Eli is 2!

Ah, two.  What an age!  A typical exchange with you goes like this:

I try to turn the lights on. 

You yell “NO!  By SELF!”

I wait, and eventually encourage, “OK, Eli, let’s turn the lights on.”

Your reply: “No!  I NOT!  I NOT turn lights on mommy!”

So right there you can see your two most common utterances: “No, I not!”  and “By self!”  It would be frustrating except that you are so funny, such a ham, and so sweet.  I made waffles for breakfast because I know you like them (and leftover oatmeal for the 4th day in a row is a pretty lousy birthday breakfast), and they came out awful, but still you said “Mmmm, dewicious!”  Although then you mostly left the waffle and ate all the syrup with your hands.  Ew. 

After breakfast, we went to the canal to feed the ducks, but you just ran around like crazy, generally giving me a heart attack.

Brian fed the ducks (and the pigeons tried to get in on the action)while I chased you around and tried to take pictures while keeping myself in between you and the water. 

Then we walked with our friends along the canal over to the cupcake place.  What a beautiful day; we were so lucky!

Mmmm… cupcake!  (I did help with that; sorry but it was too much for a 2 year old!)

This was followed by a not-so-fun trip to the library where you refused to stay in the room where we were doing puzzles and insisted on going out to see the giant stuffed raccoon out in the main room.  The librarian patiently smiled at your antics (escaping from the room, climbing a chair to peek in the window, screaming bloody murder if I tried to pick you up) and asked how old you were.  “Two years old today!”  “Yep, that’s what I figured!” she said.  We did our usual afternoon of taking Brian to school, going home for a nap, and going back to get him.  Oh, how you love the little playground in front of the Y!

When we got home, there was a package full of cars from Grandma and Grandpa, and you got so excited when you saw the package.  “Big, big, big car!”  I told you there might be a book in there and you said, “No? No book?  Big, big car!”  Well, fortunately there were cars (and a scary cat card). 

In case that wasn’t enough fun for one day, when Daddy got home, we had dinner and went out for ice cream!

Then when we got home, you got MORE cars, this time from Ye Ye and Nai Nai!  You got to play with the new cars and talk to them on Skype, and by then it was well past bedtime but of course you did NOT want to go to bed.  Oh, boy.  We love to see your personality emerging along with so many words, even if it’s mostly newfound naughtiness.  It’s hard to believe that you were so small such a short time ago. 

Happy Birthday, baby!  (I promise I will try now to stop calling you baby!)  We can’t wait to see what this year will bring!