Nora's 2nd birthday!

Our sweet little lady had a birthday last month! Somehow these photos got lost in the shuffle, but better late than never to post all the fun we had!

Whenever she was asked what she wanted for her birthday, again and again Nora replied, "cupcakes and pink flowers." We tried to oblige her small sweet request!

I feel like for Nora and for Ella, the second birthday was so special. They sort of understood that a birthday would be a cool thing going into it, but couldn't remember their first birthdays. When they actually got presents and cupcakes and parties, they were just so delighted with it all. It's like seeing your favorite movie the very first time. You'll love it more and more with each watch (and then maybe not as much after many years have gone by . . . ), but the first time is where you're swept off your feet.

Gramma and Granddaddy were here too which made everything that much more exciting. Here is Graddaddy planting us our beautiful zinnias while his helpers dig in the new sandbox.

In between Nora's party day on a Saturday and the actual big day on Monday, we had a beautiful walk at the gardens, I'll put those photos in too.

Then it was birthday morning!

Happy Birthday darling 2 year old Nora!

A scary moment in Bubble Guppies

Sweet Ella watches tv with her heart and soul. She mirrors facial expressions, nods, cocks her head to the side while characters are speaking etc. And if it gets scary, (there was a sad alien growling because he needed a nap in this scene) she hits the floor. We are obviously pretty careful about what we let her take in. Bubble Guppies is fairly tame, as the name implies. For instance, as scary as this moment was to her, it was way less of a reaction that the first few times we saw Swyper on Dora. That guy, seriously sinister.

Lovely light

And lovely night for a beautiful walk at Duke Gardens.

Comedy and Tragedy

These days our house is full of drama. As soon as I brought the camera out this morning, both girls immediately started giving me all the facial expressions they could think of. We see them all daily, if not hourly.

The driveway is done!

Here it is before:

And after:

plus some other fun yard additions:

sandbox built by Paul, zinnias, hydrangea and kangaroo placed by Dad.