turning two!

can you believe Molly is two? it's crazy but true! we took a week to celebrate this year, starting with a small bday party with some of the neighborhood families the saturday before her birthday. we've never had that many people in our home - luckily, a lot of them were under 3 feet tall. of course that doesn't include our own daughter who at her 2-year dr. appointment measured in at 37"! check out all the people in our tiny house - wahoo, party!


her auntie Shani made her a beautiful banner and delicious chocolate cupcakes with creamy frosting. throughout her party, Molly would occasionally ask, "cupcakes?" and i would ask her to wait. eventually, it was time. she pulled out a chair, climbed up, looked around at everyone as if to say, "ok, it's time to start singing now", so we did. if there was ever a moment i wish i had on video, it was that moment (thankfully Diana and Denise got some pictures!). she gazed lovingly upon her cupcakes, swaying to and fro to the singing - man that kid LOVES to dance - so beautiful and so happy! once the singing was done, she knew right what to do and blew out her candle. then she grabbed a cupcake, got down off the chair, sat right down and licked off the icing! too cute!! here she is with her cupcakes...


for her actual bday, my mom flew up and we all went to the beach. we went to Long Beach, WA and stayed at our favorite place, the Lighthouse Resort. this is where Zero and i went on our honeymoon (exactly three years before!). they have these lovely condos right on the beach, and they have a salt-water pool and hot tub. it's a great place for families to stay. as we drove into town we stopped by one of the local kite stores and got Molly her first kite. the kite looked like a lovely frog (a poison dart frog i believe, but so pretty!). after we unloaded all of our stuff at the condo, we immediately went down to the beach and flew our kite! we also brought along a bucket and shovel for the beach. the next day we went back to the beach and built more sand castles and Molly ran straight into the water at one point. no fear. and she wasn't bothered by the cold either. amazing! Harley the pooch also had a wonderful time, she ran around like a puppy - and she really wanted to get that kite! we all had so much fun!


and here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the beach. here is Molly and Grandma the first day we got there - Molly still strikes this pose sometimes and says "grandma"!

and here is the whole family at the beach!

on her actual birthday (10/29), we went swimming, we went to the beach, we had all her favorite foods (omelets for breakfast, mac&cheese for lunch, chili for dinner) we opened presents (here is a slideshow of Molly with her new toolkit):


and per Molly's request, Grandma made apple pie for birthday dessert. look how happy she is!

we came home to a box from Grandma Mike and in it was a "very hungry caterpillar" extravaganza. she made Molly a quilt with the hungry caterpillar theme, and she sent the book, a little stuffed caterpillar and a board game (which Molly asks to play with almost every day!). here is Molly in the box everything came in, all cozy with her new quilt!

Molly got tons of wonderful things for her birthday, books that she loves (we all love SkippyJon Jones!), puzzles, a flashing toothbrush (which really helps her with brushing her teeth), a stuffed bison and so much more! but on Halloween we went to see auntie Shani who once again gave Molly the piece de resistance. last year it was baby doll, Molly's constant companion...this year, a stroller for baby doll. i swear she's gonna run those wheels right off of it! and because her imagination is in full force right now, we are constantly putting baby doll (or whoever else she can find) into the stroller and either "going to work" or "going to market" or "going to beach" or "going to airport" and off she goes. a few minutes later, she's back and there is much discussion of how the trip was and how her day was. it's the coolest thing ever! here she is with baby doll in the stroller.

it was an awesome week - i'm thinking "family tradition" myself! this tradition will of course have to include that upon our return to Portland from the beach, Grandma and Molly have a sleepover and Zero and I get to spend an evening together at the Heathman Hotel. Grandma graciously offered to do that for us this time. we ordered room service and watched Terminator! do anniversary celebrations get any better? i don't think so!

happy number two my sweet, sweet girl! you are truly the light of our lives. to think a year ago you were barely walking and only saying "daddy". now you run, jump, climb, swim, twirl and dance. you say "may i have pancakes for breakfast, mommy?" and read books to your baby doll. you easily count to ten (and know all the numbers to twenty, they just get rearranged a bit), and remember the words and tunes to songs, and have the best darn rhythm i've ever seen! you make jokes and your laugh is beautiful and contagious. sharing may not yet be your strong-suit, but you are kind and obviously already feel deeply for others (as we witnessed in your concern for the porcupine who was scared by mice in Quiet! There's a Canary in the Library). and the other night, when you walked up to Zero and i, threw open your arms and said, "mommy, daddy...both hug", it was the best moment of my life so far. you rock my world Molly-moo! i love you!!

next up, Halloween cowboys and a trip to the farm with Moe!