Sickness

We were doing so well in the sickness department this winter!!  

No one had even had the sniffles! 

And then, we had the crazy idea to go visit Mike's sister in the Arctic Circle Idaho.  We had a really fun time, as usual!  But I will have to tell you all about it later, because we came home with a fun little souvenir, and now, I look like this..

Poor little Ian has it too.  Hopefully Mike can stay strong!

Ugh...I hate being sick!!

Flashback Friday: "One Year Ago"

Flashback Friday's ~ This idea began one day while I was perusing through some of my old posts on a private blog we had set up for friends and family while our son was in foster care.

A lot of really wonderful things happened to our little family while we had our private blog set up, so every now and then, I am going to re-post some of those wonderful memories. I hope you will enjoy looking back at them as much as I do!

First off, for those of you who are sick of reading about how much I love my son, sorry - pick a different blog to stalk, because things aren't about to change around here anytime soon!  But seriously, this time of year gets me feeling very sentimental in the Mommy department, so please bear wih me, as a few more of these sappy posts are sure to come=)

Today's post is a special "anniversary" post that I wrote one year ago.  It is an anniversary because today is a very special day for me and my hubby, and as it, coincidentally, falls on a Friday this year, I wanted to take this opportunity to write a very special Flashback post today.  You see, two years ago today our lives were changed forever as we walked into a hospital room to meet the tiny, little miracle who was our son. We had no idea of the miracles and wonders, nor the pain and fear that would lie ahead of us, we just knew LOVE.

I know some of you have heard this story before, so this may be nothing new to you.  But for those of you who will be reading it for the first time, I hope you can feel just how much love and importance this day holds for us.  It was a day that changed our lives forever, and I hope you enjoy reading about it.

"One Year Ago" - originally posted
January 21, 2010


Okay, fair warning for all of you who don't like to cry when you read my blog, turn back now!!! (Fine then, stay... but don't say I didn't warn you!!!=)

Do you know where I was exactly one year ago today? I was walking into a hospital room to meet MY SON.

You have probably heard me tell this story before, but that day is one of the most important of all my life and I remember it like it was yesterday. I love to talk about it and remember the feelings I had that day. I don't ever want to forget those feelings, the sights, the sounds, or the emotions of that day, and I realize that I have never actually written out my thoughts of our first moments as a family. So here goes the story of how we met Ian.

(Let me give you a little background info here before I go on. Initially, when we filled out our foster care paperwork, we struggled very much with the specifications regarding what characteristics we would accept in a child.  We sat on the paperwork for a long time, struggling with what to fill in.  When you have a child biologically, you don't get a say in these things, so we felt we shouldn't have a say either.  Finally, just to get on the waiting list, we stated that we wanted a child between the ages of 0 and 5 and of Caucasian decent. You can see now that God had other plans for us!=)

I got the call on Thursday, January 15, 2009. I was home alone and was told that there was a two week old baby boy in foster care who needed a family. Our case worker told us that this little one was half African American. Then she asked, "Would you still be interested?"

"Would we still be interested?" ... Really??? After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I said "Yes... we are interested." I hadn't talked to Mike about it yet, but I knew he would be on board with it too. (Looking back, I realize now that our caseworker was prompted to call us with this even though we had to make specifications on our paperwork that should have prevented her from even calling us. Stupid paperwork! I am just grateful she listened to her heart that day!!!)

We had very little information about him in the beginning. We didn't even know how big he was. I asked Ian's caseworker Tim, so that I would know what size clothes and diapers to round up that weekend, and in typical Tim fashion (a single 20 something guy) he said, "He's kind of small." I didn't know exactly what that meant, so I just bought 0-3 month clothes, and size one diapers. We figured that after we met him, if he needed preemie diapers, we would just go pick some up. We were ready. Then, we waited.

We were told that we could pick him up the following Wednesday at the Christmas Box House in Salt Lake City. Those days waiting for him were some of the LONGEST days of my life! (Maybe second only to the waiting we are doing now=) (We were still awaiting news on the appeal in our case when this was written).

Tuesday evening, right after 5:00 p.m., we got a call from Tim telling us that there had been a little complication. Ian had developed RSV and was in Primary Children's Hospital. I immediately went into "Mommy mode". "When can I see him?" I asked. He told me that there was a caseworker at Primary Children's who had been assigned to him and she would meet us, check our i.d's to make sure we were who we said we were, and then take us to see him.

