Last Day of Being Two

Today was David's last day to be two years old! I had no idea how emotional this was going to make me. Last night at dinner we were discussing our plans for today. I was mid-sentence, "So, tomorrow will be your last day...." I had to catch my breath to finish, "...of being a two year old." My heart broke a little. My baby boy is growing up. I love it and I hate it. 

I love watching him learn and grow everyday. He is so smart and curious and has an incredible passion for learning. He loves to explore and examine everything. He is kindhearted, fun loving, and a joy to be around. He loves to snuggle [mostly with his Mama]. He is a fantastic big brother. He wants to be just like his Daddy. He loves trucks, train, airplanes, old western songs, digging for worms, fishing, rough housing, and his dog.

You can bet we will be celebrating his THIRD birthday all weekend long!

Two Birthdays And A Big Rig

It's been a while now, but we because Big Daddy and Uncle Rich's birthdays are so close to one another they chose to combine their parties. 

Rachael was a great helper at first.

Then her little legs got tired and she had to take a break.

So, David had to step in and help out.

With tape on his mouth nonetheless. 

He did that all by himself, such a goof ball. 

Meanwhile not to be out done by her brother, Rachael was also entertaining everyone.

She thought she was extra funny.

David also helped Uncle Rich open his presents.

David has called his Uncle Rich by the name of "Ruh-Ruh" [the sound the letter 'R' makes, twice] since he was able to talk. Sadly, it is changing into "Uncle Rich" more and more these days.

Rachael was continuing the goofiness by trying to fit in a box.

In our family, the rule is: If it's your birthday, you pick the dinner and cake. Big Daddy and Uncle Rich chose a cobbler for their "cake". We sang to each of them separately and blew out the candles separately, which David and Rachael didn't mind doing one bit. 

That same weekend David got the chance to climb inside a REAL big rig! He loved it so much. He talked about it non-stop for several days after.

Ricky helped him climb in it.

Inside the truck.

One happy boy.

Rachael's 18 Month Check-Up

Baby Girl went to the doctor this morning for her 18 month check-up. 

She did great through the whole exam. The nurse first measured her length and head. Rachael just laid there smiling at her. Then we went to the scale and Rachael continued to adore the nurse.

 

Her stats are great! I was a bit surprised by her length, though. She is 32 1/2 inches which puts her right at  the75th percentile. How is that possible? She still fits well into her 12 month footed pjs! It must be her weight that's keeping her in them then. She is 23 lbs. and 2 oz. which is around the 40th percentile mark. I find that hilarious seeing as though she can eat as much food as her nearly-three year old brother at each meal! I hope she always has such a fabulous metabolism. 

The doctor said several times that "she looks great". According to our pediatrician, there are three major criteria for a happy, healthy child and Rachael exceeded each with flying colors. She gets great sleep [11-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours during the day], eats great [pretty much any fruit or veggie and occasional meat that's put in front of her], and she gets tons of physical activity [especially now that the weather is warming up, we love to play outside]. 

I was ecstatic to hear such wonderful news! 

She did got one shot. She cried for about a minute, but was happy faster than I expected. The power of a sticker at the check out counter is an amazing thing. David did well with her shot too. He was very worried about her leading up to the shot. I could see on his face when she was crying that he really wanted to cry too. But, instead he chose to console her.
At the check out I did a double take when the receptionist asked me if I wanted to go ahead and schedule Rachael's TWO YEAR appointment! What?! No, no I don't. I don't want her to grow up.
I am loving this age, but I also know that it just gets better. I can't wait to see how fun she is at 2. But, she can take her time getting there, I'm in no rush.

Thank goodness for a healthy 18 month old Baby Girl!!! 

Big Boy Haircut

Just before Easter Ryan mentioned that he was going to get a haircut for the upcoming holiday. David overheard him and was quite intrigued. Because he is in the stage of  'do whatever Daddy does', David wanted to go with him. It worked out well- he really needed a haircut too! So, this would mark his first, official, for real haircut. 

Now, Ma has been cutting his hair since the beginning and doing a great job! But, since David took it upon himself to make this big decision, I didn't want to discourage him. So, off they went...

After watching his Daddy get his hair cut, David climbed up in the chair. 

All smiles and excited to be like Daddy

And Ms. Becky started cutting...

A little off the back

And the sides

All finished!

Ryan said David did GREAT the whole time he was getting his hair cut. I had sent a few suckers just in case he got restless in the chair, but he didn't need them at all. Ms. Becky was very kind and knew exactly how to introduce a toddler to getting a haircut. I just wish she could figure out a way to make him not look so grown up when she's all done!

Easter Weekend [Better Late Than Never]

We had a very busy Easter weekend filled with lots of fun.

On Thursday, David's class had their Easter party and of course we attended. Rachael once again gladly pulled up a chair when she saw all the party food. 

She and David laughed and played like they hadn't just seen each other at home an hour before. 

I just love the way he looks at her. Clearly, he adores her.

That evening we attended a special Easter party hosted by the President of Berry College. The Easter Bunny was there. We [yes, we] had our picture taken with him, but the kids weren't happy about that. They didn't want anything to do with him. So, we quickly took a picture and moved on.




