gemma's 2

see pictures here

little miss goose turned two dec 11th. she is so tall and acts so old i forget she was still a baby. we reminded her for days before that this weekend was her birthday and she better be a good girl so she can have a party and some "happy cake (that's what she calls birthday cakes)." some days she could honestly care less.

saturday her grandma susan and grandpa larry came by with a gift. she opened it like a champ and was pleased to find elmo pajamas. still her favorite. plus some slippers and tights. she insisted on putting the pajamas on over her clothes. it was also her first day wearing real pig tails and yes, i cut the bangs myself.

the next morning we let her pick out a birthday cereal. normally she eats a bowl of cheerios in the morning. for her birthday she had cocoa krispies AND frosted flakes. i made a little breakfast "cake" with bananas and toaster strudels with 2 little candles. she knew exactly what to do.

then she opened her presents. another pair of slippers from calder (which is great, she loves slippers/shoes), a cabbage patch doll from mommy (i actually bought this doll back in 2008 when they were having their 25th anniversary - i had just turned 25 and the doll's name was melanie, it's been in her closet for years), and a bike helmet from grandma sharon. then we rolled out the big dog - a new trike!

she took a ride with daddy to the store for some balloons for her party and on the way home, picked up her 1st happy meal.

a quick nap, then off to her party at peter piper pizza. a few months ago we went there for a moms' group celebration and gemma had so much fun. i knew she would enjoy it. just my siblings and families, b'pa, a few moms and kids. too much pizza and just enough cake. it was stressful at first but actually a lot of fun. she received some great and thoughtful presents and just had a blast.

*fun side note - when we arrived at the pizza place, a lady was cleaning up from her super huge party (literally half the restaurant). she stopped us and said, "you're having a party? here, have some pound cake, some strawberry shortcake, and a bunch of cupcakes." they were all excellent. gemma's favorite toy from the day - the little plastic zoo animals that were on top of the cup cakes. she's been playing with them non-stop.

then we went out to zoo lights with vincent and family, lena and trenton, aunt theresa, cousins ari and brayden, and shilah. the kids were bundled up nicely and it was pretty crowded, but i loved it. and gemma did too.

we let her stay up late playing with her new toys. she was a happy two-year-old.


the following day was her wellness checkup. she has stayed the same weight for awhile now (30lbs) but grew almost 2 inches since last time (37"). she's 80% for weight but still off the chart for height. she was so good at her appointment. she asked the doctor to say ahhh. she told him to look in her ears. she said the stethoscope (sp?) was cold and that it tickled. he said she is such a healthy little girl and he is so happy for us. then she got her flu shot and didn't even cry!

some fun gemma facts:

she can count to 13

she says her abc's (she has a play pc that helped)

she is a little mimic

she loves to jump and dance

she carries a purse and play phone and baby doll and tells me she is going shopping

she uses the potty most of the time

she doesn't like to share but every now and then surprises us

she wants to hold "gemma's baby" calder all the time

she is incredibly rambunctious

and we absolutely love our sweet goose.