However, as I mentioned before, it was now just after 5 p.m. and this caseworker had already gone home for the day. ARGHHHH! I had just spent the last week dreaming of this little boy, buying him tiny clothes, trying to imagine what he would look like, what he would smell like, bonding with him, even though we had never met... I was an expectant Mom.

And now I was being told he was sick, but I couldn't see him until the next day! THAT was the longest night of my life! I didn't sleep all night. I was so sad, and worried, and upset that this tiny baby, whom I was now responsible for, was in the hospital ALONE!!! He had no one to hold him or tell him that he would be okay. (Please pause for a brief intermission here while I wipe my eyes so I can see enough to go on...)

My heart still aches thinking of how helpless and scared I felt that night, and imagining how Ian must have felt spending all those days up there alone. (We found out later that he had been admitted Sunday, and we didn't get to be with him until Wednesday. I am still upset about that one!)

So, first thing Wednesday morning, I started calling the hospital. I left message, after message, after message. No one could give me any information over the phone without his security code, a code that I had to obtain from the hospital caseworker, who still hadn't called me back. I am NOT patient when it comes to things like this, and I was getting pretty agitated knowing that time was being wasted. Precious time that could be spent holding this sweet new baby. Around 12 noon, just as I was thinking we should just go up to the hospital and ask to see him in person, we FINALLY got a call back. We only talked for a brief moment - long enough to learn that he weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. and to hear his vitals and how he was doing. Then we told her, "We are on our way".

Almost an hour later, we found ourselves in the Infant Medical/Surgical Unit at Primary Children's Hospital. I didn't know where to find the caseworker we were supposed to meet with, but I knew Ian's room #, so we just walked past the nurses station and into his room. I had waited long enough and just NEEDED to see him - we could deal with formalities later!

I walked in first, with Mikey right behind me. His room was a double room, with a curtain to separate the two beds. The curtain was drawn, so we could only see the first bed when we walked in. There was classical music playing softly. We saw a small pile of blankets on the bed, but couldn't make out the little person beneath them until we got closer. I remember vividly that as I crept close to his bed, all I could see was a little fist sticking out as he held the blanket over his face... a little white fist. So, with some humbleness, I am going to acknowledge my naivete here for a moment... I admit, I was expecting a brown fist. So I peeked around the curtain, only to find that the second bed was unoccupied. I looked back at Mike and shrugged, then walked back over to Ian's bed. I will never, ever forget what happened next. I pulled back the blanket, and saw my Ian.

He literally took my breath away the first time I saw him. I gasped, and looked back at Mike to give him a look that said, "This is THE most beautiful baby I have EVER seen!!!" (And yes Tim, he was kind of small!)
 

I have never in my life felt such an INSTANT connection to another person. I loved my Mikey from ALMOST the very beginning, but even he took a little getting used to=)

I absolutely knew from that very first glimpse that I was supposed to be with this little person - that we were supposed to meet. He seemed to know it too. As soon as our eyes met, his eyes opened a little wider, and he followed our every move. Over the next several days, we would notice that even when nurses, or others were in his room, his eyes searched for us and held on tight. He seemed to be saying, "There you are. I was wondering when you would get here." I loved him instantly!!!

I was very guarded with those feelings at first though, because at the time, I knew we would be starting reunification efforts soon with his birth Mom. I tried to tell myself that those feelings just meant that I was meant to be his Mom... for NOW. I knew we were meant to be together, but I didn't know how long we would get. Thankfully now, I can look back and see that even then, I knew that I was MEANT to be his Mom - FOREVER!! 

I can also see how much God is looking out for me. As dumb as it sounds now, I was so worried when we were considering adoption that I wouldn't be able to bond with the child. I thought, "what if they don't feel like MY child?" God KNEW that I needed that reassurance early on that this was indeed MY child, and I never questioned it. Ian is as much my son as he would be if I had chiseled him directly from my own DNA!

I cherish the memories of those first days we had with him in the hospital.  I held him constantly, we bathed him, fed him, had long talks with him, and just basked in the love that he brought into our hearts. 

