Terrific Two!!

December 14, 2012

Today Finlay turned two years old.  Today was also pretty terrific.

As some of you may know, Finlay really likes buses.  He also really likes being in a tent.  We found this beauty on UsedVictoria.  It's a bus-tent.  The wheel turns!  

We filled it with presents the night before so that, when our early morning wake-up call came, we wouldn't have to fumble around pre-coffee.

We told Fin that there was a surprise for him in the den.  I wish I had captured his expression when he first saw the bus-tent, but I really wanted to take it in without a camera in front of my face.  It was priceless: genuine surprise and pure glee.

He looked at me for a second, with a questioning glance, as if asking "is this for me?" To which I replied, "Go ahead, get in there!  It's your bus-tent!"  In he went!

"Whoa!" he said, over and over.  

Pretty soon he said "Mama, I sit!  Mama in here!" and I squeezed my large, 8-month-pregnant-body, into the tiny tent.

We opened presents and cards together.  Finlay would rip the paper and say "I help!"

There were books, some cute clothes, finger puppet dinosaurs, a puppet-card, and a duplo-lego set.  He was so excited about it all!  But, all day, all of his presents (and the paper and envelops they came wrapped in) had to stay inside the tent!  I tried to take the clothes to his room but he stopped me and insisted "that in there, tent!"

A while ago, Aunt Lindsay sent Finlay a bicycle.  Until now, he has been just a bit too short for it.  But today was the day!  We pumped up the tires and...

"I bike!"

It was amazing how quickly he picked it up.  There is a learning curve but he got the concept right away and, with Gaga there for back-up, he was willing to keep trying.  I was impressed with his resilience.  He was awkward and slow and unbalanced in the beginning but he didn't let himself get discouraged and just kept pushing himself back up on the seat and walking.  Steering the bike came naturally, which surprised me, and he is learning how to catch himself.  We got pretty cold, out there on the bike for an hour, and had to go inside to warm up.

 

A toast to the birthday bub with some hot apple cider.  We actually went back out for "more bike" later in the day.  He just got more and more confident.  So many smiles!  Tyler and I sure are loving it!

We timed cake to be after nap.  We thought that having it for dessert, right before bed, would be asking for trouble, and this way we had the afternoon to burn off the sugar.  Finlay was excited!  He chanted "cake, cake, cake!"

Of course, we sang to him, and you can see the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLXc_NNdp4M&feature=youtu.be

Then he picked a cupcake, Gaga "peeled" it for him and cut it in half so it would be easier to eat.

He was squealing. 

Cake meets the mouth of a two-year old and wow...

Chocolate-peanut-butter-goodness.  A lot of "num-num" and talking about the cake but mostly this calm enjoyment of such a treat.  I don't think he has had cake since his last birthday!

"Finlay, do you like cake?"  "Yeah!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

At the end of his cake (he ate the whole thing!) he asked for more cake.  We explained that we only get one cake today.  He was not impressed.  He proceeded to ask for more cake at random intervals throughout the afternoon and evening.

Emily, or "Um," Finlay's friend and former Nanny, sent him a Birthday Song video.  She is a musician and wrote him a song about the times they spend together.  Tyler and I thought it was pretty funny.  Fin had to watch it a couple of times.  He just couldn't believe "Um" was singing him his own "kong" or song.  He was dancing with her and imitating her and just watching intently and smiling the whole time.  "More kong!  More Um!"

It was a really lovely day.  Lots of yummy food (we had sushi for dinner, one of his favs) and play. Finlay helped to clean up his toys and his bus-tent at the end of the day.  We read our new books before bed and he just loved them!  He went right to sleep when we put him down - he looked so satisfied, happy, and settled at the end of the night.  It was so nice to focus all of our energy and love on him for the whole day.

Now for some champagne, popcorn, and a little walk down memory-lane with the co-parent.  Feeling pretty good about having a two-year-old.  He's the best.