Our families joined us for Markus’s party on Saturday.

There were a black and red balloon, too, but thanks to our popcorn ceilings, they didn’t stay around for the party.

The theme was “trucks,” which made decorating easy! I just used some decorations we already had and put out all of Markus’s trucks.

The cake was not too hard to make, and I like how it turned out.

And even though we didn’t have as much daylight as on Anja’s birthday, I still wanted some pics of our boy with us in the same spot.

An unsolicited kiss!

Little Man was spoiled rotten. He got so many nice things!

And enjoyed some of his cake, of course!

Yesterday Husband gave me a lovely day of relaxing (got to go to Barnes & Noble by myself!), yummy muffins, and a date night at Pazzaluna in St. Paul. Best dish I’ve ever had there–halibut with artichoke and parsnip puree.

• Tell amazing jokes. Knock knock-who’s there-banana–haaaaaaaa! = one of my favorites.
• Talk really fast. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding your sentences, not because they are unclear, but because you rattle them off so quickly.
• Have favorites.  Especially music.  Jingle Bells by Ray Conniff is what you call your favorite song when asked, but you most frequently quote a Milo Greene song that we got at the Civil Wars concert: “I go I go I go I…” Another song on their CD says, “Takes me away…”  I tell Daddy you should be used as an echo on their full CD because you always do this adorable, “Takes me away, Anja! Takes me away!” when you hear that part of the song.
• Tackle hug our legs a lot.
• Talk about yourself in the third person.  ”Markus want a go outside now, Mama, okay?”
• Like to build towers and bulldozers with Duplos.  Anything tall and straight is dubbed a “tower,” and anything massive or sturdy is a “bulldozer.”
• Are very adamant that you are a boy.  When we ask you if you are one (now two), or if you are hungry, or if you are tired, you say, “NO.  Markus a boy.”
• Have a go-to answer regarding anything to do with the outdoors. “What is that squirrel doing, Markus?” “Mow lawn.” “It’s snowing…what should we do?” “Mow lawn.”
• Are a TALKER, in case all of the above didn’t already point to that.  ;)
• Are a picky eater. Your least favorite things: chunks of tomato, minuscule pieces of anything green and leafy, and potatoes (other than in French fry or soup form).  Your favorites: breads, cookies, oatmeal, yogurt…anything sweet.
• Still have a pacifier. We didn’t wean you as young as we did Anja, and now I regret that. You didn’t seem ready at 18 mos., so I let you have it longer, then decided to wait until after the holidays, and in the last two months you’ve become completely dependent on it to go to sleep (when you used to put yourself to sleep no problem).  We plan to wean sometime this month, and it’s not going to be pleasant!
• Are small for your age (at least compared to what we’re used to).  We haven’t had your two-year check-up yet, but you are still wearing mostly 18-month clothes and size 5 shoes (pretty sure your sister was wearing that size around her first birthday). But you’re healthy, happy and growing, and that’s what matters!
• Enjoy baths, washing hands, turning on the faucets anywhere you can reach, playing in any drinking glasses left partially full and generally everything to do with water.
• Have a fondness for hats, necklaces and headbands.
• Climb out of your crib frequently and take off your clothes while in your crib.  Not sure which one irks me more, but it keeps things interesting, that’s for sure!
• Have the most winning smile.

Markus, we have loved knowing you and your fun personality for the last two years.  We are excited (and trepidatious, dare I say?) to see what being two brings for you!

Markus likes to wear hats, most often in the house.

Our family on Christmas Day.

And I made you a monster with curly hair!

I’ve emailed some clients and announced my engagement session giveaway (if you know anyone engaged or about to be engaged in the Twin Cities area, let them know!!), I’ve read half of an e-book about quitting sugar (which my sis-in-law and I plan to do this winter). I’ve painted swatches on the freshly mudded and sanded walls of my laundry room and picked a light, creamy yellow inspired by this picture. Today we took the kids to a fun little place southwest of the cities where they jumped and ran to their hearts’ content. Hubby ran some errands this afternoon, and he brought me home some gorgeous flowers for no reason at all. LOVE.

I found some of the other pictures of my use-what-you-have wrapping and decorations from Christmas.

And our funny little gingerbread house. After years of trying and failing with graham crackers, I bought this cheap little kit at IKEA. Best gingerbread house we’ve ever had, and so easy! The icing I made stuck really well, too. Most of it went in the garbage after we got home from Mom’s, but we had fun making it.

What have you been up to this week?

p.s. If you want to see some adorable “Elf on the Shelf” pics, click over to my friend Sonja’s blog. Her clever little Nikky is always up to tricks!