Luke 2

Luke turned TWO!  I mourned the loss of my baby last year, but this year... whoa.  Now he REALLY isn't a baby anymore.  I'm okay with that, though.  But of course, I'm also okay with the fact that he still chooses me over everyone else 9 times out of 10, that he rests his head on my shoulder when he's ready to go bed, that he reaches his hand out to me when he pinches his finger and says "KISS!  KISS!"  So maybe there's still a little bit of littleness left there?

Well, Luke's birthday was mostly just a regular day.  We got up and got Cat and Jack to school, then we sat in on Eliza's music class (more on that to follow), then I treated Luke and Eliza to Costco pizza for lunch, since "pazzi" is one of Luke's favorite things to eat.  We ate at a nearby park and I tried to get some pics of the birthday boy (more on that to follow too), then we dropped Eliza off at school and we went home so that Luke could take a nap.  That evening for dinner I made some of Luke's favorite things: macaroni and cheese, green beans, and strawberries.

Luke loves fish and get excited whenever he sees one, so I'd been thinking I'd do a little fish theme for his birthday, but as the big day arrived, it was evident that whatever feelings he has for fish, they pale in comparison to his adoration of all things THOMAS and CHOO-CHOO and TRAINS (and TRRRRRRUCKS, to be fair), so I switched gears and went with Thomas.  I already had the banners anyway.  To make the cake, I just baked two loaf pan cakes, frosted them, and positioned them behind an oversized Thomas toy we have.  It didn't look too bad either.

Luke was overwhelmed by all the people in our house at the time and I think it affected the way he reacted to his cake.  He looks either confused or disdainful or maybe just apathetic.  But once we sing to him and he blows out the candles, he finally gives us an adorable itty bitty smile.  You can see it around 0:33 on the video Lindsey made for me.

It's cake time.  Who has time for utensils?

Luke had a good time opening presents too, and knew just what to do.  He received some great board books and a few toys, many of which have already  become favorites.