I slept with him one night, but by then, Ian had a roommate whose Father snored like a freight train, so I got VERY little sleep that night.  Mike and I figured I would be of more use to Ian if I were rested, especially for when we brought him home and I would be getting up all night.  So instead of staying overnight, I would get up early and go directly up for his morning feeding.  I would stay all day, and leave only to come home and sleep.  Mike did the same on the weekend, and would come up after work during the week.  We did this for 6 days.  I was exhausted, but those were 6 days that I got to cherish my new baby and do nothing but hold him and take care of him.  Those were wonderful days. 

We were finally given the okay to take him home Monday morning, January 26.  That is, if he was able to remain off any oxygen for 12 hours.  He made it about 11 hours and 59 minutes before his levels dipped again. Mike was expecting us to come home that day sometime, so he went home after work instead of making his usual trek to the hospital.  However, with Ian's oxygen levels dropping, we had to start the 12 hour wait all over again.  He made it the second time and we were released around 8:00 p.m.  
I WAS PETRIFIED!!!  
Not only was it snowing outside, but Ian had just spent 9 days hooked up to machines that would beep when his oxygen levels got too low, and now I would have no way to know if that happened again.  It had just happened that morning and outwardly, he didn't look any different.  If the machines hadn't gone off, we would have had no way of knowing - I guess until he started turning blue! 
Now here he was, sound asleep in the back seat and we had a 45 minute drive (on a non-snowy day) ahead of us.  So, of course, as any new Mom would worry, I began to fear that something would happen and I wouldn't know it until we got home.  I was a wreck, but we made it home without incident. 
(And FYI, the 0-3 months clothes were all too big, so Ian came home in a preemie outfit that Aunt Jamie bought for him.  Thanks Auntie!) 


Hard to believe it has already been a full year...

I am so grateful to have been given the life that I have been given.  Even the trials and hardship, because it has lead me here.  Going through all the pain that came with trying to become a Mother has taught me so many things.   I have learned patience, I have been given a deeper love for life, an ability to see good in all things, to recognize miracles and God's hand in my life, I have been given greater empathy, more passion, more drive, more fight. All of these were things I needed for the journey toward building our family.  I know I couldn't have done this 7-8 years ago, and I would not have become the woman that Ian deserved for his Mom.  


Ian, you are my angel, and I am happy to celebrate one year (two years) of having you in my life.  You have changed me in ways that are still showing up each new day.  I will always be in awe of you and the love that you created in my heart the day that I first saw your tiny white hand and your big brown eyes ... 
I love you Baby Boy!!!

Dinner Was Late Last Night

Yesterday was a fun and adventurous day for me and my favorite two year old.  We spent a chilly, January day at the zoo, and we had SO much fun!  

Watching the monkey's

There was hardly anyone else there and even though a lot of the exhibits were closed for the season, there was still plenty to see.  Plus, getting to walk around with the place pretty much to ourselves made it even better. 

The peacock was showing off for the ladies=)

We both had such a good time.  Ian, being the BIG boy that he is, wanted to walk 90% of the way, so he was a pretty tired boy by the time we left.  And I realized just how much more he is talking now than the last time we went, because he was calling every animal by name and making comments such as, "Ooh...monkey's stinky!" or 

"BIG tiger!"

We met a very nice man, whom I guessed to be a little older than myself, pushing his 9 month old baby in a stroller - just the two of them.  It was pretty cute!  He really liked Ian and was asking me questions about how old he is and when he started walking.  He then told me how excited he was for his own son to be Ian's age and to be walking and talking.  It made me stop wishing my baby was still a baby for a moment and appreciate his age from someone else's point of view.  I paused to appreciate the thrills that only a two year old can bring into your life, the serene beauty of the day and the pure joy and contentment I feel when spending the day with my Ian.  

These are truly the happiest days of all my life.

So what does dinner have to do with all of this, you ask???  Well, as I mentioned before, Ian was a pretty sleepy little guy after our adventures so he took an almost 4 hour nap when we got home.  (Yippee!!) He woke up just as I was getting dinner ready, so I got him a drink and a snack and turned on a movie for him to watch while I finished. 

Well, things didn't exactly go according to plan. 

