Look who's 2!!

Classic Julia "excited" expression!

Opening gifts from Gramma and Papa, thank you!

Taking a bite of cake, yum...

Mama's birthday girl

Daddy's princess ;)

Homemade carrot cake!

She loved blowing out her own candles :)

Her best friend, Cookie

Playing with her new kitchen!

What's cooking?

For Julia's 2nd birthday, we did our usual low-key celebration with cake and gifts at home. We actually spread out our celebrating over a few days, since the birthday girl was sick over the weekend. We had plans to go to the zoo, but just stayed in, and then took her to an indoor bouncy gym place the next weekend (more photos to follow...). We decided to get Julia a play kitchen, since she pretending to cook, so this was perfect for her :). It's so incredible how fast the last couple years have gone by. I remember so vividly the moment she was born - hearing her before I even saw her! Our lives changed in an instant, but it's difficult to imagine what in the world we ever wasted our time and energy on before Julia! We seem to move through seasons of her growing so quickly - one minute we're up all night with her and sleeping in the recliner with her on our chests, the next we're bolting upright in bed, worried because she's slept the whole night without making a peep! We used to have conversations that consisted of coos and winks and soft kisses, now we're having conversations about what she did at daycare, how we should behave and treat others, and how big girls use the potty! In some ways I feel like I wish I could go back to the days when she was an infant, but at the same time it's so exciting to see what she's going to learn next :).