Happy 2nd Birthday!

Just two short years ago we welcomed this beautiful little wonder into our lives, and she has been amazing us every single day since. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that she is already 2 years old but other times I struggle to remember a time before her. The time has gone by fast but it has been the sweetest time of my entire life. 

I used to feel so sad at the thought of her growing up. It broke my heart that my perfect tiny little baby was virtually disappearing before my eyes. But the more she grew and learned and changed the more I fell in love with all of the new things she was doing. There really is nothing else that compares to the feeling of seeing your child learn something or accomplish a new milestone. All of those magical moments of parenthood do a pretty good job (for me anyway) of softening the blow of your baby growing up. 

Today, I am so in love with all of the sweet, adorable little things that make her who she is that I know now that I would have been missing out if she had stayed a tiny baby (you know, not that that's actually  possible :). She is so funny, smart, loving, and creative. She says and does things every single day that totally amaze us. Not only do I completely adore the little person she has become, but I'm also looking forward to each and every new thing she learns, says, and does. 

I've said it before, but this seems a fitting occasion to say it again.. I make a daily point out of soaking her in, kissing her millions of times, smelling her hair, listening to her little laugh, snuggling her for as long as she wants, and generally trying to make this arrangement as incredible for her as it is for me. There's nothing I can do to stop her from growing up or to make time slow down, therefore I just make every day, minute, and second count so that I never feel like I didn't spend our time well.

So on her special day, daddy stayed home from work and we had as much fun as possible! It just happened to be a Tuesday and that is the day she has dance class, so we started with that. 

After dance we headed to Baltimore to visit a place C had never been before... 

The National Aquarium!

We started out by heading over to the dolphin pavilion for a dolphin show!

While we waited for the dolphin show to start, we checked out the Jellies Invasion exhibit

If her face doesn't make it clear, she later told us the jellies were "yucky yuck"

After jellies it was time for the dolphin show. C was very excited!

After thoroughly enjoying the dolphins, it was time to explore the rest of the aquarium :)

 That's a whale skull

Alas... we found "Nebo"

...and his daddy, and their anemone! She was thrilled :)

Dori!

I believe this is a frog facing away from the camera

C was far more interested in the rainforest waterfall than having her picture taken by it

My favorite fish of the day who I actually had to chase down to get this picture.. such a fast swimmer!

Feeding the sting rays

When we got home all she wanted to do was watch Sesame Street, but she didn't last through the episode.

When she woke up, Nennie and Michael came over to celebrate her birthday with her!

We made brownies and sang Happy Birthday and she blew out her candles. It was adorable and I think she had just about as much fun as she could have had in one day :)  A girl on turns 2 once, right?

We are so proud of that little person and could not be happier to watch her grow and learn. We're so excited to see what fun new things her third year brings! Happy 2nd birthday to our little Lovey!