A few minutes later, the little sweety, dragging his blanket behind him, came quietly creeping into the kitchen.  He put his face up against my legs, and wrapped his arms around me.  I rubbed his soft little head and said, "Hi Baby".  He looked up and smiling at me he said, "Wuv Ooh Mommy, Wuv Ooh Mommy, Wuv Ooh Mommy"... He just kept repeating it, over and over.  Of course, all dinner preparations went right out the window!!

So, like I said, dinner was late last night!=)

Life With My Two Year Old

I will admit, this particular post is more for me than anything else.  I want to be able to look back, years from now, and remember what these days felt like for me.  I can't trust my shotty memory to hold these days in vivid clarity and color, so I have to write the things down that I want to hold dear.  Still, at the same time, I hope you like reading about the beginning stages of my first journey into the "terrible two's"!

So far, living life with a two year old, is nothing short of exhilarating.  It is downright exhausting most of the time, but oh so sweet and wonderful at the same time!!!

 I am trying to cherish every stage Ian passes through. Because of this, I pay close attention to the subtle changes that are taking place, whether I want them to or not, and I have noticed that my baby boy is slowly shedding his "baby skin".  He is getting taller, he is getting leaner, he is getting smarter by the millisecond, and although he has never had an ounce of chub on him anywhere other than his baby soft chubby cheeks, I can now see those starting to change too.  

He is turning into a big boy.  

I will admit that I do miss the early days with him in my life, and sometimes I would give anything to be able to do nothing all day but hold him, stare into his beautiful little face and just soak in the love he brought with him.  But you know what?  Even though he doesn't let me hold him all day anymore, the love part hasn't changed.  A lot has changed about him, but that part hasn't.  Every second I spend with him is filled with that joy and love, and just having him in my life is still such a miracle to me. Plus, with how sweet and funny and talented he is now, it is hard not to simply be swept away by his charm!

At two years old, my Ian is...

Starting to speak in sentences. My Dad recently helped Mike build and install a railing on the stairway to our basement. Every time we used to go downstairs, Ian would say, "Papa" (meaning "Grandpa") and point to the railing. A little while ago, we were going down the stairs and he said, "Papa made it". Or the other day we saw a school bus and instead of just saying "bus" or even "school bus" he said, "look - white school bus". Such a genius!

He is able to communicate so much better in all areas. He can tell us if he wants milk or apple juice, and which cup he wants it in. He can tell us if he wants to wear this shirt or that one. Speaking of which, he is starting to like picking out his own clothes - it is pretty funny.  I didn't think this would start so early on, but he definitely has an opinion sometimes on what he wears.  Let's just say that he has worn some "interesting" pajama ensembles recently=)  

He can tell us what he wants for a snack or which toy he wants to play with. It is really fun to be able to ask him a question and get a clear answer, even if the answer isn't what I want to hear=)

He is a pretty picky eater right now but he still has his favorite "stand-by's", like french fries, hot dogs, yogurt, string cheese, bread, pizza, chicken nuggets, oranges, strawberries, bananas, pancakes, waffles, cereal, strawberry flavored milk, and of course, candy.

He is like Will Ferrell in the movie "ELF". His four favorite food groups are "candy, candy corns, candy canes, and syrup"=) If we weren't there to monitor the situation, I think he would just sit with a spoon in the sugar bowl all day!! He has a definite sweet tooth and has been asking for candy morning, noon, and night since Halloween. He wakes up asking for a sucker and continues asking for treats, chocolate, or suckers all day long. We try not to give him too many sweets and as a result, "NO" has become one of his favorite things to say=( Plus, we have several tantrums over this, every single day!  He gets so mad when we tell him he has to eat breakfast before he can have a treat, but his face lights up like Christmas morning when he asks and we say "okay". Distracting him works some of the time, but he usually comes back to asking for it again later on.  If any of you have helpful hints on how to get him out of this candy all day every day phase, I would LOVE to hear them!  I am much more of a pushover in this arena than Mike, I will admit. I have a hard time saying no to this face!=)

We have also decided that he is big enough now to eat what we are eating for dinner, so we are trying not to make him a special meal anymore. He still gets to choose his own breakfast and lunch (within reason, of course) but he eats what we make for dinner.  It is really hard, because there are so many things he doesn't like right now, plus he is unwilling to try new things.  But it is getting a little easier each day. I think he is starting to get it.  (We're keeping our fingers crossed!!=)  However, he has gotten really good at saying "don't like it"=)

