Bennett was a good little monkey

And always curious!

 

Let me preface this deluge of personal photos by saying that my child loves George.  Loves.  Like if he has 100 books, he gravitates to the old ratty Curious George from my childhood.  Like, if you want him to eat his vegetables, turn on PBS and he will not only eat his peas, he will let you comb his hair and brush his teeth.  There really wasn't any doubt how we'd celebrate my big boy turning 2...

 

...with a really ridiculous cake compensating for the fact that no bakery supports copywrighted images!

And for the second year in a row, we had balloon drama.  Poor B had no 'boons!  At least his mom got fake crafty.

Who wouldn't make a whirlwind day trip for a kid that won't remember who was there?

At least I allowed a couple kids to help party!

A 'tar, for writing more original lyrics like his breakout hit, Mommadad mommadad...

He tried so hard to blow out that candle.

Good thing the cake serves dozens because all he wants is the frosting.

 

His real birthday was yesterday.  I took the day off because I make a big deal about my own birthday and now I can spend my energy on someone who really deserves it.  I tortured him with a trip to get a bicycle helmet and a trip to the mall to get another kid a present.  But we did get to practice riding our new bike and have a nice lunch just the two of us. 

 

Last year, his birthday felt like it was as much my party as his.  I was proud to celebrate 365 days of surviving bad sleep, nursing, pumping, and unpredictable mood swings.  While our sleep has moderately improved, his favorite food is now frosting, and the mood swings are still pervasive, he is now his own person and not just an extension of my body.  However, he will always be an extension of my heart.