Happy Birthday Lila!

My baby turned two!

We had a little party at Pa Dave's, complete with balloons! (Because you can't have a party without balloons according to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and if you can't guess from the pictures Lila is currently obsessed with all things Mickey Mouse...)

The birthday girl surrounded by her presents! She got Minnie Mouse pajamas, Minnie Mouse dishes, a Mickey Mouse puzzle, a giant Minnie Mouse doll and another baby doll. Like I said, Mickey Mouse is a strong presence in our life right now. She also got an adorable sweater dress with a hood from Dinee and Tay and I couldn't wait for her to wear it!

Here she is on her actual birthday showing me that she is two.  She has a little trouble making her fingers behave the way she wants them to. That or she is showing you the age of her attitude.

My two favorite things about Lila right now:

1. She is a pretty sweet girl most of the time, and she loves to play with her brother and sister and be included in whatever they are doing.

2. She gives great hugs and still likes to be cuddled.  This is very good for both of us when we've had a trying day and been butting heads.

The two biggest struggles with Lila right now:

1. The climbing! Oh my, the climbing.  At least once a day I am "rescuing" her from the top of the TV, or the play kitchen, or a dresser, or some other dangerous place that she manages to scale even though I keep rearranging things so there are no easy access points for her to reach.  I am just praying we make it through the holidays with no stitches or broken bones.  (I just don't know that making it through a whole year is do-able, even with divine intervention...)

2.  The Attitude, with a capital A.  Her current favorite thing to say when she doesn't get her way about something is "Fine! Fine, fine, fine..." as she stomps off.  She also has no compunction about telling someone off if they are doing something she doesn't like, from her brother and sister, to the entire extended family, and even random strangers at the supermarket. "You don' do dat! Dat's not nise!" while she shakes a finger in your face...  And it's so hard not to laugh, but we are trying really hard not to encourage her.

Lila's two favorite things right now:

1. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Today at the doctor's she told our pediatrician, "I watch Mickey Mouse all day!"  Which would be absolutely true if I let her...

2. Cheese sticks and apple juice.  If we run out of either it is a crisis. I also have to have a very firm rule of only one a day or she wouldn't eat anything else.

Lila's two least favorite things right now:

1. Her high chair.  Every meal time is a struggle because she is convinced she is a big girl and should be able to eat at the table, but she is still messy enough of an eater that I like being able to contain the mess a little and plus our table only seats four, so at dinner time there isn't a place for her.  

2. Sleeping in her own bed.  We are working hard on this one. But most mornings finds her securely wedged between Brian and I.  

Two things I am looking forward to with Lila:

1. The excitement she brings to our lives as she hits each new milestone and experience.

2. The funny things she says as she adds new words to her vocabulary almost daily.

Happy Birthday Lila! We are so lucky you were chosen to complete our family.