I'm a two!!!

Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you... My little man is two-years-old!

It's hard to believe how fast the time goes by...

Reading his card and counting his cash - one of his favorite things!

I'm happy and sad at the same time that this is his birthday. He is turning into a little kid before my eyes. He says "no", "mine" and "let go" with the best of them, but he also still loves to be held, cuddled and smooched on. This is such a fun age. Here he is telling us all he's two!!!

Mad Man's Birthday at the Zoo...

Happy Birthday!!

We decided that instead of spending too much money and getting too little return, we would celebrate the Mad Man's 2nd birthday at the Topeka Zoo with family and friends. It was the best decision ever. We all got to enjoy ourselves at our own pace (the 6-8 year old crowd a little more quickly than others). I also discovered that going to the zoo at 9:30 a.m. was a little chilly, but a great time to go. There was hardly another soul in sight!

Enjoying some healthy snacks of nachos, fries and candy...

One of these things is not like the others... one of these things doesn't belong.
Can you guess which one it is???

Mike taking a breather after a long walk across the zoo.

Braving the lions...

Maiki's "UN" Birthday Party at BES

In my usual fashion, I waited until the last minute to do Maiki's unbirthday party at school. But, we managed. Yes, the cupcakes were store-bought, had way too much frosting, and probably hyped the kids up to a point where the teachers were no doubt cussing us out by the day's end. But, she was excited and it was the first time she has had her own party and her own special day.

The Many Faces of Maiki....

Makena went to Grandma's house tonight, so the other M's and I had a great evening. Went to the Mad Greek for dinner and walked around downtown - I still love Lawrence so much by the way.... Maddox was really good and waved at all the passers-by. We also got to hear about his "BIG....poop" in the car the whole way. I will have to record him saying it to give the full effect. It was really cute - at least as cute as a 2-year-old talking about his big dump can be!

By the time we got home, it was time for the Madness to go to bed ("Yay!!" says Maiki). So, after we got him all tucked in, Maiki and I started our girls' night. We painted nails, took pictures of each other (after which I deleted all of the ones of me....gobbler and all) ate popcorn and watched Fred Claus. We started out watching Halloween, (Maiki likes scary movies) but after about 10 minutes, she decided it might give her nightmares, so "we better watch something else." She crashed about 10 minutes later....

Cute Maikism for the day.... We got the girls' hair cut earlier in the day at Great Clips. There is a guy that works there that wears a yammika (sp?) and cut their hair the time before. For whatever reason, they both decided they didn't want him cutting their hair again. I asked, and Maiki said it was because of the "thing" he wears on his head. She didn't like it. So, I proceeded to explain to her that he was Jewish and it was a custom that they wear them, etc. She asked what it meant to be Jewish and I explained that it was a religion, and that they believed in God, but they believed some different things than Christians. Maiki thought for a minute and then asked, "Do they believe in rainbows?" I love that kid.

Spontaneous Dinner at the Park....

I had a hectic day at work... too much to do, all needed to be done today, and as much as I accomplished, there will be complaints tomorrow.  It's very frustrating.  My entire hour-long drive home, I blasted my radio with a very strange montage of tunes - Jesse's Girl (Rick Springfield), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, rap.... didn't matter.  I was in many moods.  So, I got a wild hair and texted Mike.  A spontaneous moment for me - rare....  So, we hopped in the car as soon as I got home, ran and got some fried chicken and other goodies and headed for a park in Lawrence.  I tried to enjoy myself.  Love watching my own children have fun, but have a hard time not following them around with germ spray.  Plus, the "mommies" were there with their brood and it kind of spoiled my mood.  But, the kids had fun and that's was what was important to me.  I don't want them to remember me always working, so I try to make these efforts.  Goes against my grain, but I guess that's something you do as a parent.  

These are some pics from our evening out.  The rest are on my Facebook page if you want to check them out...