Two.

Ford turned two on Saturday which is really strange since it feels like he was born last week. We had a wonderful celebration of him on that day. We went down to Calera to the railroad museum and rode the train to the pumpkin patch. He was so excited because he loves "choo choos" and I knew he would have a great time seeing the real thing. The weather didn't completely cooperate because it was really quite cold that day but we had a wonderful time despite some shivering and cold fingers.

We have a very strict rule of making a really big deal out of birthdays around here and making a point to really celebrate the birthday boy or girl! This was no exception. First let me say - I am new to trains. I am just getting the lingo down (there are lots of gaps mind you). I just realized they all have names just like My Little Ponies which is fun but also means that I have to remember Sky Dancer and Percy and everyone in between. We got to the little train depot and the kids went straight to play with the train table. Not long after, they were lured by the racks of "Thomas" train gear hoovering all around them. Ford locked in on a double engine and cargo car (train lingo gap here) $23.99. For a wooden train. I tried to interest him in the really cute single engine above in a fun green color for $12.99. Nope. He loved the black one. Rhett and I looked at each other and he smiled and said "It's his birthday." So he got the very cool black train to add to his small but growing collection of trains. He held one in each hand for most of the rest of the day and to bed that night.

We rode the train to the little pumpkin patch they set up. It was the perfect length for train ride with little kids. There were fun activities like fake tattoos, jumpy things and a hay stack. Basically the idea here is simple: throw a bunch of hay in a pile and let kids be kids in it. Super fun. Claire and Ford watched from the sidelines and bigger kids jumped and rolled in the hay. Then Ford had an idea . . .

Then he saw this other little kid in a preppy little coat. He decided to remind him that this was Alabama and we were in the country. I have no idea who this little boy was but Ford chased him around for a solid 5 minutes trying to throw hay on him . . .





The celebration continued that evening when we decided it would be fun to go out to eat (our days of running out to a restaurant for dinner are numbered) so we went to a Japanese Steakhouse. The kids had never been before so we thought we'd introduce them to this somewhat American tradition before we leave for Kenya. We thought it was a win-win. Lots of pre-dinner entertainment and kid friendly food. Perfect. Well, it didn't go quite that smoothly, of course.

They sat us at our table and after we ordered and finished our salad and soup they finished seating the rest of the people at our table who then started the process of ordering and eating their appetizers. They were a bunch of "singles" who ordered big fruity drinks and told the waiter TWICE they needed more time to look at the menu (seriously . . . chicken, steak, shrimp or a combination of those three - make a decision.) then they decided they wanted to look at the sushi menu. Meanwhile our crew was circling the drain. We expected by that time to be ooohing and ahhhing at the flaming volcano but that was still many, many minutes away. And as a rule we don't do well in public after 6:30. It was getting late. Enter Gus who had been his precious-little-easy-baby-self all day but now it was about his bed time and he wanted to eat too. I'm usually quick to "whip it out" in public (well not really - I have a really cute nursing cover I use) but the whole table arrangement at the steakhouse made me feel like I couldn't be discrete nursing so I took him to find a quiet place to nurse. While I was gone the "show" began. I came back to two very unhappy kids and Daddy.

Apparently all the knives and drama scared Claire and she was nearly in tears. At some point she had knocked over my chair and Ford was not having a minute of this strange guy in a big hat flaming things up in front of him. So we did damage control for a few minutes and managed to salvage everyone from the brink. Then they came with drums and singing and the pineapple birthday surprise for the birthday boy . . .

Ford didn't really appreciate it so much. Oh well. It really was fun looking back - even with all of the ruckous. Just very real moments with lots of little ones! Oh and Claire's fortune read: You will soon be traveling to a distant land AND Rhett's read: You will be traveling to a distant land for business purposes!

Next the celebration continued on Tuesday at the Pumpkin Patch for Ford's party! I realize Claire has on the same sweater - oops. We are wardrobe limited these days since we are weeks away from warmer temperatures. Anyway, we had a blast at the patch!

Sidenote: Do you like my babyhawk carrier? I love it. Gus slept in it the entire 3 hours that we were there. It is equally as comfortable for me too. I managed to pull off all of the mom responsibilites that come with a birthday party and the pumpkin patch with him sound asleep snuggled in his favorite place :) My sister in law said I was going to fit right in with all the moms in Africa! And you can pick all sorts of cute fabric combinations which is always fun!

Anyway, we rode ponies . . .




And sang to the birthday boy who prompty blew out his candles on cue . . .


I loved the cupcakes from Edgar's Bakery!


All the kids seemed to have a fun time!




Ford is so much fun and just a joy to have around. We love him so much. He brings so much life and fun to our family. I could never have imagined such a precious little boy would be mine.