Happy Birthday John!

John turned 2 Sunday. I actually started asking him a while ago how old he was because I figured it would take him a while to learn it. So, for the past month or two he's been saying he's two. We really didn't know how to plan a birthday party for him with Daddy being so sick, so we had just planned to postpone his party. We plan on having a party for him and his friends in the fall. So, his birthday was very low-key. On the way home from church I started singing Happy Birthday to him. I don't know if it was my voice or if he's worried about aging (more likely he just really needed a nap), but he cried and screamed "NO MAMA" the whole time I sang. Of course, being the compassionate mother I am, I continued to the very end...and laughed. In my defense, Buck joined in harmony part-way through and laughed as well. Later on when he heard the song and cake was involved, he really didn't have a problem with it. After his nap, we played with his new baseball tee. He actually put the ball on the tee and hit it off a couple of times. He really enjoys just carrying around his baseball and bat more, though. He drove his gator that Grandma and Papa gave him. Grandma came over later, and we went to Moe's (his favorite place...burritos) for supper. He said the blessing very quickly so he could dig in. We came home and gave him his cake. Of course, he thought the whole thing was for him, and didn't have a clue what to do with the candle. I managed to keep his hands back, and blow out the candle before he smashed the cake. He had seen my icing it earlier, and had been whining about it since. Once he got a piece, he was quite content. Once he got the ice cream, he was VERY content. He really didn't make too much of a mess. Not more than apple sauce or yogurt, I guess. It's funny, he's never been huge on ice cream. He's liked it, but hasn't really requested it. This week, he's asked for it every day. We cleaned him up a bit. He had made enough of a mess to warrant taking his shirt off, but not enough for a bath. We went upstairs to open his presents. The first thing he opened was a "Mater" toy from Grandma. From then on each time he saw another gift he got excited and asked "Cars???". He really enjoyed playing with his new toys, and also LOVED his Cars shirt. I was really impressed the next morning when I asked him what he got for his birthday. He actually listed off a few things. He remembers way more than I expect him to.
A couple of new things this week. He really likes to turn around and get dizzy. This week he's started saying Busy. It's pretty cute when he's doing it. Also, we got him a puzzle with the alphabet on it. He's been saying A through G for a while (hit or miss on correctness). He likes Buck to play the Alphabet song on his guitar and sing it, but we really haven't worked on anything past G. I was really surprised when I was going through the puzzle pieces today. He did A through G, tried LMNO, and got PQRST. I'm sure he's probably progressing just like any other kid, but it's still amazing to watch and see what they're able to do.
Eve just turned 3 months. I really need to get her picture with the tiger. She slept through the night the night Daddy died, and has slept through each night since then, except needing her pacifier a few nights. She's smiling like crazy now, getting super chubby (gets her thighs from her Mama for sure), and we had a little conversation yesterday. She has been such a good baby. John was a really good, laid-back baby too (except that some days I had to jiggle him all day because his poor tummy and reflux). I really can't figure out how we've been this blessed.