scarlett on the bus yells, "i turned two!"

("no hands, ma!" as scarlett takes over)

 (we finally got the kids parked in one place for a picture and to sing happy birthday to scarlett)

(scarlett wants nothing to do with pictures, but look at that ham REM)

(scarlett blew her candles softly, but they made her nervous and she felt much better when amelia helped her blow them out)

(the kids singing the "wheels on the bus," complete with actions lead by grandma bodtcher.
did anyone get a video???)

 (saying goodbye to her friends, lyla and ryan)

(trying to climb into her little people toy bus)

(scarlett figured out how to drive her truck! she was actually ditched and was yelling for her sister/cousins to come back drive her around, when she finally got tired of waiting and decided to press on the gas pedal herself)

(loved this little bus that jer and i made together)

a month before scarlett's birthday, jer and i talked about how easy and perfect it would be to reserve our stake center's cultural hall (he is the building scheduler) and have all the cousins bring over their wheels for a party. i had no theme in mind and was just fine about it. a few weeks before her birthday, i was sitting in the dark watching and listening to jeremy and scarlett play her favorite app "the wheels on the bus" like i did every single night. and it hit me like a ton of bricks, THE WHEELS ON THE BUS. duh! so on went with the now-themed party and i loved how perfectly the party turned out. the homemade buses were adorable, if i do say so myself... the kids  l o v e d  driving/riding/scooting their wheels around in a huge gym in the middle of winter... jer's mom and sister-in-law helped bring food and my parents brought their famous spring rolls; we had hoagie sandwiches that made for a perfect/easy dinner. scarlett just had so much fun, and it just made me so happy to see a party so perfect!

(but okay, i just have to say i forgot to buy a white tablecloth for a backdrop and had trouble blowing up all the balloons, which would have probably made for better pictures. jer's dad asked me how i wanted the food table to be set up, and i said whatever makes sense! and he was like "must be your second kid! you probably won't remember to bring food for the third!" and i thought, how true. but at least the kids had fun, despite my blurry, obviously-in-a-church pictures.)

love you forever, scarlett babe!
xo

scarlett turns 2

(i tried to had scarlett hold out a "2" for every picture, but it didn't work out.)

(amelia wanted to match her sister)

(she was unsure, because the blue&gold macaw was right behind her cawing at her)

(mani's for the girls!)

(AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

oh, we spoiled this girl all day long! pancakes for breakfast, aquarium, cupcakes and singing as soon as dad got home, chick fil a for dinner (with fries, frosted lemonade, and an ice cream cone), family game night, and a visit from ah ma & ah gong!

i didn't get teary at all, my heart just ached a little. i'm so happy to get to know the beautiful child she's growing in to, i just feel like it's flying by so fast! at two years old, she's in 18-24 months clothes, runs/jumps/dances/copies anything big sis does, sings the last word to so many songs, counts to 10 (with help), knows her colors, sings her ABCs, tells me when she needs to go potty about 50% for the time (no, we're not potty-training yet). on her birthday, i was especially tired and when she asked me to "carry you!" i told her that i had to carry the baby, but we could hold hands. she's been such a big girl ever since, and content being a good girl for mom. she's not a super affectionate babe, and i've had to "work with her" on giving loves (ie. i request hugs and kisses and for her to say "i love you, mom" every time she comes to sit on my lap -- jer thinks it is hilarious that i do this). she's the sweetest child, the quickest learner, has a little problem with putting things that are off limits in her mouth, LOVES the wheels on the bus song and actions, has the squishiest cheeks (face and bum!).

we love our babe so much, i can barely contain it!