Today, my youngest child turned two years old. Somewhere between sorting her brother for his upcoming school start and traveling across the world, my baby grew up. In my head, she was still my baby girl. (she always will be of course) but saying it out loud to people under two to me is still a baby. Two years old just sounds too grown up for her yet. I want to keep her as young as possible as she is my last baby. Slowly the baby things in the house are going away and I wasn’t ready for it. It crept up on me and I am now scrambling to savor every moment I can because it won’t be long before she is in school herself and let’s not mention empty nest symptom.
MM’s birthday is always a little comical to us in terms of what day it is actually on. Since we are celebrating in the states it’s really on the 25th if you go by the time she was actually born but in the UK it’s on the 26th. My childhood best friend and I both went into a labor the same day and I had MM three hours before her daughter, K, and yet K’s birth certificate says the 25th and MM’s says the 26th. We are forever saying how they will grow up together (as we spend our summer’s here) and arguing over who really is older. Or maybe that’s just us parents thinking how crazy it all is as we weren’t supposed to even have our girls on the same day with her being really late and me being really early. I think the girls had other ideas in their head already and they figured they would be life long besties like their mothers so why not be born on the same day. So we spent time to celebrate K’s birthday too and then MM’s. She may have really celebrated it for two days straight but I see no harm in getting two birthdays.
We woke up on the 26th with cake and pressies ready. It wasn’t a huge celebration as we have family coming up next week from all over for B’s & MM’s joint circus birthday party. But we wanted to do something special with just the immediate family. It wasn’t even 9 am before I was letting her blow out candles and dive into her cake with a fork and no restrictions. Mr P may have got jealous and grabbed a fork to jump in too. I have never seen her squeal so hard as she did the first few bites of cake. She didn’t back down either as we don’t normally allow cake and sweets, she tucked into it like it was her life line while we all sat back, laughing. It was her birthday so she was entitled to it. I couldn’t stop laughing that she had to dress the diva part and wear her sunglasses in the house while we sang Happy Birthday to her. I think she actually had them on all day. It was almost like she knew we were celebrating her and paying extra attention to her.
After our cake breakfast, we got our swimsuits on and we spent the entire day splashing in the pool, playing in the playhouse and jumping through the sprinkle. The sun was shining hot and bright for us and we spend some good old fashion family time. Phones and cameras were hidden in the house and we even had a full on water fight with the hose adults and kids all involved, I think Papa started it too, at 73 he still is such a big kid. These are the best memories, the best ways to celebrate any special occasion in my eyes. I will cherish this day we have spent together for my daughter’s birthday forever. You don’t need huge parties, or fancy presents to make a birthday so very special. MM was completely satisfied with her Elsa and Anna hooded beach towel and that’s all she got for her birthday from us and she was so grateful. I love spoiling my kids but I also want them to appreciate the small better things in life.
I looked over at my beautiful girl stuffing her face and I thought back to the very moment I found out I was having a girl. That moment cannot be explained, one I wanted so badly (not that I don’t love my son) but to complete our family. As soon as I heard she was a girl, I looked forward to the future and the girlie things we would get up to. I grew up in a family of mostly boys and I was ecstatic that there was finally going to be a little princess in the mix. If she decided she wanted to a tomboy like her momma was that was ok but it turns out she is even more girlie than her momma has become. She loves her dresses, dolls, hair accessories and wearing her diva sunglasses prancing around the garden and the house like she owns it. She is every bit what I envisioned it would be like having a daughter and more.
I love the way she sees the world so innocently still and loves with all her heart. Her brother and her are two peas in a pod on most days and they have a beautiful bond that is forever growing. I really do feel like our family was complete when I brought her home.
It wasn’t long before I was thinking how fast those first baby months went with her and how busy our lives have been the last two years. I keep promising myself that I will slow down and take life in because otherwise it passes us by too quickly and we are wishing for it all back. 
In the last two years, MM has crawled, walked, talked, and now is learning new things on a daily basis. Her voice has gone from a baby cry to a little squeaky girl voice. My once bawled baby has curls coming in fast and thick. It’s truly amazing and a blessing to watch her change and grow up before our very eyes.
I love that lately her personality is really coming out and she isn’t as likely to copy but do her own thing now and make her own decisions if she likes something or not. She has a sense of style already that I never had and still don’t. I can tell it won’t be long before she is dressing me and telling him how to wear my hair. And even though I am devastated that the baby days are over I can’t wait for the next chapter to begin. 
HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY MISSY MOO!
