Two Times Two

A couple weekends ago we were able to celebrate MJ's 2nd birthday one more time.  I'm finally getting around to sharing a few pictures!  We decided to stay in town and keep MJ's birthday party local this year.  We opened it up to the grandparents and great grandparents along with his two uncles.  We knew most people wouldn't be able to make a special trip, but we were okay with it either way.  His 1st birthday party in STL was definitely fun and very special, but we were looking forward to keeping it a bit more low key this year and I think MJ enjoyed it just as much, if not more. 

GiGi, PopPop, and Uncle Jeff came to Dubuque to celebrate!  Unfortunately, poor GiGi ended up being quite sick and had to spend most of the time in bed.  We all felt so sorry for her and knew that she was really disappointed too.  Luckily though, we still managed to have fun and shower MJ with lots of love!

We took MJ to the park for some playtime on a beautiful day.  After a long winter, we were thankful for a little outdoor sunny time!

Even Uncle Jeff enjoyed the playtime, too!  :)

While MJ was napping after his playtime at the park, I was busy preparing all things Elmo and putting together some of his decorations, goodies, and presents.  When MJ awoke, he came down to a living room full of balloons and PopPop began to show him some of the goodies that were awaiting him.

Of course, what does a new 2 year old want to do first but start with presents?! 

 First, he began by checking out all his Elmo goodies... an Elmo ball, Elmo socks, Elmo coloring book, Elmo bracelets (yes, he loves bracelets), Elmo See 'n Say, etc. etc. 

 Next, he got his first pair of Croc's from Uncle Jeff.  They were adorned with his FAVORITE thing...cars!!!

 He's been wearing these shoes ever since!  He wore them to school and it just made his day when his teacher noticed them first thing when he walked in. 

 Uncle Jeff scored brownie points with those shoes!

 Time to dig in to another present from GiGi and PopPop....A new Cardinals outfit and then...

 a new backpack!!!

 Pausing for a quick read from his new book with Dada!

 Giving PopPop some cuddles and showing off his goodies!

How cute is this?  MJ likes to put on his new backpack and walk around!  Where did my baby go?

Of course, no birthday party would be complete without good food, so next we had a little Mexican fiesta with homemade quesadillas, rice, Mexican salad, chips and salsa and guacamole.  Our picky little eater is usually pretty happy when it comes to quesadillas, so it was a safe bet.  He didn't eat much though because I think he have had his eye on those birthday cupcakes.

Quite a difference this year as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  Last year he looked a bit fearful and wasn't sure what was going on.  This year it was all smiles and lots of applause for himself!

 And then out of nowhere, he decided to dive face first into his cupcake!  Well, I guess that's one way to eat it...

Happy 2nd birthday, sweet boy!  We are so blessed by your life and proud to be a part of your life!