Happiest Little Girl

I love going in to get this little girl.

She is always so happy to see me.

She doesn't cry when she wakes up.

She just sucks her thumb and waits for me.

What a sweet little girl!

Terrifics Twos Here We Come

Harmonie turned two today! That means it has been two years since her amazingly wonderful delivery! It is hard to believe but totally true. She is just the cutest thing and so ready to do it all herself. She wanted to help with the pancakes, and I tried to let her, but I was so worried about spills and her possibly getting hurt, that I had to send her out. I made happy face pancakes and we all loved them with vanilla ice cream. In fact, there weren't any pancakes left over.

Camdilyn even enjoyed her first taste of food - small bits of pancake. It was exciting to see her do well and I think she enjoyed them. (I've never given one of my babies food this early.)

We were supposed to go to the library for story time, but they called and said they weren't opening until after noon because of the snow, so they weren't having story time. I told the kids I would put a movie on after lunch for those who were done with their school work.

I found her card from my parents in the mailbox, so she opened it up after the movie. She had a little bit of trouble but eventually tore off the envelope and enjoyed looking at the pictures.

After dinner, Grandma and Grandpa Nichols came over with two really large presents and the cake.
They had to read some stories first, and the kids got a little rowdy.

Then it was party time. She wanted to sit by Grandma Nichols, so she was a little upset about being put in the middle. She got over it when we started singing - this time with a violin accompaniment. (Emily practiced quite a bit throughout the day so she would be able to play while people sang. It was great.) Harmonie was excited to see the candles on the cake but had a hard time blowing them out. When she got the second one, she was so happy and thrilled.

Kevin had to give her a nudge to get close enough to blow them out.

She clapped happily after she blew out the second candle.

She was very excited about the presents! It was fun to watch her reactions to each gift, as she pulled the item from the bag. We had a hard time figuring out what to get her - seeing as how she's the 7th child to turn two in our family and we have loads of stuff. I think we did alright and she had a great time.

We gave her: socks (it was so cute to hear her say "shocks"), combs (she doesn't need a brush yet), a bag of candy (I'm glad she'll share with me because it is some of my favorites), twistable crayons (hopefully she won't eat them), Go Fish card game (hopefully she won't eat these either), fleece Tic-Tac-Toe game (Marissa and I made it back in Dec but I decided it would be a good gift for Harmonie so I put it away). Grandma and Grandpa Nichols gave her a fleece blanket (she was the only one without one so now she has one!) and a baby doll with accessories. When she saw the doll she smiled and said, "baby, baby"). I think it was a great birthday for a two year old.

We all enjoyed the cake, even though I didn't take any pictures of it. The pieces were a bit big so some of the kids didn't finish their pieces - topped with strawberries and Cool Whip (which were eating up quickly so only the cake was left).

One of the funniest parts was when Harmonie opened the card from Grandma and Grandpa Nichols... it had $2 in it. While she looked at the card the envelope and money sat on top of the gift. When she was done with the card it went onto the table and she swiped the envelope and money off the top of the box to get to the gift. It was just so funny!

We love you, little Harmonie!