Our Winding Road: MJ Turns TWO!

Our sweet little one is officially two years old now. I snuck into his room, scooped him out of bed, and rocked him as he was actually turning two at 12:03AM on March 9th! He didn't wake at all, and oh how I treasured those quiet peaceful moments. Two years ago I would have given anything to hold him and comfort him, but that experience and perspective makes us appreciate each milestone even more!

MJ's 2nd birthday was pretty low-key, but still quite special. We had so much going on that day between work, carpet being installed, my mom having some very important medical tests (more to come on that later), and my brother having a job interview, that we just really enjoyed some quiet family time together in the evening. It was definitely special and most importantly, MJ had a blast!

Mathew Alan Keyes Jr.- Two Years Old!

I snapped this picture right before heading off to "school" on his birthday. They have been transitioning him to the 2 year old room, and he's making the change like a champ!

After morning time at school, Daddy picked him up and brought him home for naptime. Apparently during nap time, he received the memo that he was official two year old and could now embark on all the mischief possible! When I went in to get him up from his nap he had taken off both socks, his pants, unsnapped his onesie, taken off a poopy diaper and thrown it on the floor!! Although he's taken off his pants a few times before, we'd never seen him do any of the others much less all at once!!

After that mess was cleaned up, it was on to some birthday FUN! We started with presents...

a quick snack (this would have been the perfect picture had I realized there was a cheerio stuck to his chin)...

a little chat on Skype with GiGi-notice him waving "hello"...

and then a couple pictures with Mama and Dada!

I don't think we could be any prouder of this little guy! And, I just adore this profile shot of my little man as he exhibits pure joy and happiness on his 2nd birthday!

Then, it was off to Jumpin' Janes for some playtime! When we'd visited before MJ mostly hung back and just played in the toddler room full of play kitchens, small plastic slides, and little toys. This time, he zipped right past it and headed for the big kid area. It really was strange how he suddenly, as if on cue, seemed like a big independent toddler! He amazed me at how hard he played and all the slides and bounce houses he attempted. I never would have guessed that he was ready for those things, but it was great to see him running around with a big smile on his face just going down slide after slide. We ordered pizza while we were there and couldn't even get him to stop long enough to take more than a couple bites. He played hard for nearly two hours!

Climbing up the ladder for the slide...