To my little angel, thank you for enriching our lives and being the best daughter anyone could ever ask for. I have more than enjoyed our first two years together and I am excited for the present and the future to come. We love you so very much from the bottom of our hearts. I hope you have enjoyed your special day.
Happy birthday MM! Love her diva glasses haha so cute!!!
I can’t believe our babies are two, it definitely crept up on us too!!! It’s such a fun age right now though, like you said their little personalities are starting shine!! Xx
Thank you darling and a huge happy 2nd birthday to your little dude too! No I can’t believe it I think I am still in denial today. lol But we have had a lovely family day.
Happy Birthday Beautiful Little Girl! Have lots of fun with your grandparents. Looks like you are having an amazing time! Xxxx
Oh the grandparents are having just as much fun with the kiddos being here for sure. Thank you.
Aww this is such a lovely post. Happy birthday little lady x
Thanks Toni so lovely of you to say. She had a great special day.
Ahh Happy 2nd Birthday Missy Moo! xxx
Thank you Alex. She had a lovely day, got spoiled with the all the cake she wanted. haha Those are the best presents no limitations at two years old. lol
Happy Birthday MM! That’s so funny about the dates, I’d never really thought about it until my cousin had a baby in the wee small hours Australia time and as the Facebook message went “r and K have had a baby boy tomorrow”!! Crazy isn’t it, maybe MM should insist on celebrating twice!
I have insisted she celebrate twice hahaha same with my son he was two different dates too. Time zones are a mystery hahaha Thanks Carie.
Aww! Bless her! It sounds like she had the best birthday! She’s such a cutie x
She thinks she is too that’s the problem. No, only kidding. She is a doll. I am bias though and she is a diva so we both are bias. lol She really had a great time and it was a lovely small family day together.
Such a beautiful post and words. We have 2 year olds. This so is not happening. They are growing up before our eyes. Love sharing your journey with you xx
I know Kara, how did we get here already??? It’s going way, way too fast. I am still in denial that she is two years old now. They really do grow up before our eyes and I think how much MM has changed just in the last few weeks even and it scares me a little. I want this time to last longer and it seems to be going even faster than it did with her brother.
Happy Birthday to MM! She is a day younger than my youngest. I am struggling to stop referring to her as a baby. Yes she will always be my baby but when did she turn into a grown up little girl?!
Thank you Karen, she had a lovely birthday with family and the part will be Sunday so we are super excited to see more extended family come in. I need to stop calling MM baby too. It’s so hard especially when they are your last baby. I just can’t do it yet. lol
Such a lovely post. Sounds like she had a wonderful day. Happy 2nd Birthday.
Can I just say – that cake looks delicious!
Thank you Beth. She had a lovely casual family day for her celebrations. The cake turned out lovely.
Awww what a sweet post about your baby girl. Happy birthday Missy Moo!
Thank you Laura, I can’t believe how fast life is going now that they are not babies anymore. I heard it gets even faster.
What a lovely post and beautiful photos. I hope that she had a great birthday it certainly looks like she did, my little girl recently turned two too and i also feel like the last two years have flown over and like she was not a baby for very long xx
Thank you Lindsay so nice of you to say. She had a fabulous special day and we will all be celebrating with a double birthday party for her and her brother with the rest of the extended family on Sunday. Can’t wait. I feel the same that MM was never a baby for long. Wonder if its a girl thing as they grow up so fast.
Congratulations! I agree that you don’t need a huge party or fancy presents to make it special. For me it is about spending time together too. #SWM
Thank you Catie, it really is and the one only pressie she got was a new bath towel and she was ecstatic about it. hahah We had a great family day together.
Happy birthday to your baby girl. Love the cake, and how cute that she just had to wear her sunglasses all day! It sounds like she had a lovely day celebrating. I hope you’re having a great time back here in the States! 🙂
Thank you Sharisse, we had a great time just family and that cake was the center of attention.
such a lovely post. She looks like such a diva in the sunglasses – beautiful! #sharewithme
She IS a diva in those sunglasses. I think they make her think she can rule the world. So sassy when she has them. She wouldn’t take them off to blow her candles out either. Made us all laugh.
Happy birthday, Missy Moo! She looks so grown up too, and I LOVE the cake 🙂 Small celebrations can create lasting memories. We like them that way too.
She acts it now too. The cake turned out lovely. Yes, we love small family moments on the actual days of their birthdays but then we are having a big joint birthday with her brother party with extended family while we are visiting the states.
Aw, happy birthday, kiddo! Yummy looking cake. Sounds like a lovely, fun day.
