Happy birthday Ethan!

 Our baby turned two today!  This boy is definitely not a baby anymore.  Scoring in the 98th percentile for both weight and height, he weighs in at only about 5 pounds under his 5.5 year old sister.  But like his doctor says, "at least he's proportional". :)

We had fun celebrating Ethan today.  The stuffed animal birthday welcome committee has become a tradition over the last couple of years.  Addison was excited to help us place all of the friends in the hallway last night after we put Ethan to bed.  He was pleased to see them when he came out and was quick to sit with them to pose for a picture.  Then he went back in his room to collect a few more toys that had been excluded and added them to the pile.

 Blueberry pancakes were for breakfast.  He knew exactly what to do with those candles.  All the "hide it under a bushel...No!" practice really paid off.

 If you've spent any time with Ethan lately you've concluded that he excels at anything physical but speaking actual intelligible words is not yet his forte.  We were delighted to hear "I two!" exclaimed at various points throughout the day.  First Steps speech therapy for the win!

After a trip to Build-A-Bear and Chuck-E-Cheese this morning and an all-out nap protest this afternoon, we ventured north to Grandma and Grandpa Gafford's house to have a birthday party with some of Ethan's best friends.... Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Gayla, and Great-great-aunts Fannie and Martha.

 Thank you pinterest for the monkey birthday cake inspiration...

 He had a lot of fun opening up all his birthday presents, but it got a little more fun after he opened up his Melissa and Doug Construction Worker outfit... (Grandpa was still cutting off tags at this point...)

Make a wish!

He quickly discovered that his construction vest had perfect pockets for carrying some of his new treasures.  He did a quick show-and-tell with Aunt Fannie.

And then Aunt Martha.

We had a fun day celebrating our birthday boy today.  So thankful for every ounce of him and the joy that he brings to our family.  We love you so much Ethan!

Next Stop: Kindergarten!

Our big girl got just a bit bigger today!  This was her last day of pre-K and graduation this evening.  I asked her this morning if she was sad that today was her last day.  Her response: "No, I've been waiting for this day my whole entire life!"  I don't think she meant for it to sound the way it did... at least not this early in her education career.  She has loved every minute of the year with her two fantastic teachers.


Addison with Ms. Holly

Addison with Ms. Michelle

(Can you tell it was Red, White, and Blue day at school today?)

Here are some of my favorites from tonight's graduation...

On the way home we were talking about how she's a kindergartener now.  "Mom, am I kindergartening next week?"  "No kiddo, no kindergartening until August.  Sorry."