Second Birthday: Born to be Wild

We had a few friends (baby, toddler, and adult) over to my parents' house last Sunday to celebrate Mr. C with a special

SAFARI!

(basically I chose a theme several months ago and was trying to choose something that was not so fleeting that he'd be over it by the time his actual birthday rolled around...)

Everyone had a big ol' time, so I wanted to share a few shots. Thanks to Yaya for manning the camera so I could have my hands free to chase toddlers and eat kid food.

Please note that I cheated--Sara hosted a (fabulous) fundraiser for the CF Foundation the previous night, so I got to piggyback on all her resources. Setup, furniture, flowers, and anything good looking was all her.

(All sources are at the bottom of this email because this furniture is AMAZING for events that do not involve 2 year olds)

Driving around, hoping to see some wildlife

They don't even MAKE those Power Wheels safari jeeps anymore...what is this world coming to?!

If you're not familiar with a Lion's Tail, I recommend getting you some. 

It's sort of like a more wintry Moscow Mule: bourbon, spice, lime...

Lion's Tail recipe here

Sweet and special to be able to re-purpose this fun tassel banner (??) that Grace Ann had at the adorable baby shower in honor of Le Petit Prince two years ago!

Boardmaker for the win...I didn't know if kiddos would actually be engaged in the animal search, but they LOVED it.

And C kept calling the binoculars his "knockers," so that made it all worth it.

Much more in to the cake portion of the program this year

invitations + swag * nico and lala / safari gear * Amazon / balloons + napkins * Party City / cake + cookies * Dulce / furniture * Please Be Seated / child-size furniture * Amazon / 6" celebration candles * Everyday Occasions / birthdate pillow * Harpeth Gallery

Ice, Ice Baby

Too cold...too cold

We've got another round coming--this time in reverse: snow, then ice--so are preparing for that. I think we will have limited opportunity for play or more photo ops, as they say there's rain behind it. I'm hoping that will melt all this junk and wash it away, as the ice is getting more precarious daily. However, it means we'll be inside all day Saturday while it lasts, and I'm having trouble imagining where all this ice-melt and rain is going to GO...

All that to say: here are photos.

Bent-over-bamboo tunnel

Skating the Seitersee

(This was from Tuesday; today he got to actually skate it)

This...is not working.

In the bamboo tunnel

Private rink

Light saber jammie pants = long underwear

Mr. C Turns 2!

or, as he'll tell you, "not three!"

(I think the focus on 3 is because his dad said he could get hockey skates and go ice skating when he was 3 next winter.)

I'm not sure this post will be of much interest to all of you, but I wanted to capture a little bit of the life of C at this moment, baby-book style.

At age 2...

Likes and Milestones:
Books. All the books. It's best if you read them multiple times in succession ("read 'gain??"). We've had to cap bedtime stories at 3 books, but he regularly weasels his way into more.

Favorite toys and activities: construction vehicles, trucks, trains - "shoot" or "dunk" basketball - improvised indoor hockey/golf - "color" or "make" (art) -

Taggies and loveys (the crib is a bit crowded) and "cozies"

Frozen, especially Olaf. By extension, his "Kristoff hat," which is actually just a regular winter hat.

Elmo and Cookie

Hockey, hockey guys, and ice skating--or the idea of it.

Favorite foods: waffles, sausage, hot dogs, chicken, fries, 'roni-cheese, applesauce and pouches, blueberries, oranges. He thinks he wants bananas, but doesn't. Smoothies. Ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Knows colors reliably. Identifies circle, square, triangle, octagon. Knows body parts. Counts from 1-10 and sometimes higher. Beginning to count with one-to-one correspondence. Not as interested in letters, but knows that C is for cookie. Usually knows it's for his name.

Regularly uses 4-5 word phrases. The longest I've heard is 7, but that was an outlier. Suddenly calls himself just his name instead of "Baby C." Still refers to himself in the 3rd person, but just this week I have heard correct usage of the first person ("I do it."; "I am C; this is mommy."). It made me kind of sad!

Has moved from simple labels or statements to more complex story-telling or thoughts. Starting to correctly use more sophisticated concepts like already, after, under, where, everyone, and no _____; just ______. Often surprises us from things he remembers that took place months ago. Yesterday he told me that he wanted to get another green Christmas tree for his house and the big house, and put a star on it.

Predictably, is asserting independence and autonomy. But requests a hug if scared or unsure.

Dislikes: I'm having trouble thinking of any specific dislikes, but I'm sure they exist. Has started running away naked before bath, but that's just because he likes us to chase him (while yelling "Jailbreak! Naked baby! Naked baby!"). Can be hesitant in new and strange situations. We have the typical resistance to transitions and sometimes I do terrible things, like getting out the wrong cup, which can lead to total loss of composure.

Stats:
He was scared of the measuring contraptions at his 2-year checkup, so the pediatrician was not confident that these measurements are valid. But he's about 26 lbs and 2'9". He's fairly tall, but still on the not-heavy side. His growth curves are fine, so that's just how he's built for now! I can confirm that he eats well.

They've told us we can turn the car seat around to face forward, but we haven't done it yet.

Size 5 diapers. Showing interest in the potty, but no potty training plans at present.

2T clothing. Approximately size 6 shoe, though he only wears his boots these days.

Olaf Worldwide

Everyone (except me and C) has been traveling in some form or fashion this week, and they sent some photos to check in.

These were separate texts on the same day, so pure coincidence.

Texas...

Florida...

And the reply from our house:

("Kristoff hat")

Frozen on, friends. Thanks for thinking of us, even though the most exotic place we've been this week is Target. 

After nap, he's even doing his best Olaf "hair"

And I think we can all get behind this one...

Iced In

The 7+" of forecasted snow turned into a half-inch of ice, so we have all the hassle and treachery without any of the fun. 

We made it through the night--only real concern remains icy limbs and power lines--and are snuggling up for another day. 

Some reports say main roads are ok, but our hill looks like solid ice and got worse overnight, so we haven't ventured out to see for ourselves. 

Looks like snow...isn't. 

We have movies and toys, and the family is being generally tolerant of me inventing creative meals, so we're good (and warm). 

Not really excited to Pioneer for, like, days, though. Stay tuned. 

Breaking News

Possibly most hilarious school pickup ever.