Jonas's 2nd Birthday!

Can you believe it? Jonas is 2! I swear these past two years have been the longest and the shortest at the same time. Jonas has been such a joy in our family. I think we all agree that our hearts melt when Jonas gives hugs, kisses, and/or cuddles. I cherish each of those moments because I know that, all too soon, they'll be gone. It's hard to list all the developmental changes and growth that have occurred over the last year. He is now talking in full sentences, can identify colors, uses objects to climb on to other objects, recognizes emotions, etc. He knows the basic method of operation for a motorbike, car, and tractor (that's dangerous!). If there is something he doesn't know how to use, he watches, waits, and tries until he can master it. He's one smart little boy! Just smart enough to cause trouble. We have definitely seen signs of the "terrible twos". He can be bossy and demanding. Patience is not a concept he has grasped. However, those moments are outweighed by the times he'll say please or thank you. Jonas has our hearts! He is one very loved little boy!

For his birthday, we celebrated with a party on Saturday, July 22. This year's theme was tractors! This kid LOVES tractors! For dinner, we had burgers (cow pasture) with bacon (pig pen), deviled eggs (chicken coop), veggies (garden), and lemonade (orchard). In addition to his tractor cake, there were also Oreos (tractor tires) and Rice Krispy treats (haystacks) for dessert.

 

After dinner, Jonas opened his gifts. He has finally grasped the unwrapping concept, but each time he unwrapped a gift, he would be so focused on that gift he'd forget there were others to open. He got so many fun, new toys to play with as well as a couple clothing items and books.

Jonas wasn't interested in the cake after he opened his gifts, but we eventually coaxed him back into the kitchen to blow out his candles (a skill he has yet to master). Once Jonas saw the tractor on the cake, he wanted nothing else! Poor kid had to endure a whole Happy Birthday song and blowing out the candles before he could finally get his tractor. Even though he didn't cry this year, he didn't seem overly curious about his cake. Silly boy!

Finally, we went outside to let the kids hit the tractor pinatas I bought. Jonas loved to hit it, but didn't grasp the concept that he was supposed to hit it hard enough to break it and get what was inside. The other kids helped with that process. It was a fun way to end a fun party!

Thursday, July 27th was Jonas's actual birthday. It was a busy week with more family in town, but I still wanted to do something a little special for his actual birthday. I decided to take him to one of my favorite toy stores and let him pick something out. Other than his tractor shirt and the tractor on the cake, Jeff and I didn't get anything for Jonas for his birthday so I figured we could find another little toy he would enjoy. Well Jonas found plenty of toys he was interested (mostly tractors). At one point, he was surrounded by several larger tractors on the floor. He pointed to each of them and repeated, "I want this one!"...over and over again. Finally, we settled on a little tractor, a little plane and a little helicopter.

On our way home, we stopped at Daylight Donuts to get Jonas (and the rest of us) a birthday donut. We came home and, once again, I put candles in the donut. We sang another round of Happy Birthday (which he joined in on!) and coached him on how to blow out his candles. He actually got one out this time! I'm pretty sure next year he'll have the whole birthday thing down!