Israel Turns 2!

Israel turned two this week! My baby is getting so big! 

Here are some things I want to remember about Israel at 2. 

-He calls Leland "Gaga" instead of Dada. He talking has really taken off and he can say all his siblings names and "Bir-ee" and "Fawn". He also frequently says "Mama hold me!". He can string together other sentences like "Gaga where are you?" He can also say other things like hat, ball, bike, outside, walk, go, more please. His cutest word is "boke". He gets very upset if anything is broken, and tells us with the saddest little "boke". 

-He loves Pinocchio. He always wants to read a little Pinocchio picture book we have, but he didn't care much for the movie. He first called Pinocchio "no-noch" and and now progressed to "pinocch".

-He is very obstinate. He reminds me a lot of Esther as a toddler. He frequently makes use of the word NO! It can be quite exhausting to get him to do things when he has his mind set against it. Luckily this ain't my first rodeo and I learned some tricks from when Esther was a toddler. I also learned to just let a lot of things go because it's not worth the battle. 

-He wants to be a big kid and do everything the other kids are doing, especially O. The only way we can get him to wear a bib is if O wears one. Luckily O is a pretty good example for him to copy. 

-He loves monkeys and Curious George. Hence the loose theme of his bday party. He likes trains too but not as much as "Mon-hees".

-He is very loving and affectionate lately. He loves to give all the kids and Leland and I hugs and kisses before bed. 

-He is noticing Baby Boy now and can say his name which is the cutest. He does not tolerate baby boy getting into his toys and will drag him away while shouting "NO BABY!"

-Israel is still nursing. I made it my goal for all my babies to nurse to two years and Israel is the first that I've made it this far! He is quite attached to milk milk, but will go to sleep for Leland without it. I don't know when I'll wean him. I still usually enjoy nursing him so we'll see. 

Now onto the party pics. We had a small little party for him. I tried to get away with just making a regular cake. The party planning committee (Esther and Adele) vetoed that idea. They insisted on a monkey birthday complete with party hats and streamers. 

This cake was the best I've ever made. I'm still dreaming about it ha. 

It's his birthday and he'll pout if he wants to. 

There's the cute smile. 

We got him a little balance bike and helmet. 

Once again there are a few more pictures that I can't post. Putting this here mostly as a reminder for myself to add them in when I add this post to our yearly photo book. 

Happy Birthday Israel! We love you little guy!!