The Big Party!

Last weekend, we traveled to Sioux City for our 2nd Birthday party! The drive took a wee bit longer than normal - it was snowing and blowing until we got 60 miles from Sioux City - so it was a 6 hour drive instead of 4 1/2. We loved McDonald's - and ate our "sandwiches" (cheeseburgers) so well there was nothing left for Cy to eat!

Our party was so much fun - the jungle adventure was great. We had all kinds of wild animal decorations - and "spots" (leopard prints) on our legs!

Grandma Jean made us "lion" cakes, and we LOVED them! (Papa Mike got to sort out the brown M&M's and orange M&M's - what a job!) Kylie asked Grandma if they could go eat the lion before she even finished opening her presents - she loved the frosting, and enjoyed the extra cupcakes Grandma sent home ALL week!

Papa Chuck and Grandma Darlene made us a great birthday lunch - smoked pork, party potatoes, calico beans, and snicker salad (we helped!).


Neela loved opening presents - she'd open them, then reach for the next one. Kylie found one box she opened 10 times - and each time, went "Oh, oh!" with delight! Our favorite gift was probably our new light up shoes that Papa Chuck picked out, but we're enjoying almost everything. Yesterday, we found the panties in the closet - and wanted to wear them immediately.

We also spent a night in a hotel so we could swim - A LOT! Grandma and Papa E. gave us new green swimsuits for our birthday - and the hotel had a kiddie pool. We spent a lot of time down there, then had pizza for supper... We woke up the next morning looking for Papa and Grandma (across the hall), had breakfast, then back in the pool again.
Thank you to Grandma and Papa for hosting the party - and to everyone who came to help us celebrate (Great Grandma, Great Grandma, Big Papa, Uncle Chuck, Aunt Angie, Uncle John, Aunt Trudi, Bob, Kim & Perry, Tony & Baby Mazy).

Returning home... we switched daycare this week. We loved all the fun we had at Sandy's Daycare, but it was time for us to hang out with kids our own age - and get some preschool learning, too. We are now at "Tracy's Daycare" - she offers a preschool program 2 days a week, and has 2 other 2-year-olds for us to play with. There are also two older kids, and two younger kids, so we are still getting a good blend. We did art projects both days we were there - and generally seem to be handling the switch well... as long as Daddy keeps doing drop-off!! (Mommy's not sure she can handle Neela's 3 minutes of crocodile tears!)

We are getting so big! We love to be helpers around the house - we will load the dishwasher, unload the dishwasher, load the wash machine, load the dryer, help Mommy "empty" her drawers, "clean up" the toys, wash the walls of the bathtub... It's all a new experience... Mommy & Daddy's favorite is when we have to change our stuffed animals diapers (Elmo and Cookie Monster are hilarious!) - we get them "all clean", and have to have a little "paste".

Kylie is also conquering her fear of the shower - we use Dora bubbles and a washcloth over the shower head ("Shower Broken") to get through the evening! It's been a challenge since Kylie got hit by some water while we were on our cruise - so far, this seems to work the best (Thanks, Papa Chuck!).

We got a little snow this week (6-8 inches). Daddy blew out the driveway - and we watched. Kylie tells everyone "Daddy blowing snow".

Today we took our two year pictures - Kylie has a little ham, and Neela was a little nervous. They had some cute foam Easter eggs that finally did the trick for Neela! You'll just have to wait and see how cute we were!

Tomorrow is our last night of swimming lessons... We will have to find a new place to go swimming - soon - we love the water too much to stop!

This week, we'll be cheering loud for cousin "little" Brad (he WAS little, the first time Daddy met him 11 years ago!)- he's wrestling in the Minnesota State High School Class A Heavyweight tournament at the Xcel. We went to watch him last year - he got 2nd in the state! He starts Wednesday - and Mommy says we'll get to watch him at least once!

Love,
Kylie & Neela