Two Years of Mercy

We blew up pink balloons and hung the birthday banner, so when the boys came down, they were super excited and couldn't wait for Mercy to get up. Unfortunately for Hyrum, she chose today to sleep in. I was able to shower, dress, feed the boys, get Hyrum off to school, make blondies, do the dishes, wipe down the counters, clean off the ledges, sweep the floor, clean the downstairs bathroom, wrap presents, and check my blogs, all before little miss made a sound. Finally, at 9:30 am, she called for me and Abraham and I went in and sang Happy Birthday to her.  

She had oatmeal with sprinkles on it for breakfast, though I let her open one present, a bag of chocolate animal cookies, and she was much more interested in eating those for her morning meal.

After a party bath and getting dressed, we headed off to Explora for the morning. It was our first time going with only one adult and when we pulled in the parking lot was packed, so I was a little nervous, but the kids did so great. I followed Mercy wherever she wanted to go, and Abraham kept within a station or two of us the entire time. We played in the museum for a little over an hour, then went outside for snacks and to check out the playground. They both seemed to have fantastic time. Mercy started showing the pre-warning signs of a meltdown, so we called the morning a success and made it home in time for lunch without any tears or tantrums.

After lunch, I put Mercy in her crib and Abraham decided he wanted to take a nap also. Mercy was quiet for about 20 minutes then started crying, so I laid down with her in my bed. She snuggled up to me and slept soundly for two hours. It was heavenly, and by far my favorite part of the day. She woke up happy as a clam when Abraham came in looking for her.

We picked Hyrum up from the bus stop with balloons in hand, then the three of them played cheerfully together while I prepared the birthday dinner: sausage and french toast with whipped cream and sprinkles. 

Mercy has been a finicky eater lately and I can never know which of her favorite foods she will or won't like on any given day, so I figured it would be hard to go wrong with breakfast food. She ate some of it, but mostly just enjoyed making a mess of the cream.

After dinner we opened presents, the moment the boys had been anxiously anticipating all day. In addition to the chocolate cookies, we got her 8 new onsies, some hair clips, and a floaty device for the swimming pool. Grandma and Grandpa J got her a stuffed elephant, and Grandma and Grandpa Kress got her a pink tricycle and a puppet card. 

Matthew traumatized her with his characterization of the card and she cried and refused to hold it until I re-read it to her in a less intimidating voice.

Matthew persuaded me to try out the floaty first thing, but the water was freezing and the air windy and Mercy completely freaked out when sent drifting alone in the pool. Her first foray into the water lasted about 45 seconds. Hyrum didn't last much longer, and Abraham decided not to get in after all. After getting everyone dried off and re-dressed, we had much more fun playing with Mercy's new set of wheels.  

Mercy is not a big fan of cake, so I made her a pan of blondies instead. 

We sang, ate, watched a quick show, and then got ready for bed. For being such a temperamental girl lately, I think she enjoyed her special day. We sure love our Mercy girl.