The big 0-2

On Sunday, my baby turned 2. How in the world did she make it to 2 so darn quickly? Didn't she just turn 1? It's just not possible that it has been a full year since then.....

Saturday, I planned a little party for friends here in Seattle. Isa's had some trouble with her final set of molars and was a bit crankier than usual all week. Luckily ibuprofen was working well and I was hopeful that we'd be meltdown free. But, in true Isa B form, she decided Saturday morning was the perfect time for the sh*t to hit the fan. She started by waking up at 5:30. I physically CANNOT get out of bed that early. By 6 am she had raised the decible level considerably and I forced myself up. Ugh.

Her big gift from me was an easel with a chalkboard on one side and a big roll of drawing paper for the other side. I made the mistake of having it out for her that morning thinking she would play with it and leave me free to finish setting up for the party. She went straight to it and within a minute or two was throwing the crayons. The rule in our house remains "if you throw something, it means you don't want it". I take the thrown item and put it up on the mantel. Thus, the crayons went away. Mad about that, she then decided to attack the easel and start ripping up the paper. So, the easel went away to my room as well. At this point Isa started making hideous, non-human sounding tantrum screams. Sounds I'd never heard from her before. She spent the next several hours either flipping out or sitting on my lap with her paci. There was no in between. Medicine didn't make her feel any better. Suffice to say, no shower for me... no party set-up... Luckily Autumn and her fabu husband Ben came over early to help or I would have been greeting guests in my pajamas!

Apparently, having someone other than Mama around snapped Isa out of her crazed state and she returned to her normal cheerful self. The party was really just a big playdate with the addition of cupcakes and presents. Everything went swimmingly. Food was eaten, children ran around the yard, grown-ups chatted.

Isa got very excited when everyone started singing Happy Birthday to her. She blew her candle out, without any help, in one good puff. Then came the presents. She would pull the paper off a present and run around shrieking with happiness just to see the box underneath. It was pretty adorable. After presents, I herded everyone back outside to eat the cupcakes. She enjoyed the cupcake much more this year than she had last year.

The only "incident" happened towards the end of the party, as Isa was playing in the sandbox with her friend Solly. I've worked really hard to get Isa to understand that "sand stays in the sandbox." She was carrying a half-full bucket of sand around the yard and I told her to please go put it back. She walked over to the sandbox and just as I was about to thank her for listening.... she leaned over and dumped the entire load right on her head! For most children, this wouldn't be a real problem. But you've all seen the amount of hair Isa has. Quantity of curls plus the fact that her hair is liberally coated with conditioner each morning means that sand doesn't just brush out. *sigh*

Sunday we had a party with family which was a little less eventful (thankfully) but also very fun. She shares a birthday with my sister's fiancee, so they had a joint birthday BBQ for Taylor and Isa.

And today, she had her 2 year checkup. She is now 32 inches tall and 25 pounds, which puts her around 16th percentile for height and 30th for weight. I was a bit surprised about the height. She's just soooo much taller than she was in the spring. I figured she was going to be at least the same percentile as she'd been at 18 months (30th percentile). But I guess the fact that 2T pants are still 3 inches too long should have clued me in.

And, finally, let me apologize for no pics. I was much too busy to take photos at the parties. I will be getting pics from the friends who did take the time to pull out their cameras and post them- hopefully soon.

A week in pictures

More to come when I have the time but here are some pictures from our (very, very) busy last week or so:

Family Picnic

Playing in the sandbox with cousin Caroline

Being pulled behind Uncle Tim's boat


Dinner with new friends Martha & Eyerus



Playdate with Solly & DeDe

It was HOT! Time to cool off in the pool.


Ethiopian Heritage Camp

Three adorable girls- Amara, Elsa & Isa

Ethiopian nursery rhymes

Best buddies :)

Best buddies in their lovely Ethiopian dresses

New friends

Crazy wrestling time!!