Two is in the Books

I know everyone says “I can’t believe it’s been [insert number of years here]!” about just about everything.  Since you last saw a friend, since you graduated from high school/college, since your friends’ first kid was born, etc. etc.  But there is definitely some truth to how mind-boggling fast time flies by sometimes.

It really does feel like just yesterday that BW and I were entering our third year of trying to have a baby.  Our lives were ruled by doctors appointments, days of my cycle, and trying to manage what felt like daily despair and frustration. 

And yet this last weekend, we celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our baby boy’s birth.  How time flies.

I must admit, I much more enjoyed birthday #2 to birthday #1.  Finn’s first birthday was an exercise in exhaustion for everyone involved.  It was so fun to have all our friends and family around us, but if I’m being perfectly honest it was mostly overwhelming for Finn, and we [Brian & I] didn’t really get the time to enjoy the event, our friends or our family of three.

from last year’s first birthday… giving mommy a very distrustful sideways glance

For #2, I swore it would be simpler, and it was.  I took Friday off from work [Finn’s actual birthday] and we kicked off the day by showing him his new train set [his birthday gift from us] that BW and I had assembled the night before [complete with a missing piece and a few swear words]. 

He was thrilled!

Train time was followed by special breakfast [eggs] and a trip to the grocery store [surprisingly, this is a treat in Finn’s world].  We also got his haircut, which is still a form of slow torture for him and definitely counts as the black mark for the day.

After errands we came home to find that Papa & Gigi had arrived!  That made nap time tricky, but eventually the adults prevailed.  Last chore of the day?  Dinner at the delicious Tacos Guaymas in Green Lake.  It’s a family favorite [also the site of Brian & my first date!] – and the kid loves Mexican food.  So much so that when we pass TG on our way back from the park he regularly points to it and yells “Ninner!” [dinner].

The next day was the real “celebration” day. [We are pretty sure Finn is going to grow up believing that birthdays last for 3-4 days].  We kept the guest list short – just the two sets of grandparents, two of Finn’s friends.

We spent the morning at the Pacific Science Center.  This was our first trip as a family, and my first trip altogether and we were pretty impressed at the fun exhibits, the full area for the kids to roam and the sweet Prime Card discount [thank you, Microsoft!].  Finn’s good friend Lexie joined us along with her parents Nat & Karissa. 

In addition to the Tot Play area & Dinosaur exhibit, we visited the Tropical Butterfly Exhibit which was really lovely, although it’s pretty dangerous for the butterflies, who like to land on the ground, with two crazy two-year-olds running around.

I would say the only area that was totally uncalled for was in the Insect area.  Granted, I’m not a big insect gal.  But this “Bug Picinc” was set up inside a display case, and it was truly nauseating.

look carefully.  that is NOT shrimp on that kebab.

With our 6:30 am wakeup call Saturday morning [a result of giving Finn his sweet train set and & him waking up at the crack of dawn to play with his “choo choo”], we were all losing steam & getting hungry early.

huuuunngry. sooooo huunnngryyy.

So we headed out for lunch at the Bistro at the Seattle Center food court area, then ran home for naptime.

After nap, it was time for presents!  It only took him a couple to begin crumpling up the cards before he read them and diving straight into tearing off the wrapping paper.

Lego meets Cars.  A little boy’s dream come true.

After that, we just chilled out & played with all his new goodies until dinner time.  We enjoyed a delicious Mediterranean chicken dish with polenta and spinach while the birthday boy had chicken nuggets, “plyies” [fries] and “beep beep” [dip aka ketchup].  Hey, it’s his birthday, right?

Then it was cupcake time!  Don’t ask me what possessed me to put him in a white shirt then feed him chocolate peanut butter chip cupcakes.

thanks Auntie Roberta for the fun Cars decorations & cup liners!

who eats cupcakes with a fork?  my kid.

um, my hands are dirty. fix it, please.

All in, it was a wonderful weekend with a few friends, a lot of family and tons of fun. 

My advice to all those parents out there closing in on the first birthday of their child?  Until your kid ASKS for a birthday party, just keep it small, simple & revolving around nap time.  It will make everyone’s life easier and help the birthday boy or girl have a seriously great birthday.

Happy Birthday to our sweet, happy, healthy and consistently entertaining son – and our biggest blessing ever… Mr. Finn Michael Walker.  We love you!