Baby Gage is TWO! Can you dig it???

Two years old. I cannot believe it.
He has grown & changed so much over the past two years...from this teeny tiny brand new pink baby....to a toddler with a mind of his own.

We had his party Saturday.....and I'm warning you all now, this post is very long w/ lots & lots of pictures.

:)


We rented a 'Bob the Builder' Bounce House.
Honestly, Gage hardly ever watches Bob....but they didn't offer a 'Handy Manny' one, and this was the construction theme we were going for...

In line with the construction theme...the cake, made by my mom, "Memma"...

...complete with construction machinery, power lines, & utility trucks.
Gage is 2...Can You Dig It???

There were exactly 40 people here...including the birthday boy....a bit much for one little 2 year old...and so, at one point during the party...he demanded a time out to just veg...


But that was short lived....and he was up & going again!


And then it was time to eat...& CAKE!

Well....we hadn't practiced blowing out the candles since his birthday last year...so, he forgot. Allen blew out his candles for it...and afterward, Gage clapped & yelled, "Yea! I did it!"
Sure you did, big guy!

And then...he used his little construction toys to drive all around the cake, and scoop up icing...and dig into the side of the cake & icing mountain. Forget the fact that neither Damon nor I washed Gage's hands prior to the big cake event...and we sliced up that cake & served it anyway. None of the guests said anything....and I really didn't even think of that detail until I was looking at all the party pictures after the fact...


Birthday Family Photo (please disregard the fact that Gage was totally enthralled in the TWUCKS, and blissfully unaware of the camera)


There were TONS of gifts....Oh my goodness....Gage was into the first 2 or 3, and after that...he could have cared less about opening gifts. He wanted the first 2 or 3 reeeeeeeeeeally opened, and we all know---they package kids toys like you just bought volatile substances that need mega-protection. Seriously----they could do with fewer x-tra long twist-tie things, and anything that requires opening with a phillips head screwdriver is just cruel & unusual punishment for parents across America.


And of course, Trystan, the wild man, was there.
I just LOVE this picture of him!


And then there was THIS:

....THE AFTERMATH....

We were so tired at the end of the night. When the last guests left around 9pm---I suddenly realized how TIRED my feet were. Ugh.

So, the party was on 9/22, and his REAL birthday was 9/23...
Just to take you back....two years ago, I went in on 9/22 in the morning, and I fully expected to have my baby by 6pm. No such luck. Gage was FINALLY born by c-section at 3:59 am on Friday morning, 9/23/05.

And to think back to that time....he was soooo tiny, and so brand new....and I had so much to learn about him...his little body....his little personality....and parenting in general. Just so much has changed in such a short period of time. Now he tells me when he wants something....or does NOT want something...he has preferences...he says, "I love you, Mommy." He says "thank you, Mommy". He yells, "Come In" when he thinks you are knocking on his bedroom door.... Oh, he's just his own unique wonderful person. Now granted...he's moody & just may melt into a puddle of screaming & fit throwing toddler if the wind blows the wrong way...but so be it. All of the good outweighs the fits. The fun outweighs the struggles... He's my buddy.

Anyway....yesterday...on his official birthday...I had the best of plans to head out to the Plano Balloon Festival.
I had no idea how incredibly TIRED I would be....or rather, how tired we all would be. We played with toys & trucks, and hauled acorns around the living room. Gage & Daddy built a fort with Lincoln Logs (Um....Daddy had more fun with those than Gage did---just so we have that on the record...)


And so...on his birthday, he woke up in his new construction-themed jammies, and opened more gifts!


...and then we plugged in his new DVD player & put in the movie "Cars". None of us had ever seen it....so, we popped some popcorn, popped the movie in, and snuggled in for the adventures of Lightning McQueen.

Good times....