Svea is TWO!

Svea turned 2 on Friday the 24th! Nate came home the night before armed with balloons and streamers. He decorated the dining room and the ceiling above Svea's bed, so when she woke up she saw that her birthday had arrived! Also, birthday hats were required - Svea had been talking about wearing a birthday hat for weeks.

Good morning, birthday girl!

Viggo and I made number t-shirts earlier in the week. It was a fun project to do!

Cinnamon rolls were baked in muffin cups for less mess - I wish that was my idea! Bananas and yogurt with "spinkles" completed the birthday breakfast fare.

On to the Philadelphia Zoo!

Viggo wore his conductor hat. I love how it went over his ears.

Geese, mallards and other waterfowl wander through the zoo. Viggo and Svea fed this goose and a few others.

As you can see, Svea has band-aids on both knees. She skinned both of them earlier that morning on the patio. Poor girly!

The kids and I rode the zoo train. Nate was going to ride at first and then I volunteered. Can you imagine him trying to fit into one of those teeny cars?

Look at that smile! As you can see, Viggo was pretty excited!

The big cats! Svea LOVED this exhibit!

This was sweet - a lemur with her baby. They got a lot of "Awwws!" from Svea. In case you haven't been watching much children's television lately, you are looking at a lemur celebrity! This lemur is just like "Zaboomafoo" from the children's animal conservation show on PBS that features a talking lemur (we didn't ask, but I don't think this lemur speaks English). The creators and stars of the show, the Kratt brothers, have sponsored the lemur exhibit at the Philly Zoo, so Viggo especially gets a big kick out of seeing their photos there. Our brush with fame.

An elephant drinks some water. Svea really liked seeing this. So did I - how cool!

This (boa? python? whatever) snake really impressed Viggo. After the reptile house we hit the small mammal house and the monkey house. Regrettably I did not get a photo of the naked mole rats - apparently they are one of Viggo's favorite small mammals. They are strange little hairless, blind, buck-toothed creatures that thankfully live in Africa and far away from me. Stay tuned, I'll get a photo next time we go.

Time for a picture with my big guy!

Back home for dinner, cake and presents.

Look at her face! Maybe she thinks this cake is not to share?

It wouldn't be a worthwhile birthday cake without pink and strawberries.

Time for presents! The mailman was busy busy busy.

Thank you, York family, for the horse! Gallops was an instant hit!

Svea LOVES her name plate! Thank you, DeWans!

Oh, all the darling dresses! Pink is so flattering on Nate.

A little pillow and blanket! What could these be for?

A new doll crib! Nate and Viggo worked so hard on it, and it is gorgeous!

We had to take a break from gifts to tuck a baby doll inside and rock her to sleep.

Beautiful dresses arrived from Grandpa and Grandma Zeke, but she loved the long tube of bubbles the best!

Nate picked up a tiger for Svea at the zoo. A girl can never have too many stuffed loveys.

Maisy books from Grandpa and Grandma Daisy! And also . . .

. . . a big pony to snuggle with! Wow! We are already having sharing issues with this thing, but it sleeps next to Svea's crib at night. (But of course she wants it in the crib).

Viggo poses by the crib. He's so proud of his work! He was very, very excited to see what Svea would say about the crib and there were weeks of whispering and plotting on his part to keep it a big secret. Mr. Generous also bought Svea a book about Mickey - with his own money! - and made her a birthday card that included 30 cents, again, of his own money. He wrote "Happy Birthday Svea" with chalk and drew a flower on the patio for her, and left a note by her place at the table saying the same thing. He was a big part of our celebration of Svea's life!

I get a big hug from my birthday girl. I can't believe she's already two years old. It was hard to put her to bed that night, knowing she'd already be one day older the next morning. Nate and I are so thankful that God has blessed us with such a loving and sweet little girl.

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And thank you for all the cards, messages, and gifts for Svea. We celebrated this birthday alone but it almost felt like family and friends were right there with us!