TWO!

My sweet baby Jude is now a two year old.  Predictably, I wondered "how did that happen?"

We celebrated this much-loved little boy with little fanfare, a store-bought chocolate cake and ice cream cake, spruced up a bit with sprinkles by his big brother.

No, that's not a ghost, it's that impossible-to-absorb zinc oxide sunscreen

This milestone snuck up on me, so much so that by the time I remembered it was coming, I had forgotten to plan a party.  We had plans to visit my parents' house in Delaware for a beachy 4th of July week, so I figured that enjoying his birthday with family was the best thing.  Especially when it involved stomping sandcastles with big brother.

We had a nice little tribute to Jude, after pizza for lunch.

Chris and I will also claim the title "worst parents ever" for not even getting him a birthday present, unless you count the balloon (which he LOVES!).  He's 2.  And a second child.  What more can I say.

I'm sure we'll pick up something for him if we come across a toy he'd like.  It's odd, but my kids just don't play with toys much, other than Legos.  We don't even have that many, since they just end up getting dumped out and trampled rather than played with.  But that's a topic for another post.

He was carried into the dining room though, in a princely manner.  We love him so!

(Frankly, it was just easier to carry him, chair and all from the kitchen, where he had just finished his lunch in the booster seat).

Jude was a little shy about all the attention during the "happy birthday" serenade.

But after it ended, he enjoyed having Daddy relight the candle for him to blow out.  "Turn it on!", he'd demand.   And rather than cake and ice cream, he preferred chewing on a pretzel.

We love this little guy and can't wait to see what unfolds in his third year of life.  Happy birthday sweetheart!