Two.

My girl turned two over the weekend. Can you believe it? I hardly can. It feels like just an hour ago I was waiting and wishing for her to come and then poof--she was here and my life was forever changed, to the point I can barely remember what my days were like before her.

We had her birthday party on Saturday. The party wasn't really themed...I just went with a bunch of bright colors and fun food. I tried to keep it as laid back as possible with fuss-free everything. I ordered cupcakes from my favorite cupcake friend, Alyssa's Cupcake Confections. We went with chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting and strawberry shortcake cupcakes. Yes, they were as delicious as they sound :)

The birthday girl ate plenty of sweets and opened more presents that she could believe. She loved everything, but her favorite present was actually a pair of shoes. A pair of green, sparkly Toms shoes, to be exact--courtesy of her aunt and uncle. 

Then on Sunday, her actual birthday, we spent the day doing all her favorite things. We went on bike rides, went to the beach and walked in the sand, got ice cream, went on the swings, and had macaroni and cheese for dinner. The list a two-year old comes up with for their dream day is so sweetly simple and adorable :)

In the morning she got to open yet another crop of presents, this time from Chad's mom and sister who sent her a bunch of fun things from Maine.

Like this box:

Also, an art easel:

Literally as I'm typing this I can hear the commencement speeches happening at the high school football field behind my house. Just a few minutes ago I peeked outside to see all the graduates filing in, boys in navy caps and gowns and girls in white. I'm sure every parent sitting in those stands is feeling a mix of pride and sadness, for it must be a bittersweet moment to fully realize your baby is no longer that. They are probably all wondering where did the time go?. The speed at which time passes is something I notice more with each passing year. It is not lost on me, not for a second.

But today I remember that for now, I have a little person who still wears jammies with attached feet. A person who gets excited to sing her ABC's, to count to ten, and to try to put her shoes on by herself. A person who tells me, every single morning, that she wants waffles and "na-nas" for breakfast, like it's something new and exciting and different. Someone who watches Elmo's World with rapt attention and sings "wheeee! Mommy's riding a bike!" every single time we take a bike ride (which is pretty much every day). A person whose worst injuries can still be fixed with a kiss and a Candyland band aid. A person who just really loves her Winnie blankie, kitty cats, swings, cookies, and playing outside. For now, I still have my baby and perhaps sixteen years from now I will look back on this post and will hopefully be able to say that I made the most of it; that the years may have passed quickly, but boy were they great.

Happy 2nd Birthday, baby girl.

~Stacy