When it is your birthday, and you are two.

When it is your birthday, and you are two, your room is full of balloons when you wake up, because magic.

When it is your birthday, and you are two, your oatmeal is pink.

You get to open all the presents in the house, because they are all for you, because it is your birthday and you are two.

You get to help make your own birthday cake and yes, whatever, taste-test the flour all you like. It's not every day you turn two.

And go ahead and lick the bowl, because salmonella can't touch you when it's your birthday.

And drink from the birthday cup

and have hash browns and grapes and 'fancy cheese' for lunch, because it is your birthday and you are two.

And there are two candles on your cake, because you are two.

And the whole cake is yours, because it is your birthday, so lick all the icing off first, if you want.

And then watch The Jungle Book and make elephant sounds. You are very good at them now, because you are two.

And then have a bath and brush your teeth and read Llama Llama and go to bed, because some things still have to be done, even though it is your birthday, and you are two.

Today is Eleanor's birthday and I'm feeling very reflective.

You know what's fun? Where Are They Now, which I like to play with last year's Christmas gifts.

Mrs Roy, the corduroy aardvark, is part of the Sleeping Party and her ears or tail are always sticking out of the crib, causing Eleanor to really dramatically be like, OH NOOOOOOOO, and then be like, No, seriously though, fix it.

The bath book is still a cause for great delight.

One of the bath piggies joined Noah's Ark (i.e. Where All The Plastic Animals Go) and was spared the eventual mouldering of the other two. The puppy bath towel has gone in the Next Baby box, as Eleanor is much too large. SO LARGE.

Eleanor's riding bee was a huge help in learning to walk, because it's so maneuverable. Now that she's big she can sit on it and actually take it for a scoot.

Eleanor can totally read That Is Not My Dragon to herself, from beginning to end.

You know what ELSE is fun? Compare and Contrast.

Infant Eleanor and a Santa:

Toddler Eleanor and a Santa:

Infant Eleanor thanking the Senior Nutcracker for his service:

Toddler Eleanor offering him a cup of something while he stands guard and she looms over him:

We obviously need a bigger Senior Nutcracker.

(I cannot be held responsible for what I purchase when everything is 75% off. Also, NUTCRACKER SECRETS.)

Infant Eleanor, as high as she can reach:

Toddler Eleanor - we should probably get a bigger tree, too:

SO two years old now, this one.

I'm what?

And then actual Christmas.

Christmas morning, I took Eleanor's oatmeal in to her room

because I knew that once she saw this

all breakfast bets would be off. Joel and I have socks under that tree. Everything else is Eleanor's.

Joel and I each got each other half a trip to Mexico for Christmas, and new wedding rings both smaller and less expensive than the originals and the falling-off of which we can be more cavalier about. Eleanor got:

a baby doll, for which we are still seeking a name.

A kitchen and some plastic food. She spends TENS of minutes going back and forth between her kitchen and mine, noting the similarities. Mama have a microwave, and ELEANOR have a microwave! And so on.

These roasted grapes are never going to caramelize.

A shopping cart, which so far acts as a high chair for the baby, and a storage receptacle for all the food.

A game for making giant sandwiches. It's actually a fun running-around type of game, but mostly we just make giant sandwiches and then eat them.

A pair of skeleton jammies. Eleanor doesn't laugh when I poke her in the upper arm and say, I found this humerus. I mean, she doesn't yet.

A memory game where you fill a cardboard shopping cart with things from your list. We've modified it by turning all the pieces face-up and she just has to…you know. Find them with her eyes. It's about as difficult as she's capable of, but she's super into it.

A wooden pizza, with pizza cutter and little velcro pepperonis and everything.

Several books and clothing items (LEGGINGS WITH LLAMAS) and a little stuffed swan and sheep that she carries with her everywhere.

It will come as a surprise to exactly NO ONE that Eleanor is delighted with all the packaging lying around.

Addendum: a few days after Christmas, a suspicious-looking package arrived and it was a TENT and Eleanor just ran in and out of it, shrieking, for half an hour.

Then she figured out that she could bring books in there.

I'll never see her again.

We have been festive-ing SO HARD.

CHRISTMAS. I guess I never blogged this part of it but you know what was terrible? Last Christmas. Joel worked four 24-hour (OR LONGER) shifts in eight days, which means that he just came home for sleep, and then on Christmas Day he worked 14 hours, and then on Boxing Day he worked until the evening after Boxing Day. So…that.

But this year! Oh man. We had that week in Mexico, where we hung out all day, every day, and then Joel worked for a week, in which Eleanor and I made a gingerbread house (it took four days. I wrote about it at length here, but suffice it to say that it was terrible and fun and I would definitely do it again next year. Eleanor's favorite activity for DAYS was to sit with it in her lap and gently touch it

and occasionally kiss it.)

And then Joel had six more days off. The BOUNTY. He had a pretty rough cold, so there was a lot of lying down

(That's fine, I'll just bring the tea party to you!)

and eating toast

(I can help you with this one, too.)

but we also did glorious festive things like the Enchanted Forest.

Twelve drummers drumming, and all that.

It was most impressive.

We went for a walk down by the river on Christmas Eve.

It was actually warm enough to be outside for half an hour and not die.

We wanted to build a snowman in the afternoon but the snow is too dry, so Joel flung it in the air with the shovel and Eleanor laughed and laughed.

He went off to shovel the walk, so I threw handfuls in the air for her. After a few she said (patronizingly), Good job, Mum. Daddy make a big one now?

He gave her shovel rides instead.

If you play in the snow, you get cocoa after (those are the rules)

and if it's Christmas Eve, you watch The Grinch (those are the other rules). Eleanor loves the song Welcome, Christmas. Whenever it came on our Christmas Radio Station she'd look up and go, Welcome welcome! Favorite song!

The other Christmas Eve rule is that you get Chinese food, because nobody feels like cooking. Unlike other places I have lived, most Chinese food places in Saskatoon actually close on Christmas Eve, so we had to phone eight restaurants until we found one that was open.

Eleanor eats only the ginger beef. Maybe some broccoli, but mostly ginger beef. Can you blame her, really.

Practicing for sisterhood

Things Eleanor has said to her baby doll within the first 24 hours of her owning a baby doll:

Oh, baby, iss BERY cold ousside. You need a hat.

Here is your bed, baby. You lie down and have a little rest.

Who's my big little baby? You're sooooo heaby.

Don't stand up inna cart, baby. Iss not safe.

And then, in a surprising departure from Things I Often Say To Her:

Do you like some ice cream, baby? Oh, I do, I do!

I am currently taking name suggestions for the baby. 'Baby' isn't cutting it for me.