Two! And a Little Fam-Damily...

Well, way back at the close of September our littlest rascal turned two.  

You remember, right?  I was all, "I guess I need another baby," all of a sudden?  It basically threw me for a loop.  And I scheduled family pictures for the earliest time slot I could get after that, which meant, you know, mid-October.  But to my credit I had lofty plans to have his two-year-old pics taken along with our family pictures.

And it all started out so nicely.

And then our little two-year-old turned up the sass and turned off the charm.  This one.  He is either hot or cold.  And I really mean that.  It's like he had his big bash and woke up the next day feeling the mantle of two-year-old-ness upon his shoulders and he just really started acting the part with gusto.  He is an opinionated OR affectionate little being.  He is either happy and content OR ticked off at the world.  Delivering a ginormous hug & a slobbery kiss to the lips OR arching his back and kicking up a storm in a complete tantrum.  

He loves to eat cookies, chips, cucumbers & "Choca Milk".  He hates to be left behind or out of the action but he loves to be the baby and he'll say, "Acey so tie-od" and lay right down in his crib.  He is a fantastic sleeper and a brilliant little talker.  He likes Mickey Mouse and Little Einsteins but loves his dog and his red bike above all else in this world.  He has the best manners when he isn't fully immersed in a spicy moment and he loves to sing and bop to the music.

And he loves his dad... which is evident.

We still consider him to be the cherry on top of our little family sundae... even if that cherry is occasionally sour.  :)

And now moving on to the photo rock stars in my life.  Would you just look at these little men of mine?  Why do I gotta be the one with bangs flying up to the Heavens and dry mascara flecks beneath my eyes, meanwhile all my big boys, RyGar included, just show up and smile and look like they should be starring in an ad for a department store near you.  It's really just not fair in the slightest.

Baby Gap...  Are you catchin' this?  I know.  Just have your people contact his people.

What's that you say, Old Navy?  You want Dax in your next Christmas catalogue?

Two words... Book early.

And then there's this.  If this were America's Next Top Model Tyra would be all, "Where's your smize?" and "I hate that I can't see any neck" and "You've got to find your angles."

I know, Tyra, I know!  I need coaching.

But oh, do I love a good family picture despite the sweaty, unraveling few minutes of complete chaos during the actual inevitably freezing outing.  Not to mention the marathon of prepping and dressing and talking about how "totally rad those new shoes are" just to get a little buy in before hand.  

But seriously, how big are they already?

And I'm completely addicted to the final product, even though, they sometimes look like the one below.  THIS is life, y'all.  Complete with raw freakin' emotion.  Cracks me up every single time I look at it and captures us... this stage... these little people caught in tiny bodies with big ideas of their own that sometimes don't quite align themselves with reality.  I adore it.  Every single inch of it.

Poor little two-year-old Acers.  Life can be such a bundle of trouble.

But I'm clearly the very luckiest girl in the entire Universe.

Did you make it this far?

You deserve a cookie.  And a happy, happy weekend.