Elise's 2nd Birthday

Another year of Elise's life has passed us by!

If the last two years are any indication, then it seems each subsequent year will be faster than the previous one. Not sure I am okay with this!

Elise has grown and changed exponentially in the last 12 months. I feel like her first year was really focused on physical changes. This year, it was all verbal and mental. The amount of words she has in her vocabulary is incredible, and its growing by at least 3-5 words A WEEK! She talks in sentences a lot now, is really good at thanking people, and thanks to baby sign language, we've experienced way less tantrums. She is able to communicate with us better now and therefore can ask us for things instead of getting frustrated when we don't understand when she wants/needs something. She is so observant and listens to everything we say. We are really having to start being careful about what we say around her!

Elise and I celebrated her birthday in Tulsa with our families again. It's so nice that we can do that, but I'd be lying if I said my heart wasn't feeling pretty heavy. My husband was able to facetime in and talk to us at least. We've had a roller coaster ride with trying to figure out when he will be coming home, and its taken a toll on our morale. This being separated business just never gets easier.

But, back to the party. It was a winter themed party with hints of Frozen thrown in. I didn't want it to be a full blown Disney party. I figure we have lots of those in our future and I only get to pick the theme for her birthday a few times in her life, so this is how we did it! Here's some pictures from the party yesterday

We kind of had two parties in one. Since my sister's birthday is just 4 days after Elise's, we decided to celebrate them both together! Elise had a blast playing with her cousins and new toys. We had a great turnout despite the crappy icy weather and we can't believe our daughter is 2! 

Tonight, as I rocked my baby asleep, I realized that even though I get a little sad watching her get so big, I couldn't be happier. My husband constantly reminds me during these tough times that we have SO much fun ahead of us. So many more birthdays, holidays, trips, and special occasions to look forward to. The best really has yet to come. I plan to soak up every minute!