Erik is TWO!

Erik has officially entered the "terrible twos," but fortunately for us, he is still the chill little guy he's always been...mostly. He is definitely a "toddler's toddler" now with opinions and moods and even some intelligible words.

This has been a big year for Erik. Since things (kind of) returned to normal, he was introduced to the concept of routine and has done pretty well with all of the new things. In the spring, we attended music class, and he got to actually see the inside of places (like the grocery store) again. The biggest adjustment was starting Parents Day Out in the fall. It was a bit rocky at first, but once he figured out that Mom would come back and there was an endless supply of cars and trucks, drop-off has gone much more smoothly.

Speaking of cars and trucks, this kid loves anything with wheels. In fact, some of his first words included "backhoe" and "forklift." I think this makes a case for nature over nurture because despite his sisters' repeated attempts to dress him up in princess attire, he is all boy.

Erik's birthday landed on a Wednesday this year, which happens to be one of his school days. He had been sick with croup a couple of days prior, but fortunately he was feeling much better by then, so we were extra-glad that he was able to celebrate with his friends. 

As is our custom, most of our celebrations revolve around food, which was a-okay with the birthday boy. He downed several scrambled eggs for breakfast and took his favorite snack (goldfish crackers) to school to share. During all of this food prep, he was able to enjoy some quality reading time with his sisters, who were just as excited about his new birthday book as he was.

We had our family celebration right after school because Jon had to go out of town for the Reserves that evening. Erik was absolutely delighted by all the wonderful gifts (thanks, family!) and even played cars on his cake...before he devoured it.

Can you hear the construction noises running through his head?

We managed to squeeze in the customary sheep photoshoot before taking Jon to the airport and Elsa to ballet (the plight of the third child). Dinner consisted of burgers from one of our favorite restaurants, so the birthday boy went to bed with a full and happy tummy.

Gotta have the truck for the picture

Unsurprisingly, we continued our celebrating into the next day. The weather was perfect for a playdate at the park. We had a blast with all of the neighbors and friends who joined in...literally. "Someone" thought it would be a good idea to set a pack of kids loose with paper horns picked up at the party store on a whim. (I am still apologizing to all the eardrums damaged in that particularly raucous rendition of "Happy Birthday.") It was a great way to commemorate two whole years of sheer joy.

Happy Birthday, Erik! What a ride!