TWO!!

On Friday, October 9, Wiley turned two. We had prepped him for the day, coaching him to say "I'll be two!" and reminding him what a special day it would be. When Wiley woke up in the morning, he found the birthday banner hanging in the dining room window, a birthday banner on his chair, and balloons hanging over the table. He played with balloons while he waited for everyone to wake up, and then we started the celebrations with Wiley's choice of breakfast - "flackakes," as Wiley calls pancakes (even some with Aden's and Wiley's initials). He opened one gift at breakfast, some animal figures from Grandpa and Grandma, which would later be used to help decorate the table for dinner. Aden presented Wiley with gifts from his own toys, including some books that belong to the MK School library. Aden and Wiley took a walk with Grandpa to the new hospital, and came back home to play with play-dough.

Then the some of the Dooley girls came by and the festivities continued. Olivia and Emma had each colored pictures for Wiley, and put together their own gifts for him. Aunt Gail made a picnic set, complete with tablecloth, fabric foods, plates, cups, and spoons. It quickly became the entertainment for the day. They also brought the "Traditional Birthday Hat," which Wiley proudly wore throughout the day, and even for the next two days! After a real picnic lunch and a nap, Wiley had more visitors - Aunt Judy brought a special birthday cup, and Auntie Erin brought some dinosaur toys as well as some bath toys for Noah (which Aden and Wiley were quick to claim, realizing Noah wouldn't appreciate bath toys for a few more months).

Finally, it was time for the much-anticipated birthday party. Although by this time, Wiley was beginning to grow weary of all the attention. The Radcliffes and Aunt Marsha joined us for pizza and popcorn, and birthday cake and ice cream. Even before Noah was born and named, Mommy had planned a Noah's Ark theme, since the animals came two-by-two. The boys enjoyed special animal-face-mini-pizzas that Mommy had made. Then the theme got somewhat confusing, as the cake was designed as Noah's Ark, complete with animal crackers in pairs. Aden and Wiley weren't sure if it was going to be Noah's cake, or Wiley's cake. When it became evident that it really was Wiley's cake, and all eyes turned toward him as everyone started singing, Wiley did not want to be the center of attention. Grandma held him as Aden (and Jo and Cilla) helped blow out the candles on his cake. When it was time to open gifts, Wiley finally warmed up to the idea when he sat on Daddy's lap. Aden captured the whole event on his "iPod" (our tripod, which Aden uses as a camera). He eagerly watched each gift being opened, and later tried to claim some of them, stating, "some of my toys, Wiley got for his birthday."

The whole transition into being a big brother has made quite an impact on Wiley. He is still fairly mellow, and having lots of extra attention only added to that. But overall, in spite of all the attention, he enjoyed his special day and is already very good at being "two."