Happy 2nd Birthday!

Hard to believe, but last weekend was Laney's 2nd birthday! Last year's party was a pretty major affair (a girl only has one 1st birthday you know), but we decided to keep this year's much simpler! We let the birthday girl pick her meal (hot dogs and popsicles) and just spent the afternoon hanging out with family. It really was a great time, and a fun way to celebrate Laney's 2nd birthday in a much lower-key way! :)

I couldn't resist making a lemon cake for Laney, since it's my favorite! But we needed a sheet cake, too, to feed everyone! Both were DELICIOUS!

Laney & her Aunt Ruthie, eating some hot dogs! :)

The Looten women! Check out the baby book, done by her second birthday like I had planned!


Grandma De and Grandma Price, hanging out in the kitchen!

Daddy & Laney blowing out the candles. She was so excited to have everyone singing Happy Birthday to her, it was pretty cute. Not that she likes being the center of attention or anything...

Opening presents with Mommy.. this was a doll that Josh and I got her, and she obsessed over it the whole rest of the time. I had to pretend to be taking it out of the box the whole rest of the time or she wouldn't open anymore presents! Oh well, at least she liked what we got her!

Check out the tiara from Grandma Looten! And a cool seek and find book from Grandma Jo!

And, well, Truman had to wear the crown, too!

Playing with the really cool dollhouse from Aunt Yaya, and the furniture from Grandma Price & Aunt Ruthie. Laney was ENTHRALLED!
Gotta have a family pic!

And Laney did manage to get a short nap in before we headed to the MU football game! It was a long day for the birthday girl!

And why should the birthday girl be the only one napping? Grandpa Price...
...and Grandpa Don both joined in on the napping extravaganza!! :)

Anyway, it really was a great way to celebrate Laney's 2nd birthday. A very low-key party, just us hanging out with our family, the way we like it best. We got surprise tickets to the MU vs. Bowling Green game that night, too (thanks, Tim!), so I'll post a few pics from that later... for now, this is all the pregnant, tired, sick Mommy can handle!

But a quick update on Laney, the good news is she is practically potty trained!! She has gone a whole week without any accidents at daycare. And she's only had one or two at home. She is really doing an awesome job. We went to the doctor on Monday for her 2 year check up, and they were amazed at how well she was talking, and how good her memory was (she doesn't forget anything- including the whole story of Jonah!). She was following her curves still; she was 33 5/8ths inches tall, 24.5 lbs, and had a head circumference of 19 inches! So that's 40th percentile, 20th percentile, and 80th percentile... still petite with a big head!! She is becoming even more independent and strong-willed (not sure where she gets that from...) but, while I know that independence makes our job as parents harder now, it will serve her well when it comes to things like avoiding peer pressure and standing her ground. I just have to keep reminding myself of that every time she throws a screaming fit in the middle of a public place... the joys of parenting! :)

SDC Weekend

Well, I posted the exciting news from a couple of weekends ago when we headed to Springfield, but I forgot to post about the rest of the weekend! We told everyone about the new baby, but we also went to Silver Dollar Cty with, literally, the entire family, which never happens! We're all so busy that everyone having a free weekend doesn't happen very often. Josh and I were just excited that they all happened to be coming that weekend, when we had news to share!

Anyway, it really was a pretty typical day at SDC, we ran all over the park, shopped, ate bad-for-us-food, rode rides (not me), and played with the girls. Just a nice, relaxing time! And, of course, there were some pictures!!

Since I couldn't ride any rides, Mom Looten had to pick up the slack! Tim, Mallorye, Mom & Josh on Wildfire. They waited for the front because it was Mallorye's first time, and the front is definitely the best! Really missed riding rides, though I'm sure I would have been so sick I wouldn't have enjoyed them!

Laney has found (and loves) this huge rocking horse that is outside the wood shop. She has to ride it every time we go by. She also discovered this time that there was a walking stick living on the door of the wood shop. She immediately wanted to "catch it," which Grandpa Looten was NOT a fan of! She's not scared of anything!

And what would a trip to SDC be without riding the catepillars & butterflies?! Daddy jammed himself into this butterfly with his little girl!

And Luke did the same in this caterpillar!

Equally excited to ride the froggies!

Practicing her beauty queen wave!

Both girls had to ride a second time, of course, and Grandma & Mallorye got the nod this time! Don't they look excited?! :)

Love this pic... Laney is shrieking in excitement; Mallorye, not so much!

In all fairness, I hate the froggie ride. They jump and bounce and it makes me sick when I'm NOT pregnant! So I don't blame Mallorye and Mom for being a little nervous!

After the park we headed to Dana's to eat. It's a cool restaurant that actually used to be a car garage, so it's all windows and a big garage door that they can open for patio seating. And, of course, a horsey, which Uncle Tim was nice enough to let Laney ride... 3 times, since she kept saying "I really want to ride again" at the end of each ride! She's hard to resist...

Anyway, just a fun trip to SDC with the family! And a fun day to tell everyone about Laney's sibling! :)