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Sven's Second Birthday

Sven is TWO!  (Look out everybody, here comes big trouble.)

This is what we did to celebrate:

1. It was Saturday, so I made our traditional pancake breakfast.  But I shaped the pancakes like letters of the alphabet!  Because that's cool, right?  Sven helped me put in the chocolate chips.

2. After breakfast, I put on Sven's birthday shirt.  It has been sitting, folded and waiting, in his dresser for the past six months.  Today was it's big day to shine!  Once he was dressed, Sven and I practiced telling his age.  "How old are you?"  "Six."  "No!  You're two!"

3. A few days before, Sven helped me pick out a cake.  It was funfetti, of course.  So after breakfast, we mixed it up and put some cupcakes in the oven. Sven was really upset about the whole mixing process.  He seemed to think that everything was ruined.  After an hour in the oven, I started to wonder if maybe he hadn't been right.  The cupcakes baked (and baked and baked) and never really got done.  Unbeknownst to me, our oven was on its way out and couldn't keep temperature.  We didn't figure that out until a few days later.  On Sven's birthday, I just thought I must have done something wrong!  So we mixed up a new cake (lemon this time) and made the cupcakes in a neighbor's oven.


4. While the cupcakes were cooking (which was an eternity, it seemed), Sven opened his birthday present from me: a ball!  Audrey told me that was a lame present but he seemed pretty pleased with it.  He went outside to play right away.

5. After the cupcakes were done, we all went to the Children's museum.  We had an explorer's pass so it was free!  Yeah!  The Homer family came with us, ostensibly so that Sven would have a friend his age there.  But he didn't really play with Charlie.  Two-year-olds care more about toys than kids.

6. We went to the food court for lunch and Sven requested that we eat at "the bear store" (aka Panda Express).  So we shared a panda feast with the Homers.  To accompany it, there were lemon cupcakes with blue frosting and fish sprinkles!  

7. During Sven's nap, Soren and Carl went to DI with me.  They wanted to buy presents, which I thought was very generous of them.  Of course, they picked out stuff that *they* liked.  Soren got a wooden race car; Carl picked some weird pink mechanical bug (sans batteries).  Sven was intrigued by both but they didn't have much staying power.

8. Scott and I went on a date that night, so the boys had man and cheese and more cake with a babysitter.  They love that.  We did sing and do candles before we left.  While we were gone, they got to watch a truly, crummy movie, the kind of garbage their mom would never let them watch.  And they were talking about how hilarious it was for weeks to come, so I think it was good times.

9. Presents from the grandparents came a few days later:  some play food from the Bergs and a board book (Max's Bath!) from the Duedes.  When we move, I plan to buy a play kitchen with money from the great-grandparents.  For now, Sven is flush with new toys and gaining more attitude with each passing day.

Happy Birthday, Sven!

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