Today our little Edee, with hair down to her waist, turned two. It didn't seem like she should be turning two. Three, maybe. But two? You mean last year she was only one, and the year before she barely was?
This little girl, who proudly puts on her own boots and coat (upside down, admittedly), celebrated her birthday with the proper amount of indignation at her siblings' secretive behavior as they wrapped her gifts behind closed doors. We had taken them to Goodwill so everyone could have a chance to pick presents. I was pleasantly surprised that only one toy was chosen...a Baby Annabell doll that she had heard crying and instantly wanted to mother. Other gifts included a set of sparkly necklaces, a felt purse with hearts on it (how handy to have Valentines' so close by!), and a green hooded towel with the eyes and feet of a frog.
Ben (7) made her a card that said, "To my loveable sister Eden: You are now two years old, and what a pretty one too." We think he enjoyed the homonymnal "one, two" of it.
Dinner was baked salmon (I do the foil tent method, 15 minutes at 425 -- comes out perfectly every time) with mashed yams. To keep them from prematurely scarfing everything down before the cake was ready, the children were given pretzel sticks to dip into their spinach dip and then catch goldfish crackers -- a snack I MUST remember for those times I need snacktime to take a little longer in the consuming than it does in the preparing.
Cake was a family tradition...german chocolate upside down cake. I tried to be a maverick and find some sort of cute cupcakey thing I could make with the ingredients we had at hand...but the ... ahem ... children (yes, only the children, never the adults no huh-uh) were so disappointed I gave up and we ran out to get the proper ingredients. And I must say, if you're going to have a cake every birthday, this is the cake to have.
After we finished supper, Edee opened her presents with barely controlled delight. I don't know that she was any more excited than any of her siblings, though. It was a pretty hyper event..
And so our little Eden Quinn Mable Allison turned two. The things I want to remember about her at this stage: her "What are you makin'?" said with a Germanic harshness, the way she shrugs when she is being shy or unsure, her extremely pudgy dimpled knees, her "I Yuv You"s, so constant at the grocery store, her answer "Yep!" to almost every question, her munchkin nose scrunching up when you ask to see her teeth, the way her cheeks succumb to gravity when she sleeps in her carseat.
I love you, little one. May our God draw you closer to Himself this year. You are a blessing indeed.
She's 2 already!! Wow, well I guess Grace's birthday is next week also. I can't wait until Matthew starts to talk, of course we're enjoying him greatly in the present as well. I love German chocolate cake; I've never made cake before, but that sounds like a good one to start with!
ReplyDelete... "I can't wait for Matthew to start talking" . . . I will remind you of that when he won't stop!!
ReplyDeleteIt all happens so quickly (and paradoxically takes forever at the same time, especially with the first). But I do have to admit that it is fun (and a little scary!) to hear what thoughts they have in those little heads.