A Terrific Two Year- Old

Adam's Grandma Garlick always referred to what most people call "The Terrible Twos" as the "Terrific Twos". We have adopted this in our little family as Alina has turned two, and I honestly believe this statement. Alina has brought us joy from day one, and it has only seemed to get better as time has passed.
She has turned into quite the chatter box (I shouldn't be surprised since both Adam and I love to talk). Dinner table used to be the place where Adam and I would fill each other in on what happened during our day, but now we have to compete with Alina who wants to tell her daddy all about her day. She also has an amazing memory I think for a two year old. She is constantly pulling things into the conversation that happened weeks or months ago. I am so glad that I get to stay at home with this adorable little girl and watch her as she learns and grows.

Having your baby turn 1 seems to be a big event, but I loved this birthday so much more than last year. It was so fun to have Alina turn 2 because she understood what was happening; watching her excitement build as her birthday came closer and on the actual day was priceless. Sometimes I have felt that as you get older your birthday doesn't seem as fun, but this year I captured the excitement again as I watched Alina who couldn't wipe the big smile off her face all day long.

For part of Alina's birthday celebration daddy came with us to the zoo. It was a fun morning as we walked around and looked at all of Alina's favorite animals. We even got to hear the Lion roaring ( it is awesome to hear an actual lion roar!).
A nice boyscout took this picture for us. For two years we have been a family of three. Any day now our family will graduate to a family of four. I feel like I have been busily preparing for our new little girl for months and now it is almost here. I have been holding out until my mom comes, and now that time has arrived.; my mom comes tonight! Alina was two weeks early so I realized that I have never been this pregnant before. I can't wait to meet this new member of our family and hope that we don't have to wait too much longer!