Abby is TWO!!

Abby is 2 years old! Here's what she's up to!

Height: 35 inches (grew 2.5 inches in 6 months) = 78%

Weight: 27.8 lbs. (gained 3 lbs in 6 months) = 74%

Head: 49.5 cm (up 1 cm in 6 months) = 95%

photo credit to Jesse Leos PhotographyDiaper: None!! She wears a diaper at night, but that'll be a pull up soon (as soon as we run out).

Eating: She prefers crackers, goldfish, and chips (whereas Grant prefers fruit). She stopped taking a bottle right after her 18 month post! But she still wants a sippy with milk. She goes through phases where she sometimes wants ONLY milk - and doesn't eat much else.

Clothing: 18-24 months and some 2T

Sleeping: Still sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes 1 nap (1.5 hours). She doesn't wake up easily. She likes to linger in her crib for a bit. She is always the last one awake in the morning, but then the first one awake from naps. She's started hoarding things in her crib and insists on taking things to bed with her every night!

Talking: The most beautiful word she uses is "Potty". Her vocabulary is too much to include here. We still struggle to understand some of her words, but it's about 1 an hour instead of all baby talk.

Songs: Current favorites are "I Love You" (from Barney), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Old McDonald, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Teeth: We went to the dentist for the first time in November! It was more of a wrestling match. Dentist suggested flossing between her 2 front teeth, but that has yet to happen. I mean - come on! She's TWO!

Milestones: The biting seems to be over now. Obviously potty training is a HUGE milestone! She just started jumping where both feet actually leave the ground (sometimes).

photo credit to Jesse Leos PhotographyGuaranteed Smiles: Tickles, kisses on her neck, anything upside down, pretending to go "night night" when she and Bubba play in her crib.

Guaranteed Crying: Still - taking her milk away or not letting her have it. Taking away one of the items (book, blanket, doll, etc.) that she's hoarding to her crib at night. Funny enough, I think she may make her brother cry more often than the other way around.

And here are Grant's stats from his 2 year old post.

Abby's 2nd birthday party!!

Abby turns 2 this coming Sunday, but we have big plans to potty train over the Thanksgiving holiday. A party and potty training sounded like too much fun for 1 weekend, so we celebrated her birthday a little early.

First off, the invitation:

And the back shows Abby from 0 to 23 months:

I loved looking back at Grant's invitation (exactly the same as this one), so I just had to do the same for Abby.

Baby #2 doesn't get a pre-ordered cake ordered weeks in advance. No - she gets a cookie cake from Sam's that was ordered 3 days in advance. BTW - it was still delicious and so pretty. I told everyone that I only spent $16.48 on the cake. Love that! And we stole this idea from Brady's 2nd bday.

Baby #2 doesn't get homemade treats. No - she gets Chick-fil-a nuggets and pre-made goodies from Costco.

The party was just a classic home party - kids running around, and parents drinking and worrying about red icing getting all over. Ice cream, cake and presents. Abby had fun, but it's possible that Grant had more fun getting to play with all his older cousins.

Decorations -

Birthday girl (stolen from Carrie's facebook) -

All the Paxton cousins -

Party pics -

These 2 are brothers. The oldest is in Grant's class and the youngest is in Abby's class. The older boys are great friends, so the younger boy is about 8 years away from being Abby's boyfriend.

New toys:

Abby's bff:

Cousins (attacking Matthew):

The other man (more boyfriend material):

Grant's 2nd Birthday Party!!!

We celebrated Grant's birthday this weekend! The theme was ELMO!!! He's Grant's favorite. Check out the invitations:
Front

Back

I was so on top of things that I never got them in the mail! So people that we saw received an invitation in person, but all the other guests got a text invitation. Classy, I know.

Elmo also made appearances in the cake, a balloon, plates, napkins, and wall decals (thanks to Groupon for the gear)! There is a 50/50 chance that Abby will have an Elmo first birthday party in 6 months. My desire to have a full out pink party may win out though! I served Jill's pizza rolls (adding peppercinis in some & fresh basil in all of them) and some other snacks. The pizza rolls were a huge hit!

Juggling 2 kiddos, guests, and a 2 year old playing in the pool is not an easy feat. Thankfully everyone helped. Abby was passed around and entertained by all. Wrapping paper and cardboard boxes magically found their way to the recycle bin thanks to the Motos. And the icing on the cake (pun intended)? Shauna playing with my babies after the party, making clean up SO MUCH EASIER on me!

Grant did a much better job eating cake this year! He still used his hands (mostly to put the cake on the spoon) and ended up with some on his face, yes, but it was a MUCH cleaner affair than last year.

Party pics:
Singing Happy Birthday:

Blowing out candles:

Some of the baby whisperers: (this does NOT include my mom. Abby loved Rose the next day in Red Oak, but she pouted and cried at the sight of her at Grant's party!!!)
Guests:


Pool fun:

Eating cake with less mess than last year:
Notice Abby isn't facing my mom!

Grant's favorite new toys!!