There were a lot more fun things to do! David loved the inflatable slide especially since his big cousins went on it with him.






Waiting in line with Cate. She takes such good care of him.




Baby Girl wasn't big enough for the slide this year, but she had a great time watching the fun.



It was finally time for the main event! The big egg hunt! There were 4,000 eggs hidden all over and David was determined to find each one.

Because he had an egg hunt at school that day, David was really excited to do it again. So, he waited as patiently as he possibly could.




Then it was time to go. I was so thankful Ma was there to help me because David took off as soon as they said, "GO!". She kept up with him while I coaxed Rachael along. She didn't really understand what the all the commotion was about.







Rachael was very meticulous with her choices of eggs. She mostly liked the pink and purple ones. Then once she realized there was candy in them, it was over. All she wanted to do was open each one.



While she was taking her time, David was off scouring every inch of the beautifully landscaped property looking for as many eggs as he could put in his super cute Easter bag, which he made at school.




 

Rachael also found a few rocks and thought those would be just as fun to put in her basket. Why not?







I love this age! So curious and so funny. These days it's not an uncommon occurrence for Rachael to have her tongue out. And if she does, it always goes out to her left. So funny!




We finally all met back up and the kids were happy as could be with their hauls.


David really is happy, I promise.

The next day was a non-Easter related day, but still lots of fun.
Cate has taken up soccer and is really quite good. That's her in the cute hot pink socks kicking the ball.


Of course the kids loved watching her play.




David "coaching" from the sidelines.



On Saturday evening Ma hosted her side of the family for Easter. So that the kids wouldn't get their nice clothes dirty we choose to leave them off while we ate, but planned to put them on when it was time for the kids to find eggs outside. Well, while we were eating it started raining. We all decided to hunt eggs inside and Ryan and I decided not to change the kids' clothes. They were too excited to hunt eggs, I'd have to wash AND iron them again for the following day, and my kids don't have a passion for changing clothes so we knew it wouldn't go over too well. So, they stayed in the dinner eating clothes.
They sure didn't care. It didn't seem to impede on their abilities to find eggs [or phones].



Rachael found one under the table!


And...a remote upstairs!



David found an egg hidden under a book.



He was pretty excited about it.



After the egg hunt all the kids gathered in the living room to assess their haul. My children acted as though they had never seen candy before. They were both stuffing it in their mouths and opening the next one as they were still chewing! It was crazy.













Cousins



I love this one too. Slightly chaotic, but super cute.


On Sunday morning we drove to Twinkle and Bing's house for Easter with Twinkle's family.



Because there was rain in the forecast I wanted to try to get a few nice pictures of the kids in their fancy Easter clothes. I couldn't have been happier with how easygoing the kids were. This is not normally how photo sessions with Mama turn out. I was so excited to see that they were actually willing participants!









You may remember last Easter Rachael wore a dress her Great-Aunt Angie made just for her.


Well this year, I asked her to make another one for Rachael and she suggested the matching vest for David. We already had the material- I purchased it to decorate the buffet table at the Sip and See I hosted for my sister-in-law months ago. I gave it to Angie that day and hopefully joked that maybe she could make something for Rachael with it someday. She makes the most beautiful smocked dresses! I feel like they immediately become family heirlooms the moment she gives them to Rachael. I absolutely LOVE the matching vest for David! I mean how many years do I have of matching their outfits? I better do it while I can.

So, once again as we were eating it started raining! [I was so thankful I had planned ahead and took those pictures!!] But, that was okay. We just had the egg hunt inside.

LOVE this one of Rachael's Great-Grandmother smiling at her.




Oh! David had a little potty training mishap, so we had to change his pants.

Rachael scanning the room for more eggs.



There was one in Great-Granddaddy's pocket!

Such a special picture.


So what about a visit from the Easter Bunny? Well, when we were sitting next to him, I whispered in his ear and asked him if it would be okay for him to come to our house on Monday since we weren't going to be home on Easter. He kindly agreed.
He actually came during nap time, which really worked out well because Ryan had an early morning meeting and wouldn't have been able to be there if the Easter Bunny had come overnight!

He brought lots of great things- mostly outside toys as we are counting down the days 'til consistently warm weather.

David's basket


Rachael's basket



The kids had a great time checking out their goodies and we were out the door to give them all a try.

Sweet little smile.

Thanks for the photo bomb, Bogie!


David couldn't choose what he wanted to play with first.




Whoa! That wraps up our Easter celebration. When we weren't busy hunting eggs, getting dressed up, smiling for pictures and visiting with family Ryan and I were making sure our kids [to the best of their abilities] understand the true meaning of Easter. I am so thankful for David's children's Bible. It does a fantastic job of explaining the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. David is very curious about both stories. Just a few of his questions were:

 Why did those soldiers put that 'Our King' sign on Jesus?
Why were those Roman soldiers not nice to Jesus?
Why did Jesus have to die?
Why does God love me?

At first it may seem like those are easy questions. But, try explaining them to a toddler and they won't seem so easy anymore. But, I love that he has questions and I do the best I can to answer them. They have actually made me study my Bible more [which I'm sure is God working through David] so that I can be more educated when I need to answer his deep thoughts.

Happy Easter!




What difference a year makes...