Look who's Two!

I can't believe it's been two years since Finn joined our family.  It feels as if he's always been here.  He is such a joy, so full of energy and very happy.  The two most frequent comments I get about Finn are, "He's so cute!" and "Is he always this happy?"  Yes, and yes.  (Although to the second I have to add the caveat, "As long as he's getting his way."  But isn't that true for every 2 year-old?!)  We are so happy that he is ours and that we have been able to enjoy two healthy and happy years with him.  We look forward to many, many more.

The first treat Finn received for his birthday (on the 17th) was a trip to the party store to pick out whatever balloons he would like.  Recently, our Wal-Mart has been pushing their balloon sales and Finn was always so excited about the balloons that I knew he needed some for his birthday.  So, while Kai was at school we went shopping.  These were the balloons that we came home with, and he was excited!

At first he was unsure what he was to do with them, but he was quite content to stare at the them and point while saying, "Elmo!"  When Kai got home from school, that all changed.  Finn has since learned about balloon races, letting them go and grabbing them again, and pretty much just dragging them all over the house (well, as far as Mommy will let you).

That afternoon, while Finn napped, Kai and put up streamers and a birthday banner.  We also finished wrapping the presents and got ready to decorate the cake.  When Finn woke up, he was so surprised by all of the decorations that he just stopped in his tracks.  It was cute!  And then he saw the presents and made a beeline and before I knew it he had a hole punched in one of them.  So, I was forced to put the presents out of arm's reach until Reid got home.

Once Reid arrived, the party began.  First, Sesame Street blowy-things.

Finn actually got the hang of this.

And, silly string!

Next, we opened presents.  His first present was a Leaptop.  He loves having his own computer.  Unfortunately, the video seems to be too large to load, but just know it's been a big hit here.

Present #2--From Grandma

We eventually got him to push on Elmo and make him sing this way.

But he's still not so sure about Elmo when he's singing loudly.

From Great-Grandma Hickman

Another new book from Kai.  Do you see who's holding the balloons here?

Finn really enjoys The Wonder Pets

These blocks have also been a huge hit.  Sorry you can't see them, but I don't have pictures of everything
and the videos don't all want to upload.

Finally, after a quick dinner, we ended with cake and ice cream.  Finn has 3 characters that he just loves--Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and Winnie the Pooh.  (or Elmo, M-ou, and Poo)  So, we went with a Mickey Mouse cake with Winnie the Pooh candles.  All of his favorite friends were represented.  While he completely refused to eat cake and ice cream, he did have a good day.  Happy Birthday Finn!  We LOVE you!

The cake really didn't look this bad.  We forgot to take a picture before we started taking it apart.  In this
picture, I had taken Mickey's face off which really upset Finn.  So, I just placed it back on while I was
going to get a knife to cut it.  But Finn really does look this cute!