Happy 2nd Birthday, Anna!

Oh where, oh where has all the time gone?  It is still hard for me to believe that my baby is a two year old.

But I am absolutely loving this age with her. She is so smart and is able to understand so much.  Just yesterday, Faith, Anna and I played a game of Sequence for Kids. While we were playing, I had Anna "spell" each word by repeating each letter I said, say the name of the animals (and sometimes make the sound too)! Then, all by herself, she found the animal on the board and put the token on the right square. Some of you may be a little confused by what I am talking about it, but I am telling you, it is super impressive!

Anna is a bit of a handful too.  She is strong-willed and very resilient at finding creative ways to get what she wants, whether that is climbing on a desk, standing on top of a chair, using scissors, or whatever else it may take.  I feel like I am always on my toes watching after this little munchkin!

And yet, she still is my sweet, little cuddler who will climb up into my lap with a favorite book and tell me "Mommy, read. Read."  I love all the moments I share with her and thank God for each and every day I have with my precious little gift. 

I made this memory book of Anna's first year a few months back and wanted to share it with everyone on the occasion of us celebrating another wonderful year with little Anna.  To view Anna's 1st Year Memory Book, click here 

Last Thursday, from the beginning of the day, Anna was all smiles that it was her birthday!  She loved hearing people tell her "Happy Birthday" and sang "Happy Birthday, dear Anna" to herself numerous times throughout the day. It was so cute! 

Jillian loaned Anna her a necklace and bracelet for the special occasion.  

And then we captured this sweet, sweet photo of my three girls, the best of friends. 

Anna is blessed to have the two most attentive, big sisters! They love her to pieces. 

For our breakfast, I ordered half a dozen Cinnamon Crunch bagels for four of us (with a couple extra to take home!) and for Jillian, I ordered a cinnamon roll. All of our Panera treats were delicious and were very much enjoyed by all of us. 

After breakfast, it was time to open up presents from the extended family. 

Anna loved her new baby doll from Grammie and Grandad.

And she thought her new pink dress was very pretty too! 

Then she opened up her presents from Aunt Beth, Uncle Nate, Luke, and Ruth Ann.

She was very excited about a new book for her Tag Jr! 

And loved the adorable new froggy outfit from Gymboree!

Mimi and Paw Paw gave Anna this super cute dress and a matching counting frog book! 
Then, it was time for Anna to open up her present from her big sisters. 

She was so excited to take out all the fun tissue paper from the bag. (It was super hard for Faith to refrain from being too much of a helper, but she did a great job!!) 

It was a Little People castle!  All three of the girls have had so much fun playing with it. 

Hooray for birthdays! 

It was a special day celebrating an amazing 2 year old! 

A Mommy and Daughter moment: Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl! It has been an absolute joy watching you grow up and to share these past two years with you. :-)