Ariadne turned two at the very end of March. We had playgroup that day and the spring thaw was in full swing. There is a playground near our house that turns into a lake for a few days each year as all the snow melts, and Ariadne's birthday was the day this year. The kids had a great time hopping from 'ice burg' to 'ice burg' and attempting daring maneuvering on the playground surrounded by water.
Ariadne at two is both delightful and challenging. About two weeks after her birthday, her vocabulary went from a more or less normal toddler level to talking in full sentences about what ever she wants to talk about all the time. Yep, we have yet another verbal kid.
She likes to paint and is really getting into pretend play. Ever since we baked muffins at Charlotte's preschool class in February, she has been convinced that she belongs there. She will sneak off to the aisle at drop off or pick up when I am not looking. Her memory is long. A few weeks after her birthday we built a snowman with that April snow. She was very sad to see it melt. All summer she would declare "My snowman melt." At two and a half she asked for for nonnie milk. I put her off and after awhile she went to the freezer and found a forgotten packet of frozen breastmilk and told me she would have that nonnie milk. I don't think we've used any frozen milk since she was about one!
We had our family party a week later. Surprise, there was more snow! Nonetheless, it was warm enough to be pleasant, though nothing like the year Ariadne was born, when we had absolutely no snow in March and several 80 degree days.
We had family over and went to the zoo. We started off warm in the tropics exhibit, looking at fish and turtles, birds, snakes and a sloth. You may notice Ariadne had a haircut between her actual birthday and her party.
I think she was looking at a bird here, but am not sure. Whatever it is, she is delighted.
Aria with her Grandpa John
Dad and Grandpa Barry
Giraffes pop up a surprising amount in Ariadne's day to day life--giraffe jammies, giraffe toys, giraffe cup. It was fun to see them in real life. There was a baby giraffe, born close to my birthday (mid September) the year before, but even the baby was very, very tall.
Aria loves to 'go wee!' as the kids have come to call the swinging game. (I even have a few fond memories of this from my own childhood--it is fun!). Here Solomon and Nova are obliging her. An advantage to having older siblings is that there are twice as many people to play this game with you.
The polar bears never fail to impress. Despite their larger enclosure (which I'm sure has many other benefits) they still swim laps, pushing off the glass and predictably returning.
Aria is watching closely.
After the zoo we returned home for a birthday lunch of Monte Cristo sandwiches. Aria loves grilled cheese, so it seemed an obvious choice. My gluten free cakepop plans didn't quite materialize (though we have done it successfully before), but a flourless chocolate cake was a good stand in. In fact, it is the same cake the older kids had for Ariadne's 0 birthday. My camera ran out of batteries at the zoo, and my phone shortly thereafter, so there are no pictures of cake or gift opening. I will have to check with grandparents.
There were many handmade gifts for this little girl. It was an unplanned theme. Charlotte made her felt balls, Solomon wrote her a story, Grandma Roberta crochet doll clothes for the waldorf dolls, and Nova and Grandpa John made Ariadne a set of wooden blocks.
Dress up clothes, real clothes, and store bought doll clothes were all enjoyed too.
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