Chugga Chugga Two-Two!

How is it possible that this child is no longer a newborn snuggling in my arms every waking (and sleeping) minute?

Time is a sneaky, cruel thief. 

For his birthday I decided on a Train theme. Because I like themes. And he likes trains. And it just seemed like the logical conclusion.

 His whole birthday was really fairly simple. He went shopping with me in the morning and picked out his birthday balloons and a birthday doughnut. 

When his sissy got home from school she enthused and exclaimed how excited she was for his birthday and wanted desperately, all day long, to open his presents "right now" and not wait until after dinner. 

But that's the tradition and we can't break tradition! 

So she got told no a few times. I'm pretty sure she survived. 

For lunch we had peanut butter sandwiches, which have basically become the favorite meal around here (by everyone excluding myself, which is rather unfortunate) and he was a happy boy. 

Then he took a nap. Even birthday boys get tired. 

For dinner we had a food train, filled with some of his favorite foods, including watermelon, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes (which he decided to like exactly two days before his birthday), and Jell-O. We also had hot dogs and mac n' cheese. He was a happy boy. And for dessert we had a train cake. It turned out so great! I was very happy about it. And so was Dallin so it was a win. :)

His presents were further indications of the things he loves, with trucks and cars, trains, helicopters and airplanes, a stuffed panda, and books about pirates making their way into his hands. 

 
Allow me to explain the stuffed panda. A couple months ago we visited my dad in Utah on a rare return trip for him from his new home in Hawaii. {We hadn't seen him in about a year so it was about time for the visit!} While we were there, Dallin was exposed to "Kung Fu Panda" for the first time. He loved it! What did he love? The fighting. Yep. He's all boy.  {Incidentally, Liv did not. She thought all the fighting was scary.} My dad gave us the movie  {thanks, dad!} and now he can watch it whenever he wants {within reason of course}. He'll randomly walk around the house saying "Panda fight!" It's always unexpected and comes out of nowhere. But he developed a minor obsession with pandas because of the movie. And he loves the stuffed one he got for his birthday.
 
Dallin is a sweet, caring little boy. If someone is hurt, especially his sister, he will go out of his way to give hugs and kisses to help them feel better. He loves to help with pretty much anything. As one of his cousins told me a couple weeks ago, he sure is helpful! He loves four wheelers, trains, pandas, green and orange, being outside, slides, his daddy, blankets, animals, babies, and temples. He adores his sister and will do almost anything if she asks him to. He likes to claim ownership on anything and everything he likes. He is ticklish and snuggly. He loves books, especially if they include pirates, cars or trucks or trains, or robots. He sure is a special part of our family. We love him a whole bunch!