Addison's 2nd Birthday!

I know it's cliche but I can hardly believe that my baby is two years old!! What an absolute joy she is in our family and all of our lives have been blessed these last two years since she arrived. Yesterday was quite a low key day for us as far as birthdays go around here. After we dropped the big kids off she and I had some play time and then I took a bunch of pictures of her. I am so thrilled that she is suddenly cooperating and even playing it up with the camera. Woohoo! I hope this means we are out of the awkward photographing stage with her. I adore how these turned out. We were both having so much fun! I whipped up this outfit for her the day before and love how it turned out and it was very quick and easy!

When Allen got home we had dinner and cake. I made one of those huge cupcakes and Addie was so funny all afternoon chanting "cake, cake, cake." It was pure torture for her to see it on the counter all day long and have to wait for it.



She loved all the attention all day long and kept saying "happy bwiwthday" to everyone. She was even a pro at blowing out her candles! {It really is amazing how much they grow up between 1 and 2!}

She was thrilled to open up her presents and had lots of help from her siblings. She was totally spoiled and has been loving her new toys. Her favorite toy of all this stuffed dog Violet:

It ironically did not make it into the present picture. It is darling though and says her name and interacts with her. It's really cute!

At two Addie is adorable. She loves music and dancing. She is always busting a move in the car when the radio is on and always at home, even when the piano is being practiced. She is talking a ton and gets funnier every single day. The kids love making her repeat things and then we all die laughing. The other day Makenna said to her, "We will, we will rock you." She repeated, "we wi, we wi, wock you." She thinks it's the funniest thing ever now. A few days ago at the park I was pushing her on the swing and kept saying "I love you" to her over and over. She got really frustrated at me and said, "no say love you mama." I laughed so hard so she kept saying it over and over. She absolutely loves talking on the phone and she begs for the phone all day long.

She is still a really picky eater and food is generally hit or miss with her. She'll eat like a horse one day and the next acts like she wouldn't touch that particular food with a ten foot pole. It can definitely be frustrating. She consistently likes cheese, milk, popcorn, eggs, diet Coke {bad parents}, cold cereal, pancakes and treats. You never know with anything else. She also LOVES gum and is always always begging for it. She is really good about it and never swallows it.

Addie is a lover of books, way more than my other kids. She will bring me books to read to her all day long. It is not uncommon for me to read 10 or more books for her before her nap and bedtime. She is particularly fond of touchy feely books and books with large pictures that she can point and say the words of the pictures. She also loves babies, Little People and Play Doh. And she loves stealing anything that her siblings are playing with. She is a total tease.

She also loves family time and is particular to our walks and playing at the park. She loves the swings and going down the slide. She also loves being outside and jumping on the trampoline. She is a great sleeper and will usually tells us when she is ready for a nap and bed. She loves to snuggle with her blanket, which she calls Spotty and sucks her thumb but only when she's falling asleep. She doesn't watch much TV but likes to snuggle with the big kids if they are watching. She does recognize Elmo though since I have been letting her watch a bit of SS if we are home in the morning. She can count to five and is learning the ABC song. She also loves the lullaby I sing to her before bed (passed down from my mom, grandma and great-grandma that all my kids know) and she sings along most nights. She loves saying family prayers and can now say part of it alone.

Like her sister {and mom}, Addie really appreciates a great pair of shoes, accessories and a pretty dress. After she gets dressed she will twirl in front of us until we tell her she looks pretty. She loves to be in on the action with whatever we are doing. She is also VERY attached to us and hates when we are out of her sight. She really likes to snuggle in bed in the morning and give out kisses and hugs. It is difficult to explain her personality but it is so fun, vibrant and magnetic. It seems like people are drawn to her and she has a quick grin and funny face for everyone. She is definitely our most social child at this age and is a total tease and usual has a twinkle in her eye. We are all so in love with her and are grateful to all that she brings to our family.

Happy Birthday Addie!