Eliana's 2nd Birthday

Our littlest lady isn't so little, anymore.  She has added so much joy to our lives over the past two years and we couldn't imagine our family without her sweet and sassy personality.  Last year, on the eve of her birthday, she patted me on the back before I put her to bed. I was so thankful for that moment.  This year, she gave me a big hug and said, "best friend".  I think she knows birthdays are bittersweet for moms.  Here's how we celebrated:

 

A week before her actual birthday, we spent the night at Great Wolf Lodge. The girls LOVED having their own cabin, complete with bunk beds. 

A few days later, she and I took some time to celebrate alone.  This included, pizza, ice cream, a new toy of her choosing and some play time at the mall.

 

She wasn't exactly impressed with her sprinkled cinnamon roll for breakfast on her actual birthday.

 She warmed up after a few presents.

 

All birthdays should include balloons and a giant cupcake headband, if you ask me.

 Cake and some sister love

We filled the bounce house with balloons and ball pit balls after dinner.

 Her celebration concluded with one of her favorite snacks and some new jammies.

Eliana, here are a few things we want you to know about yourself at this age:
1. When you see a picture of yourself, or often when you're simply referring to yourself, you say your whole name "Eliana Cecily Soric".  We love that.
2. You can count to ten, sing your ABC's, identify many letters and quite a few shapes.  While learning colors is a work in progress, there's no doubt that yellow seems to be your favorite.
3. You are every bit the baby sister of twins.  They don't make it easy on you, but you have no trouble asserting yourself.
4. You love to play hide and seek, dance, and watch Super Why.
5. You never pass up an opportunity to snuggle.