Oops...a late April post

No post in April. Wow, I am slacking. 

Our sweet Aspen turned 2 on April 18th. We celebrated at Nick's parents home in Hyrum, UT. Nick's sister and family live just down the road from his parents so of course they joined in on the party.  We had a little BBQ, cake, presents and fun with cousins!

Aspen had to poke her finger in each balloon on her cake. 

As a little side note, we had great timing with our little excursion. We arrived on the same day that my nephew, Jordin, received his mission call. So after Aspen's party, we ran down to Tonee and Mikes home (Nick's sister and bro-in-law) to be apart of the excitement of him opening his call. We also all made guesses on where he was going. So where is he going? Washington Federal Way mission - a brand new one that just opened up, apparently. And who was the closest on their guess? Me! I guessed Portland, OR. :) We are ecstatic for Jordin and his fam.  He will make a great missionary. This is my 2nd nephew to be called on a mission this year!

 So back to Aspen.

I can't believe my little darling is 2! Yes, she has entered the I-get-into-everything-and-throw-tantrums-at-the-slightest-provocation-and-everything-is-mine stage...but it is still so much fun.

She's sweet. She's stinkery. She's busy. 

She loves to climb. Anything. Everything. All. the. time.

 

  

 

 

She also loves Loki. She climbs all over him, body slams him, pulls his ears, sits on him when he eats his food and for the most part he just takes it in stride. 

She likes going on walks with him too.

 She is very attached to the binki. *cough*

 

And my hair. It is basically a second blanket to her. She gets her fingers all tangled in it, pulls on it, and tickles her face with it.  Good thing I have no plans on cutting it because it that would be a very traumatic day for this little one.

She kills us with her facial expressions. 

 

 

For the most part, she and Toby get along. But given his short temper and her sneaky, passive-aggressive ways, they can have some pretty heated - sometimes hilarious - fights. 

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I absolutely love these little moments though. ^

And I'm still at a loss with her Charlie Bucket hair (Charlie Bucket...Willy Wonka...the one with Gene Wilder). I don't even know how to do my own hair, so trying to make something cute out of her short, wispy strands is probably one of the most intimidating things in my life right now. Nick keeps saying things like, "So...ya think you're ever going to do her hair?" 

Yeah, maybe before Kindergarten. Maybe.

But right now I'm kind of enjoying the moments of singing "I've got a golden ticket!" when her hair is super fluffy and wavy. :)

Aspen is also not saying a whole lot of words right now. I try not to let it bother me, but when I watch videos of the T-man at her same age jabbering on and on or hear other kids her age speak in almost sentences or when I can't figure out what on earth she is wanting...that is when I struggle with the lack of vocabulary. She does understand everything I say to her though. *sigh*

Oh well. It will happen when it happens right?

She is the best cuddler on the planet. And having those little arms around my neck is very therapeutic. Brings me down and helps me to not sweat the small stuff. For a few minutes anyway.

 

Happy 2nd birthday, Aspen. We are so lucky to have your bright smile and sweet spirit in our home!