Farrah's Purrr-fect 2nd Birthday Party

Farrah turned TWO.  I can't believe it.  I can when I look at her little toddler body with long legs, and when I hear all the words she is saying.  But then I can't believe our baby is not a baby any longer.  She's a toddler, and she's TWO! 

A cat themed party was in the works for months and I ordered her dress and requested cat cookies from my mom immediately.  The rest was all pulled together in the last couple weeks prior to her party.  I made a cat pinata from a diaper box, made a cat cake, and had cat-related snacks: kitty litter (granola w/ chocolate chips), tuna (tuna salad on crackers), goldfish (crackers in a fish bowl), and hair balls (rice crispy balls), and we served milk and water.

Farrah had come down with a fever Thursday night before her party and it didn't break until 3:00am on Saturday morning.  We decided to have her party anyway, and it was held at 3:00 p.m., right after her nap.  When she wok up, she wasn't quite ready for all the action.  She was snacking happily when I took her plate away and replaced it with the cake.  That made her mad.  Then everyone began singing Happy Birthday and that did not make her any happier.  The song almost faded to nothingness while everyone was holding back their laughter.  She wouldn't even blow out her candles which we had been practicing. 

She cheered up as soon as she started opening presents though!  She had asked for a baby and dog bones for her birthday.  Prior to her party, I was explaining to her that she was going to get presents and open them and see what was inside, and she asked, "dog bones in there?"  So Nana and Papa McCoy got her a new baby doll, and Grandma and Grandpa Brooks got her a Puppy Surprise (spotted like Doddie) and dog bones!  Nana and Papa also got her some bright pink cat sunglasses and sunglass case.  "Aunt Kimmy" and McCoy got her an outfit, a red tshirt dress, and a wooden house set with doors, doorbells, keys, and wooden dolls on each side.  Kollin and Brooke got her a diaper changing set for her new baby doll.  Aunt Kim got her a floral outfit, and Cousin Lee and his family gave her cash to buy her own gift.  We got her a baby stroller, shoes, and a new stainless steel sippy cup to try to keep her milk cold that we always take on the go.  We also gave her McCoy's old battery-powered 4-wheeler which she still has taken to.

The day before her birthday I just couldn't fathom that it was her last day of being 1.  Her being 1 was such a fun year.  Her first year of life was about milestones and surviving.  Her second year was about embracing and enjoying.  

On her actual birthday, Farrah and I picked up the big kids at 8:00am and went for donuts.  Farrah picked out a white sprinkle donut and never even ate it.  For a late lunch/early supper, after Keane finished getting the last of the beans in the ground, we all went to Teddy Joe's to celebrate her birthday.

Inevitable Change

Life definitely takes us on roads unimaginable.  There are certainly chapters of life that everyone experiences.  Change is inevitable, and it can be so good.  Yet, change is incredibly hard.  That may be why we remember our high school graduations so vividly.  The feeling of it all.  It may not be because we miss those days, but it's because it was during a time we were preparing for a huge change and shift of a life we had grown accustomed to.  It was time.  It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.

Relationships, homes, locations, friends, jobs, clothing, furniture, styles -- certain things have a time and a place while you are growing and changing and finding yourself.

Then you enter adulthood and things become a little more steadfast.  You find a significant other to spend your life with.  You have children that change your life forever.  You build or buy a home that you intend to live in for a rather long time, if not forever.  You decide the lifestyle you want and you make choices and changes in order to make that happen.

I worked as a Legal Assistant and then Office Manager for a very well-established law firm for 5 1/2 years.  I learned a lot about the legal system, professionalization, and work ethics.  I became relied upon and respected in my position.  I was fully confident in any task thrown my way.

Since I started working there, my nephew was born, Keane and I got engaged, married, and had a child of our own, I went part-time, and recently Keane  decided to work on the family farm and say goodbye to his almost 10-year-term as an Engineering Manager at his latest employment.  Needless to say, a significant amount has changed since I began working there.  I grew so much and throughout that time and I met some wonderful people whom I will forever call friends.

