Analee is 2!

Analee one day old, Analee one year old, Analee two years old.

We celebrated Analee's birthday on May 24 by going to church. Okay, only because her birthday happened to be on a Sunday this year. But we did sing "Happy Birthday" to her in nursery, and then we came home and had our family festivities. These included presents:

Getting ready to dive into the gift bag.

Present No. 1: a kangaroo doll that has many buttons, zippers and Velcro tabs to open and close. About half the time, Ana forgets what kind of animal it is and refers to it as "my bunny rabbit."

Present No. 2: A "choo choo choo train" set, as Ana calls it.

... and cake, along with another rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Ana picked out her cakes months ahead of time. It's a ladybug cake. Well, it's supposed to be a ladybug. I'm no professional cake maker.

We won't know Analee's statistics (weight, height, etc.) until we go in for her checkup in July, but here are some more facts about our favorite curly headed brunette.

Analee is beginning to learn her colors, although she doesn't know all of them yet. She talks in complete sentences, and when I ask her questions such as, "Ana, why did you take off your shoes?" she often replies, "Because." Her favorite TV show is "Little Einsteins." If I'm ever working in the yard and wonder where Ana has run off to, the first place I check is the sandbox; we regularly change sandy diapers and have to wash her gritty feet off.

Ana loves to give hugs to whomever lifts her out of her high chair. She is at the point where she can climb up into her high chair and car seat "all by mineself." Ana loves to sing, and often sings songs she has made up about people she knows ("Uncle Jason, Uncle Jason, UNCLE JASON!") or recent happenings.

Although we had to wait a long time for it, Ana now has curly brown hair long enough to do in pigtails or a half-ponytail on top of her head. She has big brown eyes and a dimple in her right cheek that's visible when she smiles. She wears a size 6 shoe and clothes that range in size from 24 months to 3T.

We love our little "Ana Banana" and "Cute Curly Sue." Here's to another great year of learning and growing!