Josh turned 2!

Josh turned 2 on the 15th! A few days before his birthday we had a birthday fiesta for him and invited a few of his friends over. We had a delicious dinner of carne asada tacos and chicken tacos. Kerstin brought her famous homemade black bean corn salsa and Rachel brought her famous guacamole. I also made fruit salsa and cinnamon chips. It was yum. 

Then we brought out a monkey pinata! Josh wanted to hug and kiss it and was really confused when we told him to whack at it with a bat. After the kids took turns playfully whacking at it, the adults stepped in and tried to break it open. We finally had to pry it open with our hands. Josh started crying thinking we broke the monkey and was confused. Now when he sees pictures, he says "uh oh monkey" meaning "uh oh we broke the monkey". Hopefully he isn't too traumatized :).

Then Josh opened presents. He got a 3-month membership to the Virginia Discovery Museum and a coupon for cupcakes! He got a puzzle that matches up vehicles and makes the sound of the vehicle when you make a correct match. He got a train and a car and a pound-a-peg. We'll get to the grandparents' presents later...

Then we had cake. Josh didn't really understand the whole blowing-out-the-candle thing. I guess we should have explained and practiced beforehand. After we "helped" him blow out the candle he said "More hot?" :) and wanted to do it again. The cake turned out awesome. Over the course of the next few days I ended up eating a quarter of it... We had cake with ice cream and Josh loved the ice cream. We realized that we never really eat ice cream so he was lovin it.

 

On Josh's actual birthday we had a yummy pancake breakfast. Josh's favorite food is pancakes. His friend Kiersten came over for a little bit and he got to birthday-Skype with grandparents. The next day we had a family party and had cupcakes. We lit the candle again, which he blew out all by himself that time! Then we let him open presents from the grandparents. He got a bike from Grandma and Grandpa Johnson! It's just his size and he loves it. He rides it around the house all the time. He got a new train, Toby, and train set/accessories from Grandma and Papa Despain. They gave him a Thomas the Train starter set for Christmas and he plays with it all the time. He loves it. So this was perfect. He was so excited and loves playing with his "train track". The week after his birthday he sang the birthday song and would say "happy birthday Josh" all the time. If he sees a candle he says "birthday".

It's kind of hard to believe that he's 2 but at the same time he seems to be exploding in knowledge lately. Just in the past few weeks he has started talking a TON and speaking in sentences and it's so awesome to be able to communicate so much more with him. We are lovin it. With that comes us realizing how much he knows and understands. He is so smart! He knows how to count. He knows the name of almost every single animal and what sound it makes. He knows colors. He knows body parts. He's awesome at puzzles and shapes and building things. He continues to be such a help around the house. He LOVES helping and most of the time it actually IS a help. He totally knows how to do laundry and is really helpful with that. He also helps unload the dishwasher and helps put dishes and utensils where they go. He loves to help us when we cook or bake. He still loves to play outside, go on walks, and play Just Dance. His dancing skills are impressive. He is getting really good at jumping. He's also getting really good at throwing. He's got an arm. He's getting more coordinated with kicking. He loves running around the kitchen, and gets a kick out of us chasing him. He loves trains, cars, airplanes, helicopters, and trucks. A highlight of his week is Garbage Day when the garbage truck ("dah-buge kuck") and recycling truck ("cy-keen kuck") come. He hears/sees airplanes way before I notice them. He is also super polite. He says please and thank you. He says hi and bye. He says "sorry". He says "I love you". He says prayers. He is crazy fun to be around and I love my life with my little best buddy. He's such a sweet boy.