THE 4TH & 5TH OF JULY.

 

weirdest 4th of july ever. rainy & stormy. most fireworks and parades were moved to the 5th, but we made the best of the day inside. it's not hard to do when you're "almost two" and the center of attention. rorie loves playing with all my little cousins and they feel the same. it's fun to watch her because she keeps up with them wonderfully. she loves older kids. jake slept most of the 4th, so he can't really comment on the comings or goings of that day.

the 5th of july was lots of fun. it was rorie's 2nd birthday, our annual family reunion clambake, and mock 4th of july. i think rorie heard, "how old are you?" and "is it your birthday?" a million times! we tried to make it as special as possible. which is sometimes hard to do when your birthday falls so close to a major holiday- aaron can attest to that. hey-yo christmas birthdays! i spent most of the day nursing jacob, but it was a fantastic 2nd birthday celebration. all my sibilings were able to come from camp for the day as well as uncle big cat, who was extremely nervous to hold jacob, him being so small and all. but we reminded him of how well he did with rorie and he reminded us of how nervous he was then too. in the end i think they will be best buds.

i still can't believe she's two. but i really can. she's probably the smartest kid i've ever met. and she's so wonderfully outgoing it makes my heart happy to watch her navigate the world on her own. she makes fast friends with babies, toddlers her own age, big kids, and even old men. it's adorable. i think she has more friends than me. and i really hope this aspect of her personality sticks around for years to come.

we are super excited to have my dad come to stay with us on tuesday. he will finally meet jake! and spend three well-deserved weeks with us. rorie is pumped to have papa in the flesh, rather than in the ipad... i know this because my arms are straddling her squirmy body as i type. she actually said "in the flesh". ok, so that's a lie... but auntie mikayla did teacher her to say "i live on the edge!" so, you never know.