I will always be grateful for the opportunity I was given to work there, the kindness my employer showed me, the people I met, the memories made, and the wonderful work environment that I considered my second home.  Saying goodbye was tough and was hard for me to comprehend and process.  I prayed about it and considered every aspect of the change.  With mine and Keane's goal being for me to work closer to home and to not have to commute two hours each (working) day by myself driving on the interstate and in the city, I believe this change was something I was supposed to do.

Rather than working an hour from home, I found a part-time opportunity 30 minutes from home, in the same community the big kids go to school and where Farrah's daycare is, as an Office Manager.  I believe I can handle the position effectively and I am hoping it suits the life change we have chosen.

Farewell to my position, my coworkers, my boss, my desk, and my time at The Copeland Law Firm.  It will all be missed.

Never to Forget these Times

My dear child, I can't wait to wake you up in the mornings, it's my favorite part of the day, though I let you sleep as long as possible, which is we don't have to go anywhere is normally around 9:00.  And then you keep me busy eating breakfast and playing (with your babies, in Farrah's kitchen, outside swinging or jumping or playing with bubbles) until your beloved nap time around noon which lasts 3 or so hours, which sometimes is my favorite part of the day.  Then I am always so excited to spend more time with you.  Waking you back up is my favorite part of the day, and stay busy far into the evening playing and doing and talking and going.  Then we try to cram in back, sometimes, and supper.  I make noises with each bite I'm feeding you, after you've eaten a couple bites on your own and announced that you're "all done" to make eating fun.  You eat all your food that way.  Then when it's bedtime, we rock.  That's after you've talked Daddy into watching "Roar" in our bed.  When we rock, it usually means we talk and talk and talk until I have to hush you and eventually ignore responding in hopes you'll get sleepy.  And then you, and "Farrah sleep in mommy's arms" like you always say, and it's my favorite part of the day.  You ask, "Mommy rock you hmmm" so I will hum and rock.

You usually have some milk, you always have Lambie, we usually begin with baby in her jammas but sometimes she gets heavy and we put her down, you sometimes have a blanket and your stuffed pig with a blanket.  You sleep wonderfully, except you talk in your sleep and you usually hollar and cry out, "noooo, daddy" or "mommy, stop it."  The other night I walked in to check on you and you sat up and said, "Kylie did it!" and you were telling Kaden to stop it in your sleep last night.

Our conversation the other night went like this.  I readjusted your head and kissed you nose and you said "ugga mugga."  We ugga mugga'd and you said "Farrah Mommy happy" (translation: Farrah makes Mommy happy).  Then you said "cheeky" as you rubbed your little fingers daintily along the edge of my face.

Your sentences are coming together.  "No, I try'ning."  "Farrah cry'ning."  "I see it too!"  "Mommy, whas is it?"  "Daddy, help you?"  "Mommy, hold you."  "Awww, so tute!"

You also said "Baby Lunden nink milk Baby Lunden Mommy boobies."

You know your colors.  Except you usually call red "green" which makes me wonder if you're color blind.  You count "2-5-6-7-8-9-10!"  You know "abc-wx-y-next time" and you still use your left hand
predominantly.  You love putting lotion on yourself and on us.  You love to draw.  You love to open and shut doors and tell us goodbye and then say, "Farrah here, everybody."

Anything you're trying to describe in small/quiet/short terms is "baby one."  When the radio is turned down, it's baby one.  When you want me to rock you slow, it's baby one.  When I'm trying to convince you to take a nap or bath and you want to take a short one, it's baby one.

Some of my favorite sayings:
Op-it // open it
Oh gosh // oh my gosh
Abe Charlie's house // daycare
Brush 'em // toothbrush
Strawbees // strawberries
Doobie // tickle

It's funny how much I realize what I say when I hear you say it, like the way I put sunscreen on your cheekies, and you told your baby doll, "Baby, hold on.  Farrah almost done."

Yes, the terrible two's have begun, you grunt at all people in public who try to speak to you, and those that don't, you usually holler out a "hi!"  But we'll make it through this stage just as we did the crying baby stage, and the same way we'll get through the upcoming attitudes and rebellion stages.  We love you so.