My baby's 2!

Happy, happy birthday Meri! Totally can't believe she's two years-old already - it's been a crazy two years and I can't imagine our family without her.

Here's a quick list of some of my favorite things about Meri:

1. She's super cuddly and loves to snuggle for comfort or relaxation.
2. She's famous for giving great squeezes that make everyone happy.
3. She's got such a cute, little impish smile and often gets this crazy look in her eye that makes me laugh out loud.
4. When she wears a ponytail on top of her head, she looks like a who from Who-ville.
5. She says the most sincere "I'm sorrys" that I've seen a kid do. And she follows it with a little sorrowful hug - even if she's saying sorry to a stranger.
6. She adores her sister and wants to be just like her. She often even shares with her sister - wanting Jell's company more than the toys.
7. She's fearless - she pet a 4 1/2 foot snake the other day that Jell couldn't get within 5 feet of without screaming. Meri pet it when I told her to and then looked at me like, "so what."
8. For the most part, she has a wonderful little contentness about her and can just sit and play happily by herself. She also bounces back from disappointments or owies amazingly quickly and goes back to just being content again.
9. She forgives me so quickly.
10. She's ours! I'll be forever grateful!

Here's a few pictures of the weekend-long festivities:
The winner of the favorite 2nd birthday present award. Thank you Great-Grandma and Grandpa Berne!
Apparently cupcakes should be eaten with no hands - who can be bothered with etiquette at a time like this?
Meri has had a thing for giraffes for nearly a year now - kind of a random animal for her to pick but it turned out a cute cake.
Quite happy to be getting her own piece of cake.
Remember that crazy look I was talking about? This is total present-opening ecstasy!

We love you Meri! Happy Birthday!!