#sharewithme
Thank you so much we had a lovely day and she was so happy the day was all about her. Typical diva right? hahaha
The GL Gang say – Happy Birthday MM and we hope you had a lovely day. That cake looked VERY yummy xx
She was the best taste tester for sure. The cake was half eating before we finished singing Happy birthday MM. lol She had her fork in there the first moment I looked away. hahaha
It is amazing how much our children achieve in their first years isn’t it? What a very special day you all had!
Thank you Dominique it truly is you are so right. I can’t believe how fast these two years has gone. In one moment I feel like she is always been with us and the other I feel like I just had her and how is she walking, running and talking now.
love the cake and little ones sun glasses looks like great fun was had by all #sharewithme
Oh it was a really lovely chilled out family kind of day. She had a great time splashing in the pool and eating lots of cake.
Wow I can’t believe she is 2! Time is rushing by. Gorgeous pictures and Happy Birthday Missy Moo! x
It really is Aby, I don’t know how she is two already. It blows my mind sometimes I am still in denial. As my last baby each milestone seems to be that much more emotional.
Aww looks like a lovely birthday! How weird with the birth dates and your friend’s baby – I never considered that before! My youngest will be one in about 6 weeks and that seems to have gone so quick! #sharewithme
Yes the first birthday is a huge milestone and seems to sneak up on you then after that it just flies. I can’t believe I have a two year old and three year old now. It’s crazy.
Happy Birthday, MM. She looks so grown in these pictures, and super fabulous with those sunglasses and bathing suit! Time flies with our little ones, doesn’t it? One minute they’re cooing in your arms, the next their running and walking and babbling, and you don’t know where that little cooing baby went! Enjoy every minute (as I know you do) with her! Thanks for hosting #sharewithme this week!
I think she thinks she is super fabulous in those glasses too. hahaah She really is looking so much older lately. I think each time we come to the states for the summer they seem to change so much so fast when we are traveling.
Sounds like you all had a lot of fun. I totally agree that doing something like a water fight can be much more fun than a big party. You were always going to be on a winner when you serve cake for brekkie lol. Happy Birthday MM. Thanks for hosting #sharewithme
Debbie
http://www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com
Cake for brekkie is the best way to say Happy birthday in this family unless you are B he hates cake. I know, *gasp. She had a great one. We are having a circus birthday party for the kids together as its B’s bday soon and so we thought small family moments on the actual day and some joint bday fun for the both of them later. I really do end up loving the small celebrations more.
What a lovely birthday! Looks like you all had fun x #sharewithme
Thank you we really did.
What a lovely birthday! Looks like you all had fun x #sharewithme x
Ah happy birthday to your little girl! My little one just turned 2 it’s such a lovely age. Hope she had a fab day and that she has a beautiful year ahead of her x #sharewithme
Happy birthday to your little one as well. I can’t believe how fast the first two years went for MM as it was much slower with B and he will be 4 soon too which just feel weird to even write that. She had a great day thank you.
When we know it is our last child all these milestones are very poignant aren’t they. My youngest is six and each stage he passes is at once wonderful and sad because it will be my last time. I can so see how people then get to wanting grandchildren.
I think so for sure. Each time she hits one it’s like a reminder this is the last time for this stage in my kids lives. Makes it bittersweet in a way and sad too sometimes. Thanks.
Aw! Happy birthday to MM! It goes by so quickly doesn’t it?
Thank you so much Brandyn it was a great family chilled out day. Those are always the best.
Oh bless her, she looked liked she had a fab 2nd Birthday! I found oliver turning 2 much harder than his first birthday as like you say, the baby days are really over!
Xx #sharewithme
She did have a good day and when it starts with cake what’s not to love and be happy about right? She looks two going on 13 sometimes. lol The baby days are truly over for me. I can’t believe it.
What a sweet post. The cake looks beautiful and it looks like MM had a great time! Enjoy this stage of her life – it goes so fast!
Oh it really does go fast and I am still in denial about it too. lol How did two years fly by so fast? This is why I love being here in the summer and life is just slower here so we can soak it all up.
Such a lovely post, Happy Birthday to Missy Moo! I can’t believe it will be Lizzy’s turn in August, I think we’ll have a low-key one too this year, with just close family. She looks so adorable as always in these photos, love the one of her scoffing the cake! #sharewithme
Oh happy birthday early for Lizzy. It’s nice to have a good family day together, chillin and making moments instead of huge milestones. Sometimes it makes you appreciate it all the more. She really did scoff the cake too. hahaha Thank you.
Happy Birthday Little Miss! It looks like she had an amazing time! x