Tractor Twos

Yesterday was Eli's birthday! It was a day packed with fun. The night before his birthday I made this arrangement in our living room to greet him in the morning. I was so giddy while I was setting it up. (Becky, yes, the number idea was shamelessly stolen from you.)

Eli slept in until 8:45. The recipe for a happy birthday boy, hooray!

Funny story -- I had bought some little tractors for Eli's birthday cake. I made Eli's cake on Sunday while Eli was taking his nap. I forgot to put all his presents and the little tractors away before getting Eli out of his room after his nap, so he saw all his surprises the day before. Whoops!

He was whining for the "awesome tractors" he caught a glimpse of, so I gave him one a day early. He would not let that thing go all day long! He slept with it cuddled up next to him, stared at it for hours and that early birthday present was his little buddy all day on his birthday. So that's what he's clutching in most of these pictures.

Carson was excited for the day's festivities.

Eli and his new bff eating a birthday breakfast.

We put Carson down for a nap and went outside to spend the morning swimming.

Babies in swimsuits are to die for. Don't you agree?

Eli got all the popsicles he could wish for on his birthday.

Look how sweet my newly two-year old was being after Carson woke up from his nap. Who says twos are terrible?!?

I tried to get a picture of all three of us and this is as close as I got. Rats.

 When I asked Eli if he wanted noodles or chicken nuggets for lunch, he said, "Broccoli!" This is the same boy who will sort out a pea from a mouthful of food to spit it out as part of his lifelong protest against vegetables. I figured he was confused about exactly what broccoli is and decided to feed him chicken nuggets.

Jeff was able to get home a little early so we opened gifts before dinner.

The first gift Eli opened was another tractor. He opened it and had to immediately test it out with the other tractor he had been lugging around all day. When we asked him if he wanted to open more presents he politely told us "no" and kept playing with his tractors. Boys are so easy to please.

(Ignore his hair in all of these pictures. We're working on growing it back out. But take full note of his two-year old cuteness.)

After much persuasion, we finally got him to rip open a few more presents.

Eli loves playing with Jeff's golf clubs. When we saw this baby at Wal-Mart for a whopping six dollars, we knew it was the perfect birthday gift for Eli.

 Here he is opening his special letter from Great Grandma Ward. He loved the rocket on the front.

After presents we went down to see if Eli's grown any in the last year. I love this tradition. It warms my heart to do laundry and see the little marks of Eli's growth.

Jeff's sister, Laura, and her family were able to join us for the evening's events. Caleb needed to get surgery today, so they spent the night at our house. It worked out perfect for Eli to have someone (other than a tractor) to play with and it was fun to have a little party with some family.

Here Eli is making sure Caleb stays a safe distance from his beloved tractor.

Laura brought Eli's gift from his Grandma and Grandpa Excell. They gave him a huge Mater car, some clothes, a coloring book with crayons, and the only thing that could loosen Eli's grip on the tractor -- candy!! He was in heaven.

After presents, we ate Eli's favorite dinner, cheesy stuffed shells, and went outside to enjoy a nice summer night.

I found it slightly odd that Eli had more fun in his swimming pool after it was drained. I'll contribute his fun to Caleb being with him.

Caleb, Eli and Coleman having the time of their lives.

Jeff and Carson were being adorable.

Then we came inside for some pie. I decided to go with my family's traditional birthday dessert -- oreo cream pie and I'm glad I did. It was super easy to make and provided the perfect setting for a couple tractors.

Just when Eli thought he had opened all is presents, he was happy to see two more tractors adorning his cake. What a lucky boy!

His candle blowing techniques were slightly ineffective,

but he eventually got the job done.

Tractors, dirt, worms and ice-cream. He was a happy boy.

I can't believe Eli's already two. Even though I've been blogging a lot about my hard days with him lately, I want to make note that he brings so much joy into our lives. Jeff and I lay in bed at night laughing at all the hilarious things Eli does. We can't talk about him without smiling. He surprises us every day with new things he's learning and it's been so fun to see him grow. I'm looking forward to see what the terrible twos have to offer because I'm sure his cuteness will easily overrule the terrible. Happy birthday to our sweet Eli!