Our Birthday Boy!

Still can't believe my little baby turned TWO! How did this happen? Where has the time gone? No matter what people say...he'll always be my "little" baby. Although, he is turning into such a little boy (aka toddler with such strong-willed opinions)  

We are so grateful for that little personality of his and love so many things about this little guy. 

::his vocabulary is exploding these days. He surprises us with new words he can say and sign everyday. And lately has been putting two words together( bye bye daddy, uh oh mommy, no no doggie)

::he is totally into walking and it's the first thing he asks for when I get him out of bed in the morning. He can walk independently now with his walker and loves to follow mommy around the house.
::he loves to laugh and giggle at the smallest things and is becoming quite the tease.
::he loves anything and everything to do with water! Bath time and washing his hands (ie playing in the water) are all-time favorites.
::Andrew is an awesome sleeper. Sleeps around 11-12 hours at night and takes one 2-3 hour nap.
::At age 2 he is 24 lbs 6 oz  and 32 inches tall. He's tall and skinny for his age, but on the preemie growth chart for his adjusted age he's at the 50th percentile. So we are happy for that, as he's been on a weight gaining diet the last 3-4 months

Andrew's actual birthday was on a Monday. I was flying out early that morning to visit my parents on their mission in Austria, so we had big birthday celebrations with family the weekend before. Stephen's Aunts came over and his sister Meghan and her family had driven down from Illinois for their spring break. We loved celebrating with so much family! 

Here's the cake! Andrew has been totally into dogs right now...especially since we've been dog-sitting for my brother the past few months. He LOVES "doggies" and when he sees or hears something he doesn't know what it's called, he calls it a "doggie". So we had a doggie party for his birthday!  

This kid got spoiled and had a lot of fun opening his gifts! He understood the concept this year and was excited to see what was underneath all that paper.

Andrew's Great-Aunt P.J. who lives next door, is incredibly talented and knitted Andrew this stuffed puppy for his birthday, which honestly I still can't get over how darling it is.

We practiced all week blowing out candles. Andrew caught on quickly and could blow out two candles pretty well. Although, when the big moment came to blow them out at his party, he just looked around at everybody and said "bites!" aka "lights", then tried to grab at the flames.

Mommy even tried to remind Andrew that we blow out the candles....with no luck.

Eventually he did blow, just not very hard or in the direction of the candles...ahhh well...maybe three will be the year.

He didn't waste any time and knew exactly what that yummy chocolate cake was....I think he devoured it in just a few minutes and then signed for more. That's my boy!

Of course we had to Skype with Grandma & Grandpa Holden so they could join in with all the festivities. Having it displayed on our TV was awesome....it was like they were right there in the room. Technology is amazing! What a fun day full of celebrations!

Happy Second Birthday to the sweetest boy I know!  
We love you Andrew!