He is not very good in restaurants right now.  This is hard because we like to eat out sometimes, so we want him to get used to this and be able to go with us.  We do still take him out once in a while, but we pick and choose based on how well rested he is and how we think he will do.  He does better at lunch than dinner, but he refuses to sit in high chairs anymore, even though he is still just a little too small for a big chair. He ends up standing up to eat, and if the food takes too long, he usually has a meltdown (or two).  We try to avoid places where we think the wait will be too long, or places that are overly quiet.  Small doses I guess!=)

Of course he is still a dancing fool! He loved all of the Christmas songs that were playing recently and would dance every time he heard one come on. We had dinner at a restaurant that was playing music the whole time and he stood in the booth, just dancing his way between bites of dinner. Mike made me a mixed CD of hip hop club hits which I like to put on when I am cleaning, and Ian LOVES it!!  I am trying to figure out how to post some video of him dancing on here, because if you have never seen his moves before, you are missing out! (Hopefully I will have the video for you in a future post). He also likes to "pretend" to do karate.  It is actually very cute.  He yells, "ya" as he kicks and punches into the air, and then when he is done, he bows his little head ...so cute!!  He is always on the move!!

He is Daddy's shadow. Anything Mike is doing, Ian is doing too.

Brushing teeth with Daddy (in their matching shirts=)

After a dinner of beans=)

These pictures were taken on a day when Mike used a screwdriver to open something in order to change the batteries in it. Ian watched him do it, then grabbed this toy truck and said, "fix it". He didn't want Mike to fix it though, he wanted to do it himself!

He is a very good "helper". He likes to help with daily chores around the house. He likes to get a damp rag and wipe down walls, or toys, or chairs (pretty much anything) while we are cleaning. He likes to get his own spoon and fork when it is time to eat. He doesn't exactly set the table yet, but we have his "stuff" in a cabinet he can reach and he likes to pick out his own bowls and utensils at mealtime. He also likes to help unload the dishwasher, so we give him his things and he will put them away. He likes to sweep and follow us around with his lawnmower or the vacuum attachments when we vacuum. Hopefully he will still be this willing to help with chores in 5 or 10 years from now!!!

He absolutely THRIVES on routine. He does so much better when he can predict what is happening next, and his life has some structure to it. He still takes a good nap in the afternoon, so I try very hard to never mess with that. He also still likes to cuddle a little in the mornings, and I love that! Once he is fully awake though, he is off and running until nap time!! We have started something new in our routine with the new year and so far, it is working out really well. We have started having a "theme" each week and we learn about that theme all throughout the week. For instance, if our theme is farm animals one week, then one day I will print off pictures of different animals and we will color them. One day we might go to the library to get books about farm animals. Then we might have an outing one day to go to a farm and actually see the animals. It has been really good for us both to have this time together to bond over learning. He is much less grumpy when he has an activity to be engaged in, and therefore, I am much less grumpy too! Plus, he always amazes me at how smart he is! He is incredible!!!

Have I mentioned that he has a temper though?=)

He is definitely NOT afraid to let you know if something is not to his liking! He still hits on occasion, and we are having to use timeouts lately. It seems to work pretty well. The other day, I was getting him out of timeout and we were talking about why he had been put there. I told him that it is not nice to hit and it makes Mommy sad when he hits me. I asked him not to hit again and asked if I could have a hug. He said, "yeah" and gave me (what he calls) a "tight one". Then he kissed me softly and said, "sorry Mommy".

(I may or may not have cried and then given him a sucker!=)

He is very social and loves playing with other kids. We are lucky to have lots of kids in our neighborhood for him to play with, and so many cousins as well.  He LOVES, LOVES, LOVES my sisters three boys!! He calls them "ZaZa" (Zack), Parker (he says that one SO cute!) and Bady or Bady monster (Brady). 

They are 9, 7, and 3 and he thinks the sun rises and sets with them. He fights a little with Brady (the three year old) but that is to be expected because they are so close in age. But for the most part, he plays with them all really well. He is at the copy cat stage and just wants to be doing whatever the other kids are doing. It's pretty cute!

He loves playing computer or video games.

Introducing the little man to the Atari system.

