Etta is 2 !!

We are now entering the terrific two's!
Please don't remind me of some of the other "t" words that are used to describe this age :)

Etta's birthday was on Thursday which meant a couple good things: Matt working from home so she got extra daddy-time, and it is her school day so she got to have fun doing art and playing with all the toys.

We started off Etta's birthday with pumpkin-buttermilk pancakes which she devoured! She got to open her first present even before breakfast because we knew she would want to watch her new Elmo video right away. We only own 2 kid videos, the rest we borrow from the library or record little segments off tv. So we figured maybe it was time for another.

After breakfast we got ready for school. It was dress-up day for Etta's class & my day to bring snack so that made things pretty special. Etta wore a tutu to class and she was not very fond of the extra attention the boys gave her due to it. After class Matt picked her up with the bike since it was nice weather. Then she got lunch at home with daddy and nap time.

After nap Addie & I got home from her class and Etta got to open another present. She got new undies, a potty book and some other fun things from her Aunt Cheryl. The potty book has buttons she can push to make noise & Etta is quite a fan of it!

Then we had snack time and some play time then it was time for dinner. We decided to go to a local Chinese restaurant that we like because we remembered that Etta liked the food. Specifically, she loves their green beans. She ate some other things too, but  those were by far her favorite.

Then home and another present - an airplane! We have cars and trucks but decided that she needed something that flies.

Next we skyped with Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Tom & cousins Aubree & Lauren (who both have their birthdays this week!).

Her last present was a new swing for the tree outside. Both girls love the ropes that are hanging, but they do not love trying to balance on the wood board swing. So we bought a traditional swing to replace it. When they get a little older I would like to do a less traditional one that feels a little more unique or adventurous, but for their current ages a traditional swing will get a lot more use.

I had toyed with the idea of making a fruit pie for Etta's birthday dessert, and next year I will for sure. I made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I thought since they were not chocolate she might like them, and I thought she had liked cream cheese frosting in the past. I guessed wrong. She barely touched it. She ended up quite happily eating some chocolate covered pretzels. Oh well, she is not old enough to be disappointed when she does not love her birthday cake. And Matt & I thoroughly enjoyed the frosting & cupcakes :)

If you ask Etta how old she is, she might tell you "two" but she also might say "three" or "five". She wants to grow up fast!

And if you call her "Etta" it is possible that she will correct you by saying "Etta Rose". That is what I often call her and what I sing to her each night in her lullaby, and she has started picking up on it.

What else? She loves to thank God for apples when she prays. She likes to run and to practice her jumping. She loves to be naked. She loves to snuggle and be held. She makes her opinion quite clear (and loud). She loves to wear dresses & be admired & look pretty. She hates having her hair washed during bath. She knows a ton of words and string words together and sounds pretty dang cute when learning new words : her new Abby Cadabby potty book ends with the words "twinkle out" which in etta-speak sounds like "tinkle out" - which is pretty funny and appropriate :)