Birthday Celebrations

"Aunt" Esther's Birthday:

Although December is crazy for our family with several birthdays, along with the usual hustle and bustle of Christmas season, we always enjoy the togetherness it brings in both of our extended families.
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On Tuesday, Dec 21, we celebrated Esther's birthday several days early.  Maddie was pretty confused as to why we wouldn't do her "party" on her real birthday {ie: she was leaving to go out of town the next day for Xmas}.
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Some things I love about Esther include:
-It is ALL about my kids whenever she spends time with them.  She will run around and chase them as they giggle in delight.  The first thing they tell her when they see her is "chase me." They all have a special place in their hearts for their fun-loving Aunt Esther.
-She is ALWAYS there for me.  If she says she can watch the kids I can count on her to be there.  Whether it's sleeping at my house, tending children, etc. if she says she will do it, I know that she will.
-She dreams of someday going on to PT school and I know if she works hard at it, she can do anything!!
-She is such a great helper.  When she comes over to my house for dinner, the first thing she asks me is what she can do to help.  I know she is always helping my mother-in-law with dinner prep as well.
-She is also a great cook and definitely knows way more than me in this department.

Esther, Abby, Maddie and Robby

Jo, Esther, Abby and Robby

This was our one attempt to take a semi-Christmas family picture at the Toronto house. 

{not in picture: Jesse, Adam, and myself---I was snapping the photo}

*Sorry Brett- it was my only one :)

Miss M with Maggie: my kids all adore her

Nona and Maddie

After dinner my boys were having way too much fun downstairs with Papa.  They were jumping from the pool table to a dive on the couch--that is until Papa was scolded by Nona.  They then moved on to spinning rides on the chair.

E's Two Year Check Up Appt:

Lucky little man got to visit the doctor on his birthday!  He even scored bandages and two shots.  Luckily he only cried for a minute and was all smiles by the time we made it back to the car.  He is pretty average in his stats:
Length: 34.75in
Weight: 28lb 3oz

I finally got smart and brought pictures and crayons for the other two while waiting in the doctor's office.  I wonder why I have never though of this before. It seriously made all the difference...I have never seen my kids behave so well at the pediatricians office.

A few things about Eli at age TWO:

*he is quite spoiled and totally knows it.

*love love loves his "sissy" and thoroughly enjoys holding her hand and walking next to her when we go places.

*has not even attempted to climb out of his bed thus far!

*still is in love with his "fi" (pacifier) and bankies (blankets).

*insists I "sit" and "sing" whenever I go to lay him down for naps or bedtime.

*is a total cuddler.  he loves to gives kisses and hugs.  sometimes he gets in these moods where he will walk from one person to another giving out hugs over and over.

*still loves anything to do with balls.

*has found a new passion for trucks and trains--Robby on the other hand is not too thrilled with this one.  He rather hates having to share these toys with the little brother.

*is obsessed with his Woody and Buzz lightyear plastic figurines.  they sleep with him every night and many times accompany him around the house as well.

*has been my first baby that I have been able to enjoy as the baby for so long.  I have loved it and I think he has loved it just as much.

*gets totally jealous when I hold another baby.  he hates when I pick up any other crying child in nursery and wants me all to himself :)

*LOVES hot chocolate, chocolate milk, and candy canes.  he has this cute little pouty face that makes it impossible to tell him no {well most of the time that is}

*cracks me up with how he pronounces my name....it is like Mo-meeee.

*he knows the names of all the neighbor kids on our street and will yell for them as soon as he walks out the door. "jack?, luke?, a-beee?, e-leee?, ty-er?

*he repeats tons of words we say to him and especially enjoys saying the names of animals and their sounds.

*when I am holding him and he wants my attention, he will grab my face and turn it until I am giving him full eye contact.

*grabs my hand constantly and tells me to "come" when there is something he wants to show me.

*loves to sit in the drivers seat and pretend to drive.  he will even try to buckle the seat belt and put whatever he can find in the ignition to turn on the car. (such as the phone charger cord)

*some of the common words he says include: Buzz, can-deee {candy}, dis {this}, I pay {play}, no nap, momma choo choo!!, nose, hair, ears, bwee button {belly}, fingers,, toes, tongue, eyes, look, pane {plane}, baby, sissy, all done, no more, and about fifty other things I cannot think of right now!

 

Pre-party E's Bday:

It was raining on E's birthday so we had to take a break and play outside for a few minutes in all this.  Eli was not quite sure about water falling from the sky.  As you can tell, it doesn't rain much in Arizona!

Robby, on the other hand, could not get enough of the rain and even was raining his bike for a bit in all it's glory!

Maddie enjoyed the rain for a little while, but then decided it was too cold and she came inside and demanded I take pictures of her "posing".

Eli's Party:
We ended up having a small get together at our house on E's big day. I was determined to not make it a big day since we had already celebrated his un-birthday (18 mos) in June with presents and a party.  We made it simple and had cake and ice cream. Nona and Papa brought a whole bag of balloons that the kids had a riot playing with.  It was perfect.  We also got to meet Brett's cute new girlfriend :)  Maddie adored her and by the end, they were laughing and playing together. 

With Aunt Esther gone to Boston, Abby stepped in and played and played with our kiddos.  Robby was beet red and sweating like crazy by the time we sang happy birthday to Eli....oh and did I mention happy as a clam!