Love Hangover

Will turned two Jan. 25th and we had a great time celebrating! We had a little Sesame Street themed party at our house with brunch and cake, and lots and lots of presents.

Guppy and Grandma

Chocolate chip bagels are a birthday tradition!

Will passed out gifts to all of his party guests. 

Uncle David, baby Adilynn, and Aunt Raine

Papa and Grandma, who made the drive all the way from Michigan to be there. Now that's love!

Will's baby sitter Ms Kim threw him a birthday party too! He came home wearing this hat and kept it on all night.

Aunt Kait, baby Brayden, and Aunt Steph

Grandpa Bri

Aunt Val and Uncle John

Life-sized Elmo balloon that Will couldn't get enough of

At two years old, Will:

• Loves to sing and dance. His current favorite song is "Let It Go" from 'Frozen.' We could've sworn it sounded like he was singing the chorus one w/e and then Ms Kim mentioned the kids had watched it like every Friday for the past couple weeks in a row. Ah Ha!
• Loves to read. Favorite books are, "The Little Engine That Could", "The Little Red Caboose" (see a theme here?), and "Corduroy." 
• Loves cars, trucks, and trains, and anything to do with cars, trucks, and trains. I mean anything.
• Loves to play outside. He'd stay outside all day if we let him. He loves to go to the park, ride around in his Little Tykes car, run around. He's in his element.
• Loves to eat. Will has been a great eater since day 1 and I am happy to say that hasn't changed. He doesn't like broccoli and can be picky with fruits and vegetables in general, but I guess he wouldn't be a kid if he weren't. He inherited  Bill and my sweet tooth and he loves anything covered in cheese, sour cream, and/or Greek yogurt.
• Is still a very affectionate kid. He asks for hugs now and he does this little massage motion on that back of my neck whenever I hold him. He plays with my hair gently. He gives us goodnight kisses every night. He's a regular Pepe LePeau, I'm telling you. He reminds me much of Bill in that way.
• Is very smart. Nothing gets by him. I mean really, nothing. He picks up on things quickly. He can count and he knows some of his colors. His speech has really exploded the last two months. I'd guess he says about 50 words now. 
• Is very empathetic and sensitive. One of my tricks to get him to take a nap is to pretend I am sleeping myself. When I do this he covers me with a blanket and tries to take off my shoes. I hurt myself one day and said ouch, loudly, and he came running to my rescue asking, Ok? And then gave me a few pats on the shoulder to reassure me.
•  Loves Elmo and Sesame Street and anything electronic. He also loves whatever Bill has or is doing at any given moment. I have a feeling that will never change!
• Gets frustrated easily. He has about zero patience, (Bill!), and a bit of a temper. I know what you're thinking...
• Has a silly sense of humor. He loves when we talk in funny voices and he loves Daddy's pranks, like popping out and surprising him, pretending to steal food off his tray, etc. He's the best audience we've ever had!
• Still takes a nap every day, about 2 hrs on average, and sleeps about 11 hrs/night. He's still in the crib.

Year three will be a big year for us. Hopefully we'll have success potty training in about 6 months or so, possibly the transition from the crib, though I will sustain it as long as I possibly can, possibly giving up a routine, consistent nap (ack!), more development, and of course, more memories. Don't get me wrong, parenting a toddler is crazy. It's like living with a miniature drunk every day. But wouldn't want it any other way.

All dressed up for his first Valentine's party and Ms Kim's house

The loot! Yes, Bill and I ate it ALL.

My Funny Valentine

My Perfect Valentine. We had SO much fun this year. We have a tradition of dinner at the Melting Pot every year but they messed up our reservation time so we were left without any plans. Bill had a great idea of heading down to the Bishop Arts District and it was FABulous! It is such a cool area of Dallas and one neither of us had been to so it felt like we were traveling. We bar hopped, we had a nice dinner, we stumbled upon the infamous Emporium Pies and Dude, Sweet Chocolate, which were everything I'd hoped they'd be. It was hands down the funnest, most romantic date/Valentine's Day. The moral of the story: be spontaneous!