Happy Birthday, Ian!

Our sweet Ian is two years old today. It's been the greatest two years of my life by far! Our boy is full of smiles, full of energy, full of compassion, and full of joy. He's not just a happy boy, he's a joyful boy . . . a joy that is deep and that we pray never leaves him. Ian loves people and has a sweet and empathetic heart. He loves to pray for his friends and family. Ian loves his schedule and needs his routines and therefore, he does best in calm environments. He definitely gets nervous when his friends are upset or screaming . . . part of that empathetic heart, I think. Ian tends to be a rule follower and not much of a risk taker, but he's getting more and more brave in his risk taking as the days go on. Ian loves to talk and is the most verbal little boy I have ever met in my life! He says the most amazing things and keeps us on our toes with what new things he's learning and interested in. Our boy is beyond amazing and we're so honored to call him our son. I love watching him grow and cannot wait to see what all the Lord has in store for his life!

On his 2nd birthday, I wanted to document what all of his favorite things are and what some of the hilarious things he's doing are. It's a long list!

• Favorite Foods: PIZZA! Corn on the Cob, Cookies, Muffins, Oranges, Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Bananas, Peanut Butter Crackers, Green Beans, Lemons, Blackberries, Cherries, Sweet Pickles, Bacon, Black Olives, Chips, Goldfish, Milk, Tuna Salad, and a salad made of lettuce, Fritos, cheese, Ranch Style Beans and Catalina dressing.
• Favorite Toys: Balls, Cars, Barn, Stick Horses, and of course, his Lawn Mower.
• Favorite Activities: Watching Barney - the episodes about Hawaii and Greece are his favorites; Playing Outside - especially riding in his wagon and swinging; Going to Church and School; Praying; Reading his Bible stories at night - his favorites right now are Noah, Zacchaeus, and Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob; Helping his Daddy in the yard - especially getting to use the blower; Playing with the Vacuum Cleaner and Eating! Snuggling with his "baby" and sucking on his paci are still at the top of Ian's list of things to do.
• Ian truly loves all of his little friends and talks about each of them off and on. His best little friends right now though are Aislinn and Karlie.
• Ian has learned how to say his entire name. It's adorable! Next time you see him, ask him what his name is and hopefully he'll say the whole thing.
• Uncle Joe has always called Ian "Boo" or "Boo Boo". Ian has decided to call everyone by their name with a "boo" on the end . . . Daddy-boo, Mama-boo, Baby Bop-boo, Aislinn-boo, Ian-boo. You get the idea!
• If he falls down or runs into something and I don't ask if he's okay, he say, "You okay, Ian?" in a really sweet, concerned voice. I'll ask if he's okay and he immediately says, "YES!!!" in a really energetic voice that couldn't possibly be hurt at all!
• When we (usually me) yawn, Ian asks, "You sleepy, Mama?" Yes. Yes, I am. :)
• Everything "smells good" and Ian always feels good too. Basically, his life is good!
• Ian is sweet to tell me I look pretty, to tell his Daddy to be careful when he leaves for work, and he's starting to say, "Love you, Mama!" and "Love you, Daddy!" He melts my heart!

I plan on taking some "formal" pictures of Ian for 2 year old portraits in a dressy outfit. It will be my last chance to take pictures of him in traditional Southern dress since I promised my husband I would stop dressing him that way at age two. For now, I have pictures of him that I took for his birthday party . . . LOVE our sweet boy!!!









And, this picture is the reality of this group of pictures . . . a skinned up nose and a little boy who really wasn't too excited to have pictures taken. He wasn't grumpy, just uninterested and too busy to be bothered. I had intended to leave the skinned nose unedited in all of the pictures because it's pretty poetic, don't you think? A skinned nose for 2 year old pictures. I couldn't do it though. I like his regular face way too much! I'm pretty much a sucker for this one too though.