Nicole's 2nd Birthday!

We celebrated Nicole's birthday a day early so that Ben and Tyler could go to the Father/Son campout today. I can't believe that she is 2 already! Our lives have changed a lot in the last two years. We've moved and changed jobs, bought a house, and now getting ready to have another baby. Let's hope that the next 2 years have a little less going on. Nicole got a lot of stuffed animals and books for her birthday. Which is good, because those are her two favorite things in the world. She is taking a nap with a dozen animals right now. She feels the need to have them all with her in her bed. What a funny girl.
Tyler thought that he was 4 now because Nicole had a birthday. I guess he didn't think it was quite fair that she gets to be 2 and he still has to be 3. I think we got it all straightened out, but you never know with him. :-)
I think someone told Nicole that she's supposed to act like a crazy person now that she's 2. She thinks she should have anything and everything in the world RIGHT NOW. The good news is, she hasn't started with the screaming tantrums yet, so we're still okay.(Oops, I just realized I left the sprinkler on for over an hour. Sorry Ben,)
So now that the hooplah is over and done with, we're going to settle in for fall and bribe our children with gifts for Christmas if they are good. Tyler is very excited because he is going to get Gordon (a train) if he's a good boy. I must admit, it's working pretty well because he pretty much does whatever I ask him to do if I remind him that he needs to be good. Now I just need to figure out how to get Gordon....

Yes, I realize that there is only 1 candle on her cake. I had a whole box, but I could only find one in the drawer. Besides, with all the trouble they had in blowing out one candle, I think two might have been too hard for them!