My sweet baby is two years old today. What a great day we had!
Since it was the start of daylight savings time, the girls were up and in my room at 6:15, and we had some family snuggles before getting up and having breakfast. It was good we were up that early, because there was plenty to do before family began arriving for the party at 10. Mark and Lea were already here, because they came the day before to watch Iowa State win their football game, and then just hang out with us in the evening, which was really fun. It was especially awesome this morning, because Audrey hung out with Lea while I was straightening up the kitchen and things, and Emily and Mark and Travis worked together to get other things ready. It was just great. When 10:00 rolled around, we were all just chilling in the living room, taking a break, since everything was ready. I love that it's so easy to get this group together. Not many people look forward to having their in-laws hang out with their family, but I do. it's a really fun bunch, and I am looking forward to the day that Pat and Tilly join us regularly for these things.
Unfortunately, Milo got sick right around lunchtime, so Dan and Kerri ate quickly and took him home. They ended up taking him to urgent care where the doc said he had bronchiolitis, which I think is caused by RSV but the doctor was unclear on that. Anyway, it's a big bummer that he's so sick, but he's such a good sport! His mom and dad are so intuitive with him that he hardly has to fuss and they meet his needs, so, of course he's agreeable. What a sweetheart. Megan also wasn't feeling well, but she was a trooper, too, until the end of the day when she crashed on the couch with a blanket. It's crazy that my kids' birthdays seem to be full of sick children, but at least they're sweet kids about it -- and this time it wasn't either of my kids!
The food was fantastic, I might add. I was pretty pleased with the way things turned out, especially since I did a pretty severe degree of recipe wrangling. I never make things exactly the way the recipe says - I tweak things, or intentionally try something different. I made pumpkin pancakes by adapting Mommo's recipe for buttermilk pancakes - added whole wheat flour, took out the butter and sugar, added pumpkin and spices. I made cranberry-strawberry sauce by combining two recipes I found online and adding orange juice, just because it seemed like I should. I made pecan pie bars, which was also an adaptation but one that I did a while ago so I had made a few times. I added more pecans and some interesting spices, and lessened the gooey part a bit. Plus, egg casserole and grapes. Mmmmm :) Next year, Audrey can tell me what she would like for a birthday meal, but this year I had a good time deciding on her behalf what she likes (and I was right, too! she ate a ton!).
Audrey got really fun birthday presents, and did a great job opening everything. She especially likes a singing purple hippo that I bought for her when she and I went to the toy store to shop for her birthday. I remember doing this for Emily, too, when she turned two. She picked out the things she wanted for her birthday - a schoolbus, BucklePig, and a few others - and I just put them in the basement and then when it was her birthday, well, what do you know? Exactly what she wanted!! This singing hippo plays songs or you can play his teeth like a keyboard, and the notes are labelled in solfeg, which is what convinced the music geek in me that it would be okay to have one more noisy toy.
And, for me, the best part of the day is that Audrey was DRY ALL DAY!! She even pooped on the potty after lunch, while everybody was here and the excitement was going on! She had a bit too much mango for snack yesterday which was just too much fiber for her, so she had a couple of surprise poops later on after people left, but just before bed, without any prompting at all, she actually took herself potty!!!! It's been a whole week since we re-ditched the diapers, and she finally, finally trusted herself. She even scolded me for following her to the bathroom, so I just turned on the light in the bathroom and left. Then a few seconds later I hear, "Yeeaahhhh!" No kidding, yeah!! I sure hope this means i have reached the bottom of my double-dip potty training trend, and things are really headed up, but even a plateau at this point would be just fine for a while. She sure seems happy, so I'm gonna just go with what we've got for now. it's SO much better than diapers!
Travis and I had a discussion last night, after he got home from his trip, about how I really needed some kind of a noteable success so I could relax about other stuff that may not be optimal. Because, really, does anybody's life really get more blissful than mine, in general?? I have absolutely everything a person could really want, and yet, i still get grouchy and feel sorry for myself. But today, and this whole weekend, was absolutely a success, from start to finish. I woke up this morning hugging my girls, feeling like I hadn't seen them in a week, I was so happy to see them. They snuggle and wiggle and chatter and I just want to smother them with kisses, I love them so much. I just marvel at every little thing, from the clever way Emily puts her sentences together, to the way Audrey operates so expressively that words really aren't that necessary. I can't even put it into words, really. And then I look at my husband, and I feel just as strongly about him, and how good it feels to be his partner, while allowing each other to still be our own selves. When I look down the road and wish success and happiness for my girls, I can only hope that it's the level I've got now.
It was a fantastic weekend!
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