Happy Birthday Kelsey

How has time gone from this...

to this...

to this! I CAN believe that Kelsey is two because she's totally acting like it but what I can't believe is that it has been 2 years. I never knew that time went so fast as a parent. I wish I could relive so many moments. Its going way too quickly.

This is Kelsey's new birthday dress from Harper and Holden but on the way home from the store it started to rain and it got dirty. During nap time I washed it but when I tried to put it back on she freaked out! This is the only birthday shot I got in her new birthday dress.

 Not a great video, but I love how much she loves her shoes.

Monday was kind of a big deal for our family. Not only was it Kelsey's birthday, but Ethan started his summer internship with Gallup. For the most part, I'd say Kelsey's birthday was pretty low key this year.
Ethan was so excited to start his new job that he left an hour early for the train! He needed to get to the office by 8:15, we live about 20 minutes from the office, so naturally he left at 6:45. That makes sense right :) I love you Ethan!! I know things can happen, but he was just so genuinely excited that I couldn't keep him home any longer. I don't know the dets about his day except that he came home super happy!
Kelsey and I also had a great day! It was the first day of real life and so there was much to do. We went to Mariano's, did the laundry, cleaned the house, and got ready for the party. My goal was to stay busy so that I could adjust into my Chicago life. After a good long nap we went to the park and then got ready for daddy to come home by playing "chaklet" in the yard (chalk).

After a pizza dinner (Kelsey's favorite) we walked to the school and played at the park! Kelsey was in heaven.

The only reason Kelsey was willing to leave the park, was because she knew that there was a cupcake on the other side.

Totally thought that this WASNT blurry when I took it.

Kelsey was  a huge fan of us singing Happy Birthday that we had to sing it 2 times. She joined in on the second time!

And then it was down to business. I told her to look at mom and say cheese. She said cheese, but looking up was wasting too much of her time.

And then it was time for "PESENTS!!!" She was thrilled! We did most of our presents in Utah, but she did have some cards and gifts to open. She loved it. After she opened one, without even looking at what was inside she'd say "More?' and move on. When we got to the end we told her there were no more. She just looked at us and started signing more. She had a great time.

 We really felt loved on Monday. We got so many cute calls and texts and emails from friends and family. It was so tender to be remembered. Thank you publicly to everyone who helped make Kelsey's birthday special.

Kelsey is such a funny little girl.
I love the personality that she is developing. She is super spunky, super outgoing, and super brave.
Kelsey loves to draw, sing, read stories, and be outside. Nothing trumps being outside.
Lately she loves to copy everything that we say and do. She wants so badly to be bigger than she is especially when it comes to park equipment.
Kelsey has started telling us stories and I love it. They are short, but she always tells us the same ones and never misses the details that she knows 'Pizza Ralphie cheek?" "Boat, scared, cereal, happy..."
I can honestly say now that Kelsey has favorites. Some that I know include:
Frozen- she sings along to all the songs now
Minnie and Mickey Mouse-"oh toodles!"
Shoes- this girl LOVES trying on shoes. I can't tell you how many times we almost left parties wearing someone elses shoes because she just puts on any shoes that she can find. She espeically loves her boots and orange jellies
Food is actually really hard. She wouldn't eat for so long and now she is finally eating that when she does eat, it still surprises me. She eat salmon the other day! WHAT?! She wouldn't even eat chicken nuggets but she ate salmon. She also ate peanut butter, string cheese, and strawberries recently. Our minds are blowing!
She loves to sing especially: Frozen songs, Snowman, Popcorn, Roseys, Motor boat, Open shut, and baby beluga.
Kelsey also loves to go nigh nigh with all the fixings: Bunny, Peach, Minnie, blankie, Blanket, and books.  (Yeeah... its becoming a problem to travel)
She also LOVES LOVES LOVES Nursery and asks for church about 3 times a week. We were very blessed because the transitions of nurserys haven't been an issue like I thought. She has handled it like a champ.
She loves to put her fingers in her mouth. Its super gross and we are trying to fix it.  
She loves little kid stuff like jumping, dancing, clapping, Gotcha!, playing, running, and friends


A few things that Kelsey hates:
Having to get back in the stroller once we let her out. She will get in it, but once we let her out, getting her back in is a battle that makes the Civil War look like childs play. She just wants to walk. It gets old.
She hates holding my hand across the street
She hates missing out. Bed is never an issue unless she knows that there is fun on the other side of the door.
She hates being misunderstood. If we don't understand a word she will repeat it a 100 times until we understand what she's saying. My heart breaks when this happens because she tries so hard, but sometimes we have no idea what she is saying!

Her friends at two include: Harper, Holden, Ralphie, Sadie, Locke, Liesle

Kelsey is really growing up. There are very few words that she can't communicate. I know I'm her mom but a lot of other people understand her too. She is becoming a really good talker and communicator. I love having her around. She obviously is two and so with that come the challenges of opinion and attitude, but I have been blessed with an added level of patience that I didn't know was possible. Some days I just ignore her and some days I cry with her, but we get through. Its hard being two... for everyone