Hannah is 2!

Hannah's birthday celebration was so special for so many reasons!  She has become such a big girl, and we've been noticing especially in the last few weeks an explosion of words and a fantastic ability to follow directions!  She's becoming a kid!  She really had no idea what a birthday is all about, but Emmy sure does and was eager to make the day extra special in so many sweet and hilarious ways!  Our Emmy had been counting down to Hannah's birthday for days...On Friday, we went to Target and Emmy picked out two small gifts for Sissy and promptly wrapped them as soon as Sissy was tucked away in her crib for quiet time that day.  She spent the next couple of days carting her gifts around to various hiding spots so that an completely unsuspecting Sissy wouldn't find them.  She spent Saturday morning (before Sissy woke up) making her not one, but FIVE birthday cards!  She planned her outfit (a green dress with white polka dots and a purple beaded necklace) and laid it out the night before.  She was so overcome with anticipation for Hannah's special day that she woke up three times the night before (that NEVER happens!) a bright eyed Emmy came running downstairs at 630 on the big day with her gifts.  Of which she place on Hannah's trampoline, just as she'd planned to do the night before.  It was TORTURE for Emmy to wait the extra hour for Sissy to wake up (who actually woke up because Emmy opened her bedroom door to check and see if her eyes were open...)  Emmy led the charge with gift opening, just as soon as Sissy came down stairs.  We had a big breakfast full of all Hannah's favorites..."hot dogs," swedish pancakes, eggs and mandarin orange slices, along with a celebratory bottle of Martinelli's sparkling apple cider.  Sissy was so excited to "cheers" all of us with her fancy drink over and over again. :)  We went to church, and when we picked the girls up from their respective areas, Emmy, very seriously, dropped to her knees, pulled off her fleece, unzipped her backpack to retrieved her "Happy Birthday" crown and blower party favor.  She placed the crown on her head (still very seriously,) put the blower in her mouth, took my hand and help walking.  I couldn't stop laughing over how devoted she was to celebrating Sissy's big day. :)  Warmed the cockles of my heart.

After an abbreviated quiet time, we loaded the troops up in the car and headed down to Nashville for a surprise birthday adventure!  We made it to the Build-A-Bear factory with 30 minutes until closing!  Luckily, that's all the time we needed.  We took our time exiting the Opry Mills mall before we stumbled upon their Merry-Go-Round, which both Emmy and Sissy were begging to ride...In the spirit of Hannah's "yes" day (opting for responding favorably to most of her requests-within reason,)  Daddy took both girls for a whirl.  They loved it, especially Hannah, who continually asked for another go around throughout our very high-brow meal at Burger King in the food court.  We rushed home afterward so that we could sing "Happy Birthday" enjoy Sissy's hand-selected cupcakes!

Hannah's awake!!  The moment we've all been waiting for!  Especially Emmy!

Opening presents as soon as we got downstairs.

A fancy new birthday outfit and cozy "ephaphant" baboo from Mimi and Papa!

One of Emmy's gifts, that was, thankfully, a big surprise for Hannah; largely due to her gift-hiding strategy, I'm sure.

A sweet sheep baboo that says a goodnight prayer from Grammy and Poppy.

An Army baboo that even has our last name on the jacket from Grammy and Poppy!

Train duplos to feed Hannah's train obsession!

Breakfast time!  Hannah's favorite meal of the day!

Lunch time treat...juice in a train sippy, what could be better?!

Hannah making her selection at the Build-A-Bear factory, she hardly knew what to do with herself!  Emmy, on the other hand, had her pink princess bear and outfit (including shoes) picked out within the first 5 minutes of being there.

So many to choose from!

Hannah really actually preferred the display puppy dog...But, reluctantly went along with the process...

...Until she wanted nothing to do wit her new puppy dog...

Emmy waiting patiently for her pink princess bear.

Hannah can't shake the display baboo...

She can tell which one is the display even after Nick attempted to masterfully "switch" it.  They were identical, but she has a sixth sense about baboos.

Bathtime!

A little personal grooming.

If only I'd clicked over to the video camera quickly enough, Hannah was doing a little boot-scoot-and-boogie with the cowboy hat.

She desperately wanted a "car" bed for her puppy dog to sleep in.  She staged a protest in the middle of the aisle. We negotiated a little backpack for her to carry her baboo in.

Juju's awake!

Singing "Happy Birthday!"