He likes the "cycle game" (a motorcycle game) and the "tractor game" (a game with racing remote control cars that he thinks look like tractors).  I have learned not to get out my laptop when he is around, unless I want to play on starfall or play the cycle game for hours!!

He is starting to like watching movies (at home) and will sit still a little longer than he used to. We enjoy having movie nights together in our new basement, and I am happy to finally have someone to share my popcorn with (Mike doesn't like it - I know, how crazy is that?!?!)  Ian also likes "Sesame Street", "Handy Manny", "Mickey Mouse" and "Chuggington". We took him to the theatre recently to see the movie "Tangled". Although he didn't do too bad, he had a REALLY hard time sitting still and just wanted to run around the whole time. So we are going to wait a while before we try that again - maybe next summer for "Cars 2"!

Some of his other favorite things are... baths, "ootball" (football), cars, trucks, tractors, planes, trains, balls, going for walks, running, jumping, putting "money" in his piggy bank, coloring, sweeping and vacuuming, washing his hands, wearing hats, playing, baking, talking on the phone, and anything else that requires a lot of energy!

We took him to the doctor for his 2 year old checkup and he did really well. I was amazed at how smart he is, once again.  Thankfully, he has been a VERY healthy child, so we hadn't been into the doctor since his 18 month check up back in July.  At that time, he covered his ears when she asked to look in them and he wouldn't take his hands down the remainder of the visit.  He also cried through the entire appointment.  This time, six months later, as soon as our nurse called his name, his hands went straight up over his ears. I couldn't believe he remembered that!  He was much easier to coax this time though, and the doctor was able to look in there with just a little playing, and no tears at all involved=)  

Now for some stats...He is still in his comfy little space at the low end of the charts=) He is between the 8th and 15th percentiles for height and weight, but his head size is in the 50th percentile.  I guess his little body just needs a bit more room for all those brains!! He still wears a lot of 18 months clothes, but we are starting to change over into more 24 month stuff here and there. He still wears size 4 diapers and I am beginning to think he will never reach size 5.  His little bum will probably be potty trained before it is big enough for the size five's!=)

Some other random things I love about my two year old...

I love when we tuck him in for bed and he gives us a little wave as he says, "Night"!  

He has a special made-up word that we have yet to figure out - it sounds like "franken".  He has used it in many different circumstances so we can't figure it out, but I am hopeful that one day soon he will be able to tell me what it means.

He is very sweet.  He is empathetic and always tries to comfort others who need it. 

He is very good at sharing and likes to "take turns".

He refers to himself by name and says things like "Ian's truck" or "Ian's turn".

He gets very excited when he is trying to tell you something and you guess correctly what he is saying.  He gets a big smile on his face and loudly says, "YEAH"!

On the rare occasion that I get a "Wuv Ooh Mommy" I would gladly hand over my life to hear it again! 

Even though his attitude is coming out in full force and we are surely in for one heck of a terrible two ride, we couldn't be more in love with Ian or happier to be his Mom and Dad.  He is the love of our lives, and we love him so much!!

Here are a few more pictures of our beautiful and sweet little two year old.

My Thanksgiving turkey

No, that is not a cigar!  It is a candy stick from Grandma. What's it to ya?

Dancing with my candy!!!

Loves hats!

Just like Daddy, he has to try on everything he owns when he cleans out his closet=)

Making playtime look good!

Still my baby!  (Just a little longer now=)

Bubble bath!

Reading a magazine over lunch.

Finger Painting

Sometimes finding ways to keep a two year old entertained can be difficult.  Especially when you're talking about a two year old who LOVES to be outside and current temperatures in the low teens that make spending much time outside next to impossible right now. So what to do in such a predicament, you ask???

Finger paint!

Ian is 2!

I cannot believe it, but my baby is two!!!  

I always hear parents say how fast time goes by, but now that I am a parent myself, I understand just what they were talking about!!  It is crazy to think that it has already been two years since this miraculous little love entered the world.  He brought endless amounts of love and joy with him, and I have loved every minute I have had with him in it.  

For me, having a newborn was both thrilling and enchanting.  

Having a toddler was exciting as we watched his personality start to develop, and to see all the new things he could do and was learning.  

And now, I am very excited to see what joy having a two year old will bring into my life!

