That Wild Hair ~ Day 194

See what I mean?

Spoiled Rotten ~ Day 193

Nothing better to a child than having BOTH sets up grandparents to yourself.

Here she is with Mommaw and Poppaw & with Papa and Gigi

Playing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" with Papa and Gigi

She loves it!

Playing with her new Aqua Doodle

Party Time ~ Day 192

Cake time!Happy girl! I can't believe she is 2!
Getting shy when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Blowing out the candles =)

Enjoying some cake!

And then eating a cupcake...

Yummy

Checking out a present

Playing concession stand with Papa

I think she has had a fun filled day!

Show Time ~ Day 191

First part done! Complete
Kensi and Neela jockeying for position trying to watch us

That crazy "cheese" smile again

A few more final touches

And cupcakes for whoever wants chocolate!

Practice Makes Perfect ~ Day 190

So the first run of making Kensi's birthday cake didn't go quite as planned. The darned cake stuck to the pan and I wasn't very patient about trying to get it out! So I took what we salvaged of it and demonstrated for Chad how I planned to make it look like a butterfly. And then we tore into it!

Reflection ~ Day 189

This is us, sitting on the deck today. As my daughter, 2 years old now, stares at and plays with her reflection in the glass door, I take a little time to reflect on all the changes this past year has brought. She began to walk all by herself. Walking quickly turned into running. Which turned into a lot of tumbles and boo boos. Every time she falls, guess what? She picks herself back up and keeps right on going. Children amaze me because they teach us (adults) so much, if you are just willing to listen. Her resilience and determination should be a lesson to us all. She began to speak in short sentences. Starting with combining 2 and 3 words and graduated to full on sentences. She says "I love you, ____" (fill in the blank). She asks questions. She begs you to dance with her "Come on Mommy!" "Come on Daddy!" or "Go Papa, go Papa", "Go Gigi, go Gigi". It is hysterical. She has a sense of humor and loves to laugh @ herself and others. She shows empathy, "What's wrong Mommy?" when my overly emotional pregnant self may be crying. She knows what she wants and when she wants it. She will ask for crackers (Wheat Thins) , apples or chicken (3 of her favorites) and by golly nothing else will do. She'll ask to go in the pool or take a bath, go on the swing, "turn on TV!". She is particular about her blankets. She wants them on in a certain order "No that one!". She loves her "lovey" and is not easily fooled by Mommy's attempt to replace him with his sister "Pinkie". She wants nothing to do with her... only her "lovey". Consequently she went to nap this week with a wet Lovey who HAD to be washed b/c she was playing with him in the toilet! She wasn't waiting for the dryer. She had to have him NOW!! She loves people, especially other kids. Her eyes light up when she sees her brother, or the girls across the street, Lizzie and Bella or her friend Drew. She loves to hug and pet her dogs..... and boss them around. The cat delights her and she says "kitty, kitty, kitty" as it runs away from her. She is stubborn and strong willed. She likes to be chased around the house before submitting for a diaper change or to brush her teeth. She likes to get into the bathtub while it is filling up and play with the water coming out of the faucet. She gets upset when it is time to turn it off. "On, Mommy, on!" she will say. She gives the best hugs and open mouth kisses which are slimy and perfect. She has wild hair. On some occasions she will sit for me to fix it, on other occasions...she'd rather I chase her around the room. She loves books and rarely lets me read them to her anymore. She wants to do the reading all by herself. Everyday her growth amazes me. Her personality shines more. She takes a bigger piece of my heart. What was life before I had my daughter? It is hard to remember. She is everything to me and there is nothing I wouldn't do for her, to protect her, to show her I love her, to teach her about life and to help her be a healthy, happy person. I pray that we will have a close relationship and be "best friends". The "best friends" may not come until later in life.... I have many duties as "Mother" first, but "best friends" is the ultimate goal.

Birthday Suit ~ Day 188

Another fun day on the deck @ our baby pool. Here she is watering a car...
And a dog toy.... LOL

Water, so refreshing!

She's drinking from her watering can.

"Ahhhh" she says.

Finally found the "right" thing to water.....

Two Years Old! ~ Day 187

Here she is! Two years old.... So carefree today and rolling around in the grass being silly.
That bandage on her hand is to cover the burn she got on her palm today.

Poor thing reached up for the toaster oven tray to get her chicken nuggets faster than Mommy could catch her. What an ouchie! And on her birthday of all days. She cried a lot, but in the end has been a real trooper. I just hope it heals quickly!

Jacuzzi ~ Day 186

We let Kensi get into are big bath tub today and turned on the jacuzzi jets. She loved it! Unfortunately, this is the best picture I got. I only had my phone and of course wasn't gonna leave her to run down and get my camera.