Four

Ian had a family birthday this year. It was a joint party with a relative. We made flower cupcakes from the Karen Tack cupcake book. They were a pain to make, but they turned out well despite a time crunch and lack of equipment.




I was going to make boxer dog cupcakes for Ian at my cousin's house because she and Ian share a birthday and she breeds boxers. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn't work out. So, we used the Famous Chocolate Wafers that I bought to be part of the dog architecture and Curt made the cream cake dessert as listed on the cookie box.

Happy Halloween!

Ian opening his musical Halloween card from Grandma and Grandpa:

Trick or Treating:

Bowling Birthday Party

We finally had Ian's bowling birthday party today. He turned two a few weeks ago, but due to scheduling, we had to have it late. I was worried about how it would go because I invited five families with a total of seven kids. Everyone said yes until this week when two families with three kids backed out for various reasons. Two of the other families were traveling so I was worried they might not make it. Fortunately, I ran into someone on Wednesday that I had meant to invite but lost her contact info so I thought that at least two kids would be there for sure. I am happy to report that all four families who were supposed to come, came. Unfortunately, my friends from Singapore could not get on the base. Singapore is on a list of countries where you have to get pre-approval in advance to have citizens from there onto the base. I did not realize that. We felt terrible. I should have made sure that it was the same procedure. Luckily, we had the goody bags in the car so we were able to give Emma her goody bag at least. Too bad the cupcakes were already in the bowling alley.

The bowling went well. Ian didn't do very well with taking turns, but they bowled a lot. We took a break for pizza and there was only 15 minutes left of the 2 hours. There weren't any other parties after ours so we could stay at the tables as long as we wanted to but had to pay for more bowling time. We decided to do the cake and see how the kids felt. Jacob threw up. they just got back from traveling so they don't know whether it is motion sickness (that he gets) or illness. He was fine afterwards, though and everyone wanted to bowl more so they played again and had lots of fun.

I was very happy with the party. Two of Ian's friends, Jacob and Trinity, will turn two on Halloween and decided to do a joint birthday party. The cake turned out fairly well for not having my friend Heather to help and for both Curt and I having terrible headaches yesterday and part of today. The pizza was decent as well. I wasn't expecting much from bowling alley pizza. I ordered 3 pizzas originally and then changed the order to 5. We had two pizzas leftover, but at least everyone could eat freely and not worry about running out. The meat pizzas went first, followed by the cheese. The veggie pizzas were left. I put cupcakes in each box with the pizzas and sent the last two families home with them. We have lots of cake and fruit leftover, but the strawberries were a big hit as well.

So the cake:



We got the idea from here.


Bowling video. You can see the chocolate icing obscuring all the bruises he currently has on his face due to his crazy stunts (just in time for Monday's picture session):



Snacking on the lanes:



The wind in his hair:


We didn't open the presents until we got home. Easier and less trauma to the other kids. After opening presents and having another snack, I've been working on this blog post and Ian has just passed out on the floor.

Apart from my failure for my Singapore friends, it was a great day. It is also fortunate that at 2 years old kids really don;t have a great understanding of parties so her little girl was not disappointed and enjoyed playing with the bubbles when she got home.

Two Years of Ian

I became friends with my big belly over the course of Ian's growth. I loved how it looked. I loved being pregnant (after the horrible nausea part ended). We knew the sex very early and had his full name decided before he was born. But we didn't know him. We were not prepared to meet him. You can't be. All the hopes and expectations are blown away by the perfect creation with his own opinions and personality. It is amazing. An ordinary miracle. Ordinary because it happens so often, yet miraculous to everyone, every time. I don't think anything tops the first time, because you are so clueless with the first one, but subsequent babies, like the one currently under construction in my uterus, are still miraculous. Ian is 2 years old today.

In his second year of life, he learned to talk (and swear--see bad parent post here) and sing, to walk the balance beam, to jump off the diving board, to count some and say some letters, to throw a ball and much more! He does something new everyday. Today, he willingly lay on his back in the water (why else, to impress a girl). He helps--even when we don't want him to--by turning the a/c on and off, the dishwasher on and off, closing doors, finding (and losing) cell phones, keys, etc., presses buttons on the elevator, and walks the dog (with supervision). He has an incredible sense of direction (must be recessive genes), a short temper, and a curious mind. He wants to know more. He loves to learn vocabulary rather than listen to stories. He's tried peanut butter and strawberries, two of the last of the delayed foods. He has traveled to Jamaica, Hawaii and he now lives in Korea. Three world regions in two years, not bad!

Korea doesn't have many foreigners so he is fascinating to the locals. They love his blue eyes and take pictures of him where ever he goes. He has even gotten a few modeling gigs for catalog shoots. At the most recent one, he started following directions instead of just taking bribes. They asked him to kiss the little girl next to him and he did. Everyone clapped and asked him to do it again and again. The third time he got overexcited, stood up, took the little girls head in his hand like that famous kiss photo --and she fell down. He needs to work on his moves, as he should since he is only 2!

Today marked our two year anniversary as a breastfeeding pair. I think my milk went away a few weeks ago, but he still likes to nurse. I think he will wean before the baby comes. Some kids keep nursing throughout. If that is the case, it will at least be easier to cut him down to once or twice a day. I'm proud that we got to two years and overcame the early difficulties. Nursing has been an incredibly powerful experience.

Last year, Ian had a wonderful family birthday party followed by a playgroup birthday party. He fell asleep after both birthday lunches and missed his cake. He prefered pesto green beans to cake at that point anyway. Today, his sweet tooth (o.k. chocolate addiction) has developed but he still loves vegetables.

This year, we are going to have a belated bowling/pizza birthday party with a few toddler friends. With Curt's crazy schedule we couldn't get anything planned on time. So September 27 will be his big celebration. We had a great day at the pool today, but will do all the cake and singing on the 27. Today, we spent the day at the pool, Ian's favorite place.

By this time next year, we will be a family of 4 plus dog.

Ian Says,"Refrigerator"

He pointed to the large, non-working US refrigerator and said,"Refrigerator". Then, he pointed to the small, built-in European refrigerator and said,"Refrigerator." Lastly, he pointed to the other, small, built-in European refrigerator and said,"Refrigerator".

Big words from little people are so much fun, especially when he can't say,"cat" or "car", it's "tat" and "tar".

He tries to say chocolate and ketchup (as previously reported): tochtate and tetchtup or other versions.

And of course,"cereal" which sometimes comes out as,"cer-real-eal".

Fly Boys Do the Dishes