Nathan Turns 2!

That's my boy!

In an effort not to deprive Nathan of his birthday celebration we moved things up a bit and scheduled his "party" for two weeks early. I really did my best not to stress out or commit too much to this one for a few reasons. 1) He's turning 2. This isn't exactly a Sweet 16. 2) Who knew if it would have to be cancelled at the last minute anyway? 3) I'm trying to keep perspective on this parenting thing 4) I'm just kind of tired these days and didn't really want to over do it. 

I wanted to create something of a "party in a box" that if we had to cancel could be brought out at another time without much fuss. Frogs are a much beloved thing at this moment in his life, so once we landed on that, I spent about $20 and a half an hour on Amazon one night and came away with a plan. Gummy frogs, red "tongue" blowers, frog stickers, and clearance Christmas straws were the basis for a super fun frog birthday! I had GRAND plans of getting green paper plates and cutting a notch in them for lily pads, but they only had square green plates at Kroger, so I gave up the dream.

Brian wisely urged me (and I didn't put up much of a fight) to order out for lunch, and so we had a delicious Tunisian meal! I didn't get any photos of the food since I was too busy eating it, but I'm a fan! The most labor intensive thing we did (other than clean and pick up our house) was the frog cupcakes, and even that was simple. I made the cupcakes the day before with Nathan and froze them in case we would have to cancel and while Nathan ate breakfast this morning I frosted and finished them. Done! 

It was so sweet of everyone to come over to celebrate, and we in turn provided some seriously amazing mid-April weather. It was 70 degrees and not raining the whole day, which meant that our patio furniture got used for the first time this year and the kids were in and out at their pleasure (thus some bare-chested photos - it got hot out there!). Nathan even managed to play somewhat reasonably with Zach as he built a very impressive train track. Nathan was mostly putting cars on the track and moving them around but would periodically take a piece apart and look so proud as he declared, "broke it!" Zach was wonderful about the fact that Nathan was doing the exact opposite of what he would have preferred. His conductor hat (from Nanny and Pop Pop was a happy coincidence since it was the one I had on hand when he wanted to go outside. Sure looks good in the pictures though!

We had specified no gifts, but what can I say? The boy is loved. Cathy gave him a drum and instrument set that he absolutely adores! When I took him up for his nap he was narrating to me, "Birfday drum. Lub it. Bang on it. Want it." The Wyderkos hit the nail on the head and brought him a Thomas the Train engine and puff balls, which are sure to have some serious legs. Others brought gifts to have him open once baby girl arrives (love this).

Nathan distributed frog stickers to some of the guests

Once again Brian was great with Zach and Leah while I mostly just hung out on the floor and the couch. I melt when I watch him playing stuffed animals with Leah. Leah also seems to be in a phase of seeing what happens when she DOESN'T smile for a picture, which I actually think is cuter than smiling at this point (sorry Liz!).

Speaking of cute, Angela is the cutest pregnant lady and puts me to shame. I feel bloated and she's just walking around all pulled together and adorable. I try not to hold it against her.

After everyone left, Brian found some additional untapped energy (no idea where he got it from) and decided to clean up the front and back yard with the assistance of a 3 foot helper. I swear he's doing his dad form of nesting since yesterday he tackled the garage and has it practically sparkling. Afterwards we all needed a break, put Nathan in front of Sesame Street and witnessed our child actually sit still for 10 minutes of tv (he gets so little that this is pretty much a record) and knock back a serious amount of water. All in all, it was a fabulous day.

Happy birthday to my dear, sweet, energetic, goofy, and very much loved boy!