It's official...

It's official - Gracie is 2 years old now. We had her birthday party last weekend at 'Jungle Playland' and it was super fun! Initially I was going to do a small family party at our house but as I thought about it I realized that for the same amount of money that I would spend on dinner and dessert I could rent a room at one of Gracie's favorite places, invite some of Gracie's friends, and I wouldn't have to lift a finger - no cooking, no dishes, no mess AND guaranteed fun! So, I made the reservation and sent the invites... it was a piece of cake! Speaking of cake, I made a 'frog' cake this year (last year I made a flower cake for Gracie's b-day) I figured since the invites had frogs on them we would just go with the whole "jungle" theme. For those of you who came to wish Gracie a happy birthday I want to say thank-you... I know some of you traveled far and we really do appreciate it.

I can't believe my little girl is 2 years old. The past couple of weeks I have been looking at photos of her when she was just a tiny little bug and thinking about the sweet moments I had with her - bath time in the kitchen sink, naptime on mommy's chest, cooing in her crib... the list goes on. I wish I would have known how much I was going to miss the tiny, more dependant version of her - I probably would have cherished those special moments more. If only I could go back in time to hear her midnight cries and feel her fury head snuggled up next to my neck. I miss molding her tiny body in my arms and singing tone deaf ballads to her. Every morning as I'm changing what will soon become some of the very last diapers that ever graced her little rump (potty training in progress) I fondly think of the far less potent, runny yellow poop that once filled them. If I could go back in time I wouldn't eagerly anticipate the milestones she made like crawling, babbling, cruising, and walking... instead I would live more in the moment and be pleasantly surprised when she achieved them. I don't know why I'm having such a hard time with this... I imagine it only gets worse. I suppose I should just get comfortable with this "growing up" business - after all, there's nothing I can do to stop it.