Two years old! Can you believe it??

Happy, happy birthday to my little guy!!! It's hard to believe that two years ago right now I was already 22 hours into labor, with 8 left to go! Most of that day was kind of a blur, really. The day before, one day after I was supposed to get induced but didn't, we were just about to get an ultrasound when--whoosh! My water broke! Shortly after we were off to the hospital for the longest 30 hours of my life. My birth plan was thrown out the window after about 14 hours of labor, when I broke down and got the epidural. Then I got some sleep! Which was good, considering how much longer it would be before Dashiell was born! :) We had a few scares when D's heart rate dropped a bit, and I came very close to having a C-section--I'm forever thankful that I didn't, though I know that if it had come to that it would have been just fine. Dashiell was born at 10:38 that evening, at a whooping 9 lbs! Wow!

I think back to those first few days and weeks, when I just couldn't believe I had this little person to take care of and love for the rest of my life! How daunting it all seemed! Now I just couldn't imagine what my life would be like without my little guy. Even when he's just spending the night over at his grandparents, I feel a little lost, like I don't know what to do without him. Though believe me, I am always thankful for the time to get stuff done!

We had a very busy weekend celebrating both Dashiell's birthday and Easter Sunday. We had a "little" party (little in comparison to last year's--somehow we still managed to have 30 people in our house and yard this year), and it was a beautiful day. Sunny, warm, and perfect for a birthday party!

Dash is going to be waking up from his nap any minute now, so I'll wrap this up with just a few pictures. First, a better look at his monkey cake:

A monkey for my little monkey! I have to say I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Anyone looking to make a monkey cake should visit the PBS kids web site-they give very detailed and fairly easy instructions.

Next, prior to everyone arriving (and after his "no nap" nap), we gave him his big present--a new grill!
It's super cool, and he's so happy with it. He loves making hot dogs for me. Mmm! :)

And I just thought this next picture was too cute--he and his friend Liam spent a good chunk of the afternoon dragging balloons back and forth down to sidewalk on the side of our house. Dashiell just looks so happy! Balloons and friends are a good combination.
Despite some sleep deprivation related crankiness, the day was great. It was wonderful to have so many of our friends and family around to help us celebrate his big day! And I couldn't be more proud of my BIG guy! Happy birthday pumpkin! Your mommy and daddy love you very much!