Happy 2nd Birthday, Aaron!

I keep saying this, and you're probably getting tired of it, but you'll just have to endure :)  I cannot believe my boy is already 2!

He has a little sister.

He runs, he jumps, he twirls, he dances, he stomps his feet, he does giant steps...

He laughs, he talks, he yells, he squeals, he screams, he whispers...

He hugs, he high-fives, he kisses, he snuggles, he sits in our laps, he curls up with blankets...

He chases our fur babies (and we think it's hilarious... hehe), he launches balls and other toy items like a pro, he uses our dining room table as a race track, and our hallway as a drag strip for racing

He also does too many things like me... which make me giggle and my hubby shake his head ;)  Things like: saving his favorite color fruit loop for last (his happens to be red... mine was always blue), he lines up all of his cars (facing all the same direction, and a lot of times they are color coordinated), he builds towers in alternating color blocks (patterns...)... yeah.  We'll leave it to that list for now ;)

Anywho, for this 2nd birthday, we kept it low-key... mostly because hubby had to work... but thankfully it wasn't a 14-hr day like we expected!  Hooray for dinner OUT!  Plus, we're planning on a small gathering to celebrate for this Saturday!

It's been an interesting day... moreso for me (Aaron has no clue... not a single clue... bless him for his toddler innocence!).

All started with me wanting to sneak into his room this morning and get a picture of him sleeping at the exact time of his birth 5:46am.  Rebekah woke me up at 5:15 (started nursing her at 5:20ish, finished at about 5:30, got her back into her bassinet at 5:40)... was thankful I didn't have to listen to my alarm, but was a little panicky about her possibly not going back to sleep easily.  Thankfully, she was great!

So, I head to the living room to retrieve the camera, and make it into his room at exactly 5:46.  Phew!  I'm good... until.......

I try to take a picture, it sets up to take, and then bam... black screen.  The lens pulls in and then it gives me this screen:

"Battery Exhausted"

Well, shoot.  I'm exhausted too... but I'm still in here, and come on!  I want this picture!

So, I try again... same deal.

Huffing and puffing (and about the blow the house down), I stomp back to the living room to find replacement batteries... I stumble upon rechargeable ones... head back to his room.

I try to get a picture again... and AGAIN, black screen and exhausted message.  SERIOUSLY?!  Now I'm about to scream  lol.

Then it happens, Aaron wakes up because he heard his door squeak (blasted squeaky hinges!)... so, now I have to pick him up, and then he requests "Juice"... so, we go get juice and I try to find some other other batteries.  Hooray!  I find some!

So, I did get a picture (at 5:58... ugh)... but guess what?  Aaron was not about to go back to sleep.

GOOD MORNING! :)

Definitely wasn't expecting to start out my day with him already there... but it's ok :)  He ate his breakfast while watching a movie (hooray for birthdays!), I still got a nice breakfast and a hot cup of coffee (rare!).

We did a TON of TV today... but hey, it's not all the time, and it was pouring down rain for most of the day (not the kind that's easy for a kiddo to play in... it was torrential... ).  He played with his cars, dumped out his bins of toys (so, essentially had every toy out), watched movies, and we did get to go puddle jumping during a break in the weather :)  He loves going "spash!"

Dinner was Buffalo Wild Wings, and boy, did Aaron have a blast.  He was pretty restless, but enjoyed his time sitting in the booth with Daddy (hooray for being big enough/old enough for a booster!).

We're waiting to give him our gifts until Saturday, so that he can have something for that celebration.  Plus, he received a few cards and some presents from my sister and brother-in-law.  She used the same concept we're hoping to stick to as parents in gifting to our children... which is this:

1 Toy
1 Book
1 Outfit

It's simple, it's well balanced, and it keeps the TOYS in check.  We certainly don't have room for myriads of toys...

What gifting "rules" or concepts do you hold to?  (if any)  We may get into having our kiddos give something away as a donation when they're older (instead of constantly receiving, allowing them to know what it's like to give away).

All-in-all, it was a fantastic day!  Exhausting, but great!

Now it's time to feed Rufie and Gildie and head to bed... Goodnight all!  :)