Samuel is 2. And No, I can't believe it!

Samuel turned two today.  I am still in shock.  It really does seem like yesterday when I waddled into the hospital to have him. 

I stayed home with him today. I wasn't able to last year--he was sick and my mom was in town and I had just started a new job.  I regretted it all year.  I'm going to stay home with him until he starts kindergarten.  Luckily, his 4th birthday will also be MLK day.  :)

We started the day hanging out at home.  Our mail ran really early and he had some presents from my Aunt's waiting on him.  

I submitted a homemade birthday card to PBS Sprout to see if they'd read it on their Sunny Side Up Show.  They Did!!  Here it is!  He's famous! 

We met up with Sarah and Owen and went to Firefly Pottery to paint their handprints on tiles(we did it last year for Owen's b-day party and I wanted a hand print this year--a tradition I hope to keep up.)

When he woke up from his nap, Aunt JuJu(Julie) came over to give him his birthday present.  It is the coolest car.  He was very excited about it. 

We had pizza for his birthday dinner.  I know.  I'm the laziest mom ever. 

We transitioned his room from a nursery to a toddler room.  He is now sleeping in a Sesame Street museum.  :-)

We let him open our presents tonight, too. There'll be plenty at the party.

Then he played some more before bedtime. 

It was such a wonderful day. 

Samuel is such a happy little guy.  He loves his sleep--YAY!! Loves to play with cars and trucks and anything with wheels.  He can make tons of animal noises.  He's very bossy--always telling us to sit sit or go!  He is perfectly able to communicate his desires.  We love not having to guess about what he wants. We don't love that he's sometimes hard to please. :)

He keeps Casey and me giggling.  He makes fun facial expressions and will someday get in trouble for not guarding those expressions.  I foresee a serious talk about not making ugly faces when someone says something stupid.  The same talk I got as a child. I hope he listens better than I did. 

Samuel, you are the light of our lives and we love you more than anything in the world.

Our Friend Owen

We went to Owen's birthday party yesterday. I'm still struggling to handles the fact that these babies are now little boys.  But they are 2!  I believe the magazines and books call them toddlers.  I still like infant or baby as the label.



Owen's party was at Parkway Place Baptist Church.  They have a neat play area with tunnels and nets.  The kids had a blast.  It was perfect for this party--lots of kids of different ages. 

Samuel went down the slide several times.  He LOVED it.

Cake Time!

It was so tough to sit and watch presents being opened and not be able to help. 

Owen and Sarah

When I was pregnant with Samuel, I ran into an old friend of mine from high school.  Sarah Clements, now Smith.  She and I were both pregnant and due within days of each other.  We've been so close since then. We were both able to call each other when the boys were brand new.  We'd cry together, ask each other advice, and just talk.  She is so valuable to me. 

Today, we got together for the boys to exchange Christmas gifts.  They are so fun to watch.  Owen is a couple of weeks older than Samuel, so he does a few tricks that Samuel can't do.  I love watching them play together.  

This picture has nothing to do with our wonderful day, but it was just too funny to not share.  Samuel is dying to be just like his Daddy.  That's Casey's phone hooked to his diaper.