soon after Sally was born that says, "I love my baby so much that sometimes I'm afraid I'm going to eat her!" describes my feelings perfectly. When I check on Sally at night before Johnny and I go to bed, I always come into the bedroom whispering, "I'm obsessed!!" in a slightly crazy tone. Sally, I'm obsessed with you. And your dad is, too. When I show him videos of you that I shot while he was at work, he says, "Noooooo!! It's too much!!!" because he honestly can't take the cuteness overload. I hope I can treasure every single day of this next year because it sure goes by fast. Sally, your mom and dad love you so very much!

My 26th

Welp, I'm officially closer to 30 than 20 now. And honestly, I haven't even had a split second to think about it yet. My life has changed so much in the past year, and I wouldn't have it any different. I really am loving this mom thing.

My family made a short visit to come see us for my birthday. I was thrilled! I was so happy to see my mom and sisters, especially Jill! I hadn't seen her since she'd gotten back from her mission in Peru. On my birthday we had cake and ice cream and played games and had a great time together. It was the perfect celebration.

Jill!! Oh, how I'd missed her.

The girls!

We had a little visitor who didn't want to miss out on any of the excitement. She ended up staying up for a while and entertaining everyone, which cracked Johnny and me up. We'd never seen the entertainer side of Sally. She loved all the attention!

Halfway through my twenties

Ack! I'm 25. I feel old. It probably doesn't help that on the day after turning 25 I woke up with a red, puffy face. I guess I had an allergic reaction to some face wash. Johnny says it looks like I got my wisdom teeth pulled. Lucky me!

Anyway, yesterday I turned the big 2-5! I tell myself that I don't mind getting older, but 25 sounds really old to me!

Johnny was so great. On Saturday we went and picked out a dozen cupcakes from my favorite local cupcake shop, Lulu's. (If you're ever in Boston, be sure to go! Every flavor is soo delish.) He fixed me lunch and dinner on Sunday and took care of everything all day. It was so nice to relax and read. I got lots of books for my birthday---I guess my family knows me well!

After church I took a nap, which was apparently like 4 hours long, and then it was time for cupcakes and presents!

a pic of Persie just because

2-5!

what I wear on Sunday afternoons. . . 

It was a great day, thanks to Johnny and all my wonderful family and friends who made me feel loved!!

Next up this week: our 5 year anniversary!!!