Two years around, more or less

Tomorrow is Miss B's 2nd birthday party.

She has worked all week on putting out two fingers. Now, she can do it in a flash.

She likes to remind everyone that it is an OWL Birthday.

She has a gluten free cake that her dad put two owls and a big B under some branches, as the vegan, gluten free mad hippie bakers who baked, do not decorate. (Maybe gluten free for people who dont actually have a wheat allergy, means that one might be apt to loose their sense of adventure, dont ask me.)

Time flies. Suddenly, she is two. She is off wheat and on raw milk. She will proudly show you where she no longer has a rash. No rash, she says. No wheat, she says....it has cut the cranky screaming by 80 %, a huge change around here. She happily, most times, only wants to eat the non wheat things. I hope she outgrows it, but if not, thank goodness we found it early.

B has requested a car recently. A real car. Daddy get, did she say? When asked what she will do with said car, she replied, I go....She does like to go. She says, BB go, and she does, to BB school - Little Wonders, to music class with teacher Jill, to the park, to The Ladies who do cranial..to her first OT appointment, to the dog park to see the dogs and the dog friends, to take E to school. BB go, she says.

I am much less stressed about her actual birthday this year. We will be at the Atlantis, again, as we will for most of her birthday days, one imagines, but since we dont know the exact day, I am enjoying the month, knowing that by the 20, she will definitely be two times around the seasons. I like to think she was born on Nov 9 or Nov 17, but I imagine we will never know. Many people in Ethiopia have no idea of their birthday, so that at least, is similar to many of the people

Obviously, as I havent posted in a million years, our life is full of toddler and our big man, who is 7, the boyish things. I work a little, but mostly I try to remember to enjoy the moments that are the stuff of their childhood. I try to kodak my brain with good, beautiful things that happen each day and not let the little things drive me slowly mad. I would love to go to the movies, sleep in, go away for a week, by myself or with my husband, read a book all day, but right now, right here, there is no time for that. There is breakfast, owls, cats, baths, ninjas, jumping, laundry, walking the dog, lego, small and big toys littering the floor, books, books and more books....

Little Gorilla has been a huge favorite for a few months. On Mothers Lap, Mog, the forgetful cat, is now popular...so many that she loves.

Coming are some of her friends from Little Wonders, Will, Ionne, maybe Piper, from Nueva, Stella, or Stellina, a little girl also adopted from Ethiopia, Rowan, Cha, Caleb & Ryan, for Eli, really. I am sure I have forgotten some little one, Gramme and Auntie Caroline....& all her godparents, official and unofficial. Almost everyone we invited 6 days ago is coming. I thought if I made it last minute it would be smaller, but she is very popular in certain circles.... :)

E is 7 and B is 2, she holds up 2 fingers, he holds up one hand plus two fingers. Next year, she will hold up 3 and he will hold up one hand and three....it will last until they are ten. so sweet.