ever the two year old

one last birthday related post about our growing girl.  

two days before ever's birthday we took her to see a movie (mr. peabody and sherman).  we hadn't tried a movie trip since the first time when she was almost 15 months old.  it was such a different experience this time.  ever was so good.  she sat through almost the entire movie, only got slightly restless near the end.  the rest of the time she was content eating popcorn on my lap with her eyes glued to the screen.  every once in a while she would have something to say about the movie or she'd repeat a funny line.  i was so glad it was an enjoyable experience for all of us.  she keeps talking about peabody and eating popcorn.  i think movie dates can happen more often now.

we also spent much of our free time visiting yaya at work.  that was ever's request days before her birthday and on her actual special day.  honestly it is a request every single day.

ever didn't want to stay still for any pictures on her birthday but i managed to get these ones real quick.  her gift from us was the scooter you see in these pictures.  will and i just smile and laugh nonstop when she plays on it because she looks so grown up yet tiny at the same time.  we gave her the first scooter lesson in the house and instantly she seemed to know what to do.  she took off like an old pro.  when she plays on it outside she gets going pretty fast and tries all sorts of daredevil things.

it was so nice to have will off work for a few days and spend a majority of our time celebrating this brilliant two year old of ours.  

ever's day at bearizona

we followed tradition and took ever on a birthday outing.  this time our animal lover got to go to bearizona in williams, az.  our first stop of the day was at pita jungle in flagstaff (one of the yummiest restaurants there is).  it is usually a chore getting ever to eat but she was all about the food there.  it didn't take any convincing.  she filled up on lentils, cucumbers with tzatziki dip, and fruit.  i'm so glad that when she does decide eating is important she is almost always devouring healthy things.  she has an adventurous palate, or a weird one like me if you ask will.  next we stopped by old navy and world market for a little shopping.  ever deemed anything she saw cute.  she loves shopping for clothes.  while at world market she admired all of the easter decor and she loaded up the basket with what she thought we needed, most of which we didn't actually get.  one thing we made sure to buy there were the colorful fluffy tiny easter chicks that come in boxes of 12.  ever loves those things, she likes to cuddle them and pretend they are tiny babies.  i'm actually planning on making her a fun easter gift involving those...more on that later.   we wanted to have plenty of time at bearizona so we didn't stay in flagstaff very long.  next stop.....bearizona.        

i still can't believe she is two.  i couldn't resist taking pictures of her sleeping like a little angel on the drive.  

enjoying her favorite foods.

i was impressed with bearizona, we all were.  we started with the drive thru part of the park which reminded me of jurassic park.  ever went back and forth between my lap and will's looking at the bears, wolves, bison, etc.  she was a bit restless to really enjoy this part of the experience and she was making it hard for will and i to enjoy it but we still were amazed being so close to all the wildlife.    

the wolves were my favorite...probably because they reminded me of the dogs.  

this was the bear ever wanted to hug.

petting a possum.

attempting to get a family picture.....it'll be even harder when there are five of us.  i'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that in a few short months we will be a family of five.  

out of all the animals ever was afraid of this peacock.  she screamed when it was near her.

the otters were show offs.  they were incredibly friendly and playful.  swimming right up to the glass for attention.

as ever was petting the goats she kept saying "hey buddy!"

the baby bear was so insanely cute.  i wanted to hold it.  we went back to look at it a couple times.  i thought ever would be enamored by it as well but she was more interested in the mice which were near the baby bear.  she kept walking past the bear to the mouse enclosure where she would wave and say "hi ratatouille!"  when you ask her about bearizona she mentions the bears and ratatouille.

i wanted to add a few videos from the day but almost every time i try to put videos on here i end up getting error messages.  i'm tired of trying for now so maybe i'll try again in another post.  

ever's party at yaya's

on sunday we celebrated ever's birthday at my mom's house.  ever thinks going out there is like going to disneyland because she loves seeing yaya and papa kit.  she loves the dogs.  she enjoys running all over and playing in the dirt.

we had a delicious dinner there.  we went for a little hike.  it was a fun evening in the mountains.  

unlike most 2 year olds ever thinks cards are just as interesting as presents.  i think she gets that from me.

