Two Years Old!!!

Rayna turned two years old on Wednesday! Happy Birthday Ray!

We blew up a bunch of balloons before she woke up, and she LOVED coming out of her room to find balloons everywhere! She played with these all day.

We invited our friends Gina and Heidi to go swimming with us, but when we found out the pool was closed (lame!) we came back to our house to play for the morning instead. Rayna and Heidi were so cute together! They loved their cupcakes :)

Rayna wanted a pink and purple princess cake. I found this princess-shaped cake pan and was totally excited to make it. But as soon as I started trying to frost it I realized I was in way over my head. I have infinite respect for anyone who can make a decently decorated cake. Rayna didn't seem to mind the amateur's attempt at her dream cake.

Ray coming up the stairs to find all of her presents! I love the way she sings Happy Birthday to herself!

 She loves the "dancing shirt" from Grammy!

 And the "princess unner-wears!!!!" too! 

In the evening we went to an awesome indoor play place. They had a huge range of stuff, from little toddler stuff that Rayna loved to do by herself, to some seriously gigantic slides that were a little scary for Bowman and me. I guess I can't speak for Bowman, but I was hootin' and hollerin' (as my dad would say) the whole way down the monster twisty slide with Rayna on my lap. I'm sure everyone in the place appreciated the laugh when we finally made it to the bottom. :)

She had such a fun time in this little mini inflatable area.

 At the top of a medium sized slide with Bowman.

 It was dim in there, and you already know how awesome I am at taking quality pictures, so... 

 Danny was just along for the adventure!

 Telling me, "Tum on Mommy!"

When came home to eat the princess cake and sing Happy Birthday. She had been talking for days about how we were going to sing the song and blow out the candles. So when it came time we were so excited for her! But apparently turning off the lights was not part of her plan, because she was NOT happy with it, haha!


I took these pictures today. She looks so cute in her outfit from Grandma Mitchell, playing with her magnet doll from Grammy Ohsiek. Such a lucky girl to have so many loving grandparents!

She had a great day, and she slept like a rock when it was all said and done! So fun!

Things she does at this age:

- Talks all the time. I love that we can talk to each other! All she needs is to hear me say a new word once and she's off and running, using it all the time. I love being surprised when she tells me, "chopsticks," or "laundry detergent," or "Mommy's special seat!" while pointing at the toilet. (Indeed, a very special seat... haha! Little does she know, we're starting potty training soon around here!)

- Loves reading books with me. Her favorite books are Go Dog, Go! and the Fancy Nancy series. (For the record, the Fancy Nancy books are way over her head, but she somehow got it in her little mind that she likes them, and begs for them every time we go to the library.) She goes to story time at the library each week, and she will always sit still on my lap to read the new books we bring home.

- Loves going to nursery on Sunday! She's gotten so good about this! It was a bit of a journey... Her first few Sundays she cried for the entire time, but then was in paradise after Bowman and I got called to be the nursery leaders. Then we moved, and went to a new ward where she had to start all over and get used to everything again. Now though, she tells us all the time, "Go to nursery on Sunday!" She pretends that her little toys go to nursery, and when we ask her what she does in there, she tells us, "Fruit snacks!!!"

- Keeps us guessing when it comes to food. At first I decided that she just isn't much of a breakfast person, but then it seemed like maybe she's not much of a lunch or dinner person either. She's mostly a TicTac person, or a marshmallows-picked-out-of-the-Lucky-Charms person. We're still trying. :) Actually though, she does eat a few foods really well, and I try to capitalize on the healthier ones as much as possible. She will usually eat: broccoli, oatmeal, ranch dressing (licked off of whatever I'm trying to feed her), ketchup (same), and eggs. Some of her favorite treats are TicTacs, fruit snacks, chocolate milk, and "NATS!!!" (which is her saying "nuts," which actually means sunflower seeds).

- Is learning letters and numbers. She can pick out the letters J, Q, and S pretty consistently. We're still working on the rest. She likes to sing the ABCs, but when she sings the song, she goes, "A B C... A B C..." over and over. She can count from 1 to 10 by herself, but sometimes she needs a little prompting to get past 4. Then she's golden. I love listening to her talking to herself and hearing her count toys or whatever she's got with her at the moment.

- Takes good care of her brother. She is so sweet about giving Danny his binky if he's crying (or if he's not, or if he already had it in his mouth and she ripped it out for the simple pleasure of being able to put it back in). She shows him her toys and books, and has even been known to briefly share her blanket with him. (That is huge, if you didn't know, and probably says more than anything how much she likes him. :) ) I feel so lucky that she has never had issues with him being around. She's a great sister!

- Is fun and sweet and smart and beautiful! We love her so much!