CHEESE!!!!

But before I get into telling you all about the birthday celebrating that went on, I just wanted to show you something.

This was my little man on his first birthday.

This was him on his second birthday.

Notice anything similar?
Yes, at two years old he is still able to wear the same size 12 month shirt that we bought for him last year=)  The sleeves no longer go clear to his elbows and it was a little shorter at the waist, but it still fit just fine.  Gotta love that little man of mine!!!

Now onto the celebrating...

We celebrate birthdays BIG in our house, and as Ian is the center of our lives, his birthday was no exception.  The day he was born is certainly something to be celebrated, so we tried to make it fun and exciting.

As do most 2 year old boys I know, Ian loves cars, trucks, tractors, trains - basically any automobile or mode of transportation.  Well, we got the idea from a friend of ours for a train themed birthday this year and thought, what better way to kick off this celebration than with an actual train ride?!?!  So we started the celebration a few days early by boarding the double-decker commuter train "Frontrunner" and heading north.  

As you can see, Ian loved it!

I love this one!!

We took the train to Ogden, where we got off and headed to "The Treehouse Museum".   This children's museum is amazing!  It is by far better than the one in Salt Lake City at the Gateway!!  If you ever have a chance to take your kids, you really should.  It is great!  

This one is for Uncle David and Aunt Hollie=)

If Ian ever decides to run for president, or become a doctor, we will have evidence that his dreams started early on!!!

 We loved it and could've spent all day there if it weren't for our growling stomachs and a boy who would be in need of a nap soon.  So we had lunch and got back on the train to head home.

The morning of Ian's actual birthday was really fun too.  We put up a banner, which he loved!

And he got to open more presents, so he was in heaven!

Our future musician!

Daddy bought him some hot wheels and some "race tracks" so this is how the rest of the morning was spent.  (I could watch these two play together all day!)

Ian had been asking for donuts all week, so for his birthday we got him one.  We put a candle in it and when he saw it he exclaimed, "Ert-day (birthday) donut"!  It was so cute!!

Last year we had everyone (my family, Mike's family and some friends) over to our house on Ian's birthday, and I think it is safe to say that we won't be doing that again any time soon!  We had fun, but decided it would be better to have a few smaller celebrations this year instead=)  So, later in the day on Ian's birthday, we went to Leatherby's for ice cream and to celebrate with Mike's family.  Even though Ian isn't a huge ice cream fan (are we sure he is my kid?=), he did really good at the restaurant and had fun seeing everybody.

He thought it was so funny when I leaned in for the picture, so he leaned in too=)

After he went to bed that night, we had my niece come sit with him while we went to an "ugly sweater party" at our friends house.  This is another blog post altogether, but if you want to read about it, click here.  Anyway, while we were there, we received some goldfish as a white elephant gift.  We debated about just giving them to our neighbors who already have a fish tank, but that idea was out the window as soon as Ian spotted them.  We had them pushed back far onto the kitchen counter, hoping they were out of his line of sight, but he asked me to pick him up for something, and he spotted them right away.  It was like a tractor beam just sucked him in, and his eyes got really big.  As he pointed and said, "look fishies" we knew there would be no getting rid of them.  

Here is Ian's new fish tank.

The day after his birthday we celebrated with my family.  We had pizza and I made him a birthday cake.  I made him a cake last year too, and this is what he got then.
(I just LOVE that we have had our son in our lives long enough to have pictures to compare from previous holidays=)

This year I debated about whether to make one again or just buy one instead.  In the end, I decided that there is just something special for me about being able to make a birthday cake for my child, so I made it again.  This year's was red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting...Mmmmmm!  My mouth is watering just remembering it!  Maybe I will go eat a piece for breakfast!

Here is what it looked like.

Blowing out his candle.

More presents from Grandma and Grandpa.

I cannot say enough about what having this boy in my life means to me.  To steal the words from my friend Laura, it feels like I didn't really start living until he came along.  He changed me so utterly and completely that I am a totally new person now.  He has filled in a part of my soul that was missing, and transformed my heart into something I never knew was possible.

I am so grateful to have Ian as my son and so grateful to have the peace of knowing that we get to spend ALL of his birthdays with him!

Happy Birthday my big two year old boy!!  I love you!!