among the many fun little items ever opened was her beloved chapstick.  there is this all natural chapstick that i love and use but it never fails that ever gets a hold of the pricey stuff and ruins it.  she has destroyed at least 3 tubes of mine and maybe a couple of my moms.  my mom got her a tube of her own and i think that was what she loved most.  she was so appreciative of every little thing like always.  giving ever gifts is so fun because she genuinely adores anything that is given to her.  the chapstick barely left her hands for the rest of the evening.    

playing in the wagon, opening and closing the gate, investigating the garden...ever loves all things outdoorsy.

hiking with her beloved yaya and papa kit.

she kept saying "chop chop mama!"

steinway

buddha

see the chapstick is still in her hand.

she likes to rub will's beard and say "oooh soft"

she likes to stop and smell the roses or pine trees.  if we are on a walk in our neighborhood she tries to trespass into every yard to smell plants or weeds in empty lots.

the times my mom wasn't in her sight on the hike she kept yelling for her.  she loves that old bat.  something we affectionately call her...not sure she appreciates it.  i started that but i never knew ever would actually use it.  she likes to repeat everything.

the cutest moment of the night was when she covered her face and had a shy smile while we sang to her and then she blew out her candle without any effort at all.  we repeated the process at least 10 times at her request and we all laughed at how delicately she blew out the candle each time.  

this is her serious face while watching what she calls the "scary part" of despicable me 2 (the very beginning).

here you can witness her delicate way of blowing out a candle.  

she has asked to watch this and every other video i took that night so many times.  she loves watching "bideos"

ever's birthday part 2...cake, balloons, presents

ever started her day with the gift from us in the picture below.  

she thought cruising around with this wooden push toy was amazing and then discovering that it had a built in xylophone and other noise makers made it even better.  as you can see she wasn't so impressed with her hair clip.  she sees the clips and says pretty but as soon as i put them in her hair lately she rips them out.  oh well.

part one of ever's birthday is here.  

i made cupcakes and if you scroll down you'll see her reaction to the treat.

my mom and kit came over to wish ever a happy birthday and since my mom was sick on easter and not able to come over then she brought ever an easter basket along with her birthday gifts.  

ever was impressed.

i think she wondered why she was getting all sorts of gifts and totally in the spotlight but she didn't complain.  she soaked it all in happily.

she was quite pleased with her colorful balloons and when she saw the birthday banner that i made she smiled so big and said pretty.  

everything is either pretty, a kitty, or worthy of a kiss these days in ever's world.

then she had her first taste of cake and she went bonkers devouring that sugary goodness.  

she was confused for about a second and looked at the cupcake in a very suspicious way but that ended quickly and soon she was covered in cake and frosting.

she couldn't be bothered with a family picture when cake was involved.  look at that expression of pure joy.

frosting mustache

if you think this is a lot of pictures you should see just how many didn't make the cut.  the amount of pictures i took was obscene.  

after the cake we went outside for push toy time, blowing bubbles, and exploring.

cutest tutu butt.

then back inside to open cards and read all the books yaya got.  i went crazy when i saw these babylit books based on old classics.  the illustrations are adorable and the books teach either counting, colors, weather etc.  since ever is a book lover i told my mom that these would be perfect for her and my mom got her four of the books.

she completely enjoyed them as we knew she would.  kit made ever some cloud shelves for her room.  months ago i found some on etsy i really liked but i didn't end up buying them.  my mom showed kit the shelves and he made two similar to the picture i had given her and then he made one that allows for hanging items in her room.  once they are up i'll take pictures to show you just how cute they are.

there are so many things i could say about ever but it would turn into a novel and i reserve the novel writing for her baby book or journal.  i am obsessed with documenting every bit of her life.  each milestone or funny moment is written down in one of her many books and i know those written words are priceless treasures.  i even enjoy looking back to when she was a few months old now so i can only imagine how much more i'll enjoy reading things when we celebrate her 5th birthday or 18th.  i know i might be getting ahead of myself but lets be honest...time flies...especially when you are enjoying it with this little piece of heaven we call ever.

oh and by the way...walking seemed to be another gift she got right in time for her birthday.  easter night she took a bunch of steps on her own just out of the blue.  leading up to that she had taken two or three steps on her own then suddenly she took off.  time to baby proof even more.

look back at ever's life....

birth

month 1 

month 2 

month 3

month 4

month 5

month 6 

month 7

month 8

month 9

month 10

month 11