TWO!!

Graham turned TWO on Friday and what better way to kick off a birthday weekend (because we always try to stretch birthdays around here), than to have daddy stick around the house and make breakfast?!

 His main birthday gift this year was a Thomas the Train set.

 I got this set almost two years ago at a resale in Houston, and have been so excited to pull it out.

Since it was used, it came with no instructions for set up.  This wouldn't have been too bad, but it had several pieces of sets thrown in, and the detail frettin' person that I am was stressing the night before about how to fit it all together. And why do we have 50 other pieces left over?

Andy assured me that my 2 hours of stressing was wasted time since our two year old would "deconstruct" it in two minutes flat.

I hate to say that my husband was right, but it was a definite waste of two hours on my part.

Yesterday was the party.

Pinterest has done nothing in my effort to simplify.

We introduced a few people to our love of Chick Fil A.

The twenty minute drive requires a little more effort than the 2 minute one in Houston, but those nuggets are always worth it.

 Nuts & Bolts snack mix

 "Leaded fuel" for vintage cars.

And we needed it.  It was so chilly and windy and the hot coffee hit the spot.

 I don't know that I'll ever have a birthday cake again.

Donut cakes (especially those made from VG's)

have a new spot in my heart.

 The donut tower also fit into the theme with "Luigi's spare tires"

and dipsticks...

When Graham arrived, he made himself right at home by the nugget tray.

 And if you were looking for him at any given time during the party, you could probably find him with some kind of food in his mouth.

 Chick Hicks chicken nuggets & Mater's tater chips

 More love for the donut cake

 Digging for the good stuff...

 and when Graham wasn't by the food, he was most likely here.

 The park was great.  I think it would be hard to convince my husband to ever have another kid party at the house because clean up was a snap and there was plenty for the kids to do.

 and no fretting over mess....

so this guy was happy.

 This boy does not love the camera.

Or standing still

 I love that I got this one.

This is the same girl who loves to snatch his toys, 

and get her way with her brother, 

but she can be so sweet sometimes with him.

He wanted nothing to do with her help, however.

 And for my little guy...

Graham, you are one car lovin' * no, CARS obsessin' *juice drinking * big boy bed sleeping * independence seeking * sister following * airplane pointing * food loving *even broccoli eatin' * momma huggin' *goofy face making * show requesting * bull in a china shop runnin' * won't stand still for a picture * slightly slow in talking * but best laugh in the world * donut loving * still referring to your sister as "ASS"....please don't stop this anytime soon * helper lovin' * TWO year old!

And my favorite TWO year old, at that.

We love you Bubbas!

Here are his two year old stats:

Height: 36.5 inches (90%)

Weight: 30 pounds 9 ounces (80%)

An (Almost) perfect weekend

This picture was taken at 9am Saturday.

I was not wearing that smile (or that shirt) 4 hours later.

Yes, the only downfall to the weekend was that the Aggies forgot my birthday.

Everyone else made it beyond wonderful.

Saturday, after we all decked out in maroon anticipating a win, we headed to our favorite donut shop.

Behold. The most amazing donut ever.

Thank you VGs for introducing me to the maple donut.

Clearly this guy is a fan as well.

Then we enjoyed some good playtime at the park.

See? Andy even supported the Aggies for a few hours.

This guy makes me laugh....and makes me crazy at times, let's be honest...but mostly laugh.

Then, let's just fast forward 4 hours or so.

I may have actually shed tears over the game.

Good thing, I got to meet some great friends to celebrate Baby Cooper!

Me, Amanda, Jamie, Karen (Cooper's momma), Amanda, Soula, Annie, & Paige

at the nail salon...., super place for a shower

Those same amazing friends worked with my husband to create a surprise birthday date just a few hours later.

Friends that are not only willing, but won't take no for an answer, to taking your kids so you and your husband can get a night out, are pretty amazing.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Andy and I have been beyond blessed with the relationships & friendships we have formed in just under a year.

God is good.

Andy and I went to eat at an amazing restaurant in Balboa Park.

The whole area was gorgeous. Besides going to the zoo, I haven't spent much time in Balboa, but I believe I will be back...a lot.

And the weekend just kept coming.

A few families got together for a football watching party.

I have to say, that besides checking my fantasy score....

I didn't watch any. But I did get to hang out with my girlfriends and their cute kiddos.

Birthday have perks.

Dad steps up and is pretty much on "duty" all day.

I have an awesome husband.

Then we ended the weekend by heading to the beach.

The part of the beach where you can sit on a bench, take in the beautiful view, and leave sand free.

Some friends had told us about this phenomenon called red tide.

I don't know much about it other than it means in a nutshell there are a bagillion (plankton?)

in the water that give off a chemical reaction when the waves crash.

It's a little hard to see, but it may have been on my top 10 list of coolest things I've ever seen.

When the sun went down, all of the waves "lit up", and turned sparkly before giving off the bright blue light.

It was so awesome.

When I was younger, I remember how old "firty free", as Addison would say, seemed.

My mom was 33 when she had me.

But I am so blessed and thankful for where God has me and the family he has blessed me with.

I think I sometimes worry or spend way too much time thinking about what's to come,

instead of enjoying the moments that are so fleeting.

So this year, I'm looking forward to living in the moments...

Because it all goes by too fast.