Two Celebrations for a Two-Year-Old

Since Cooper Leslie, our neighbor a few doors down, also had a second birthday this month, and another neighbor, Alex Louw, had a 10th birthday in September, we decided to have a big party for all three MKs last weekend.  Noah didn't fully realize what was happening, even in the midst of it all, but Aden and Wiley were so excited about the party they could hardly stand to wait all day.  All of our missionary family here and a few other friends gathered in the Leslies' garden (backyard), and we enjoyed pizza, s'mores, and Mommy's cake pops.  Noah received some great gifts, though he wasn't quite sure what to do with all the attention.  I think the highlight of the evening for him was being pushed around on Cooper's new bike. 

Riding with Uncle David

The Birthday Boy

And since he was two, we decided we could celebrate a second time on his actual birthday (the 21st), with just our family.  We followed some of our birthday traditions, with birthday banners, five birthday songs, and even a Birthday Boy T-shirt (its fifth use in our house).  We had chocolate chip muffins, Noah's favorite, for breakfast, and then Noah got his gift from Daddy and Mommy - a nearly-new tricycle.  He was pretty excited to have his own bike and loved being pushed around the yard.  We stopped by the office to see Daddy later in the morning and went out to lunch with Uncle David and Aunt Jodi. Usually, the birthday boy chooses each meal of the day, but since Noah is only 2, and he was excited just to have a new Lightning McQueen plate to eat off of (a gift from Aden), Mommy took a break from cooking and served leftovers, including leftover cake pops.  Wiley gave Noah a new coloring book, and a birthday package from Grandma Karen had just arrived that evening, so he opened more gifts after dinner.

Chocolate Chip Muffins and a Birthday Bike

We enjoyed reminiscing about Noah's birth, and things he has done in his first two years of life.  Daddy delivered him, under the coaching of Uncle Bill at Kudjip - the last Nazarene MK born at the "old" hospital; Noah has traveled extensively and lived in three countries; he has begun memorizing Bible verses right along with his older brothers; he loves daily dirt baths; he is already an incredible entertainer with a great sense of humor . . . what a joy to celebrate his life!