not a baby anymore- updated

Tonight I sat at Alli Roger's concert and as she talked about the birth of a child (speaking of having her little one and also of the birth of Jesus), I ached a bit for the baby that I no longer have. Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful and excited for my little two year old girl but I also realized that a season of my life, a season of my first child being a baby- dependant on her mommy, has ended. On happier notes- a new season of toddlerhood and independence has begun! Oh and it has arrived, let me tell you! Addelyn is an amazing little gal and I'm so thankful for her. She is challenging me and helping me grow every day.

Here are some pics from her birthday- she turned two last week. CRAZY where did these two years go?

Mark and I didn't really buy much for Addelyn's birthday- Care Bears fruit snacks and a photo album. She is quite content with what she got. Plus, who needs lot of gifts when you have grandparents? :) In the above picture, Addelyn had just woken up. We had decorated with balloons and a sign and she got to open a present. She was VERY excited for the Care Bears fruit snacks, especially when she got to eat them for breakfast! (not a usual breakfast item at our house ha ha)

The next day was her birthday party and our families joined us at our house for dinner and Addelyn opened her gifts. She received many great things- toys and clothes and other fun stuff. She had fun opening gifts and loved everything. You can tell she is only two though as by the end of present opening she said "no more mommy!" I hope she'll remember that in the upcoming years when she is old enough to make lists and start asking for what she wants.

Believe it or not, she actually opened every card before she opened each present!

Up until Addelyn's birthday, she kept saying that she wanted cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes. I told her I would decorate them with kitties and puppies. So every day until her birthday these were the words we would hear...."two." (her holding up her fingers to show two- usually this would be three or four fingers though) "cupcakes." "chocolate." "puppies." "kitties." Over and over and over. So we coudn't disappoint her. The day of her party as she napped, some of our family was already at our house for the party. We spent time decorating the cupcakes and getting creative with cat and dog faces. It was fun and I have to say I was proud of our creations (well, most of them). See if you can find The Joker! Mark's dad really pulled out his creative skills :)

Addelyn liked the faces of the cupcakes and ate all of the candy and frosting off the top but could care less about the cake itself. This is pretty much all she had of her cupcake. It was a great second birthday for Addelyn- thanks to everyone who helped celebrate!

My two year old. I love this little girl. It is going to be a fun year!

Oh, by the way, her two year appointment showed her in the 50th percentile for height (34 1/4 inches) and head (18 3/4 inches) and 25th percentile for weight (24 lbs., 7 oz.)