TWO!!!

Jackson turned two yesterday! His birthday was 1/1/11 this year-- pretty cool!

We started the day off with his favorite breakfast-- Mickey Mouse pancakes drenched in syrup. This kid LOVES syrup.

Next, Jackson got to spend some time with his dad picking out an R/C car for a birthday present. When Sean told him they were going to go pick out a new car, Jackson kept saying, "two cars!" He was pretty excited about the number two I think because we kept emphasizing it all day. Needless to say, they came home with two cars- the R/C car and a small monster truck. They ended up picking out this Jeep and Jackson loves driving it around the house and jumping it off of the binder:

Next it was off to Kangaroo Zoo (another of his favorites) with his cousins. They jumped to their hearts' content!

Max and Jackson climbing the ladder to the big slide:

After heading home it was time for a pizza and presents!

Opening his gift from grandma and grandpa:

A gift from mom and dad:

And from nana and papa:

He got lots of great new toys and genuinely seems to love them all. I think between Christmas and his birthday he should be set!

Finally it was time for cake. It had been a long time since I'd decorated one so I decided to take a shot at Mickey. Mickey and Pooh are in a close tie for first place in Jackson's mind, but Mickey won out because I thought he'd be cuter on a cake.

I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. Don't let the cake fool you though-- it may look nice and flat, but that is only because there is a good 2" of frosting in the center making it level... I tried a new homemade cake recipe and let's just say those cakes were definitely not winning any beauty contests!

Time to sing!

Blowing out the candles with a little help from mom.

It really was such a fun day and we had a great time together. Jackson seemed to have a blast all day, which was ultimately all we wanted. We are so grateful for this little guy! He has blessed our home in countless ways and we feel so lucky to be his parents. We love his enthusiasm and loving nature and wouldn't change a thing about him!

For memory sake-- some notes about Jackson at two years old:

-Wears mostly 3T clothing and size 7 shoe

-Very vocal and is speaking more in sentences--will repeat pretty much everything

-Favorite t.v. shows: Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

-Favorite movies: Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Monsters Inc., Princess and the Frog, Cars, Jungle Book

-Loves books and some favorite include: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?, The Foot Book, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh books

-Still loves any type of ball, car and airplane

-Has an almost scary good memory and recalls things he has only seen once or hasn't seen for months

-Likes counting and is close to being able to count to 10 correctly

-Favorite songs: the bumble bee song, Twinkle, Twinkle (Winkle, Winkle as he calls it), Popcorn Popping

-Not a fan of vegetables but loves pretty much all fruit

-Always eats a good breakfast and lunch but usually picks at his dinner

-Takes a nap from 1 to 3 or 4pm every day

-Goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up between 8-9am

-Loves swimming and the Lehi Legacy Center Pool (especially loves talking about the big water bucket that splashes)

-Likes to name his friends and cousins

-Has to put his nose in the corner when he is naughty but seems to enjoy doing it

-Pretty good about saying "please" and "thank you." On the flipside, still laughs when he passes gas ;)

-Likes to see what I am doing in the kitchen and will pull up a chair and help me

-Hates climbing up the stairs at just our house for some reason

-Calls gummy bears "donkey bears"

-Likes riding his tricycle (scoots on it)

-Loves all of his stuffed animals (all of which have names) and likes to throw them in his crib and tell them "night, night"

-Hates having his teeth brushed and hair combed through

-Is scared of going to the doctor. As soon as you put him on the table he goes crazy!

-Still loves bath time

-Enjoys nursery now!

-Loves to jump-- on trampolines, on the floor, off of furniture, etc.

All in all, we think he is a pretty cool kid :)