this past weekend wasn’t just bug’s big party, but our friend rory’s as well. he was born a couple of days (and a couple of years) before bug, so mack and i now have to coordinate party planning. now, if someone had bothered to have been born 12 days earlier, on his due date, this wouldn’t have to be a yearly juggling contest…

but i digress.

rory’s party was on saturday, bug’s was on sunday. it worked out.

and now that i’m slightly less brain dead from the party overload, i’d like to present a photo that pretty much sums it up for the kids’ version of rory’s party:

there was a pinata, a treasure hunt, hide and seek, freeze tag, and, of course, fake gross teeth for everyone to run around being goofy with. pretty much the best kid party ever.

the grown ups, of course, made sure nobody got overloaded with sugar, picked up, delivered pieces of cake, and did boring grown up stuff.

oh, there may have been some goofiness on the grown ups’ part too.

hey, we have to set a good example, after all.

don’t think for a minute that all my hard work and care has been a selfless act.

i look forward to having you for dinner very, very much.

so you keep growing, i’ll keep working, and waiting…but not too much longer, okay? i’ve never been a patient woman, and i’m craving a nice tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad.

and i think it’s safe to say that the boy enjoyed himself. after all, what bug wouldn’t when he gets…

blue trucks,

green tractors,

a yellow dump truck you can even ride on,

AND a red car birthday cake?

i must say, that’s a pretty lucky 2 year old. thanks again to everyone who came and helped make his day so special!

bug had a wonderful birthday yesterday, and would like to extend a sincere and sweet “dank yeewwww!” to everyone that wished him well. and while we aren’t scheduled to have his full blown party until sunday, we couldn’t let the big day pass without a little celebration of our own.

plus, i convinced william that he really needed to go to the cookie factory and get some cupcakes.

they make really awesome cupcakes. how can you not love an oscar the grouch cupcake with a cookie for a garbage can lid? you can’t, that’s how.

bug, however, went for the classic cookie monster cupcake. but he wasn’t jerky about it, he was very polite.

“hello, cupcake. can i eat you for my birthday treat? i can? why dank yeeeeeeeeewwwwwww!”

“i choose to do so as if you were an ice cream cone!”

and of course, we had presents. and luckily after two years of living with bug we have a pretty good idea of what he would like.

for example, if i were to ask you what’s better than a brand new dump truck to a 2 year old boy named finnegan, what would your answer be?

if you answered a dump truck with a monster truck in the back, then you’d be absolutely right! what could be better?

nope. not even a banjo.

good try, though.

all of which you have been going strong, my bug a lug.

oh, monsieur le bug, it’s so very hard to believe that you’re two today. this is the big year-the year that the baby completely disappears from your face and i am left realizing that you’re a kid instead of just my cuddle bug.

when you showed up two years ago you were already a force to be reckoned with-the nurses all called you bruiser, and honestly, you looked like a little bull dog puppy as much as you did a big baby boy.

we should have realized what we were in for the minute the midwife picked you up and you threw yourself backwards and she almost dropped you-because as much as you’ve changed, you’re still exactly the same. you still throw yourself into things (both literally and figuratively), and you’re still a bruiser, except these days it’s mostly you who end up with the black and blues, and only occasionally an innocent bystander.

but in classic bug fashion, you recover far quicker than mama or daddy do, and soon you’re off running, jumping, and laughing as if nothing had happened. and we’ve discovered that that’s just you-it doesn’t matter if you’ve screamed your way through a time out, fallen off the couch, or slammed your head into a piece of furniture: a kiss from mama and a bit of a cuddle and the world is set right again.

this is the year you’ve come into your own…your own trucks, your own tractors, your own obstinate boyness, yelling “NO! NO! NO!” almost as often as you point out said trucks and tractors.

and i’ll give you this-from day one (which was 2 years ago today, in case you didn’t realize) you’ve done everything with enthusiasm. you play, scream, fight, run, explore, and experience everything as much as your little self can stand to, and that’s not a bad way to live your life.

you’re a crazy man, but you’re our little man, and as you hit the big 0-2, we realize that our family could never be this wonderful without you.

so happy birthday, my bug. i can’t wait to see what the next year will bring.