Here are a couple pictures from Calder’s 2nd birthday party. Favorite moment of the night? When Calder decided to share almost all of the dum dum lollipops that he got as part of a gift with everyone in the room. What a sweet boy!

Yes, we had doughnuts. And you know what? It was great! Everyone loved them (Calder prefers them to cake), very little work for me, easy to eat, perfect with egg nog...who could ask for anything more?

Opening presents with his church pew battle wound. The Thomas trains from Grandma and Grandpa Austin were the hit of the night--I had no idea he would love them so much!

Calder just had a ball, so thank you everyone that was able to come! Every time he puts on clothing he got for his birthday or plays with a birthday present, he says, “special birthday present!” Very cute. He’s loving his new Elmo shirt and Toy Story sweatshirt from Grandma and Grandpa Haymond especially. Thanks again everyone for making it a special day for my sweetheart!

So, remember this accident?

Ouch!

If you don’t happen to remember, this is when Amelie fell face first into the wooden arm of one of the pews at church. This happened while I was conducting our ward’s choir practice. The cuts and scrapes made a line straight from the top of her forehead to the bottom of her chin.

Apparently, that wasn’t enough for these fed up church pews (always getting spills and Cheerios crumbs and crayon marks from those bothersome babies and toddlers!) because this is what happened last Sunday:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

These pews prefer to attack during ward choir practice. Once again, I was conducting practice when out of the corner of my eye I saw Calder fall against a pew. We figure that he must have been running down the ramp that leads up to the podium and built up so much momentum that he just couldn’t stop before he ran face first into the front row pew. The scabbing and black eye (it was more black than these pictures show) weren’t pretty, but this brave boy never complained after the initial shock of getting rammed by a pew.

So, parents, beware the vengeful church pew. You never know when it might strike again.

Calder is 2 years old today! And I can hardly believe it. I mean, he definitely looks his age (at his doctor’s appointment yesterday he measured in the 94th percentile for height), and he talks his age (loves making new sentences), but this is my baby we’re talking about! Calder is so much fun–full of spunk and energy, but always ready for a snuggle and a hug. He wakes up eager and excited for the day and doesn’t stop until it’s time for bed again. Just a delight.

There's my sweet boy!

Classic Calder moment: "Who me? No, I wasn't trying to climb over this bridge railing. Definitely not."

Looking so grown up.

With his trusted and loyal companion, Blankie. To say he's attached is an understatement.

So, happy birthday, my love! We’re so glad to have you in our family!

So, here’s Calder at 11 weeks in utero:

And here’s this baby at about the same gestational age:

What do you think? Any family resemblance? 😉 This one looks like he/she has a lot more room in there–probably just the angle of the ultrasound or something.

Anyway, here’s to almost being in my second trimester! Love you already, baby.

On Wednesday, we had a small group of family (and friends who are basically family) over to celebrate Amelie’s birthday. She was in heaven! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her so excited. We watched her birthday video, opened presents, had cupcakes and ice cream, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was really a lot of fun and I know Amelie felt very special and very loved.

The cupcakes! We sort of did a ladybug theme for the party (the invites, our gift to her, and the cupcakes were all ladybug themed).

These were pretty yummy! Chocolate cupcakes with caramel chocolate candies in them, chocolate frosting, and topped with an Oreo cookie made to look like a sunflower. The ladybugs are M&Ms decorated with chocolate frosting. Thanks to the book "Hello, Cupcake!" for the idea!

Amelie loved these sunglasses that she got as a gift. Kept them on much of the evening!

Happy girl.

This big bunny doll (that you can't see very well since she wrapped it up in a blanket) has turned out to be one of her favorite gifts. It was mine when I was a little girl, so that makes it extra fun. Thanks, Grandma Austin for sending it!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. She was just thrilled by the whole thing and is already counting the days until her next birthday! Thank you to everyone who helped make it so special!