Birthday Boy

If there's one thing I can say is the absolute truth... it would be that the years have never gone by as fast as they have now that Allen Jess is a part of our family. We celebrated Allen's second birthday, and for the life of me I don't know where the past two years have gone. Time has gone by so fast... it's just impossible to think that he made his grand entrance only just two short years ago!

That morning we kicked off the celebration

with a big yummy breakfast.

With a plate full of his favorite fruit, french toast, bacon, and then a bunch of cupcakes on the side... Allen couldn't have been more excited!

The rest of the morning turned into a photo session... in hopes to capture the cutest and best pic with all his birthday swag! As you can see, Allen was just thrilled about his birthday shoot! 

Turns out, it was just the lame hat Allen wasn't so thrilled about. So we told him he could take it off, and when he did, a little smile broke out!

We then moved things outside,

taking advantage of a beautiful day.

He just couldn't resist...

and we certainly couldn't blame him!

Naturally, he was way more interested in his cupcakes and his balloons... than he was in smiling and looking at the camera!

After realizing the photo shoot had lasted one too many shots, we moved back inside where it was time for Allen to open his present from Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh.

It was a huge full-size handyman workshop...

which required both of us to put it together.

Fortunately for Allen, it came with his very own power drill, which he absolutely loved! Otherwise, I'm not so sure he would've been able to help.

The many faces of a handyman!

Me & my boy... and our drills,

putting on the final touches.

I don't know... but something tells me

Allen's going to love his little workshop!

The workshop got its fair share of playtime,
but there were yummy cupcakes to be eaten...

And more presents to be opened too!

Back outside we went to try and

capture some more cute birthday photos.

Allen loved his balloons,

and loved parading them around.

After some balloon toting fun out front,

we made our way to the backyard...

Where we set up the camera,

only to have a bunch of silliness occur!

But if that's what it's going to take to get some great

family photos, then I say bring on the silliness! 

That evening... after Allen enjoyed one of his favorite meals

(burger & fries), we decided to do a first for us all.

We took Allen to go see his very first movie in a theater! Lucky for us, we had the place to ourselves... so Allen got to pick out the best seat in the house.

We weren't real sure how this was going to work. I mean if it were 'Nemo' or 'Cars' (his two favorite) he would have no problem sitting still and watching the entire movie... but this was something he had never seen before. But it was 'Planes' we were seeing, so we were fairly confident that he was going to enjoy it... but the fail-safe was definitely the big bag of popcorn in his lap!!! 

Kudos to Allen for sharing!

(Must get that from his mother!)

Between the entertaining movie, the popcorn, the soda, and an empty theater to roam around in, Allen did pretty darn good for it being his very first movie experience.

Back at home and it was finally time to sing Happy Birthday...

...make a wish, and of course to blow out the candle.

The whole blowing out the candle was new to Allen. Actually, just blowing in general was kind of new... so it took a few tries, but he finally got it done (only after realizing the only way he was getting a cupcake was if he blew that darn candle out!).

With no big party and no extended family to help celebrate, it was up to the three of us to make sure Allen's second birthday was as fun and memorable as we could make it. It certainly wasn't anything spectacular, but with a new workshop to play with, seeing a movie at the theater for the first time, and cupcakes to stuff your face with... how could it possibly have been any better?!?!

Waterlogged

The day after getting home from our day-trip to the beach, Allen drew the shortest straw... and was left in charge of spraying down all of our beach toys & equipment. 

And while Allen stayed busy outside, Mrs. Preggers stayed nice & cool and relaxed inside - where she enjoyed a little Internet time in her favorite room.

With no computer in the room and both Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh still retired, I think it's safe to say the "office" has officially been renamed to the "play-room!" Needless to say, there was definitely lots of playin' done in that room while we were there! 

But not all the playing was done inside. With all the warm and great weather we had, the pool got its fair share of playing too!

"C'mon Dad-Oh... don't be scared!

Get in already! Here, I'll even hold your hand!"

I couldn't very well replicate the waves we experienced at the beach, but it still made a splash or two and definitely made Allen a happy little boy!

Moe-Joe may have gotten play-time in the pool...

but Dad-Oh was certainly in charge of nap-time!

Playing in the pool and taking naps are fun... but there's no way they can compare to taking baths with Moe-Joe and then jumpin' on her bed! ("Naked Time!!!")

And when the pool at home just wasn't big or warm enough,

there was always the clubhouse pool down the street!

But don't think all the fun and silliness stopped

just because we were at a public pool!  

With the sun shining, the pool nice & warm, and some quality play time... it was almost impossible not to smile!

Without a doubt the number one activity on our to-do list for the week was to visit the beach. However, a close number two was to take Allen to his very first theme park! We certainly had a bunch to chose from, but ultimately, we decided to go with the one with the most animals! 

Once again, Moe-Joe came through with her

weather order for another perfect day!

We hit a couple of really neat aquariums right off the bat,

which Allen found completely fascinating!  

It was definitely your typical hot & humid sunny day in central Florida, so a visit to Antarctica was more than welcomed.

We enjoyed a nice short ride through the Antarctic, cooled off in the super low temps, and saw a whole bunch of cute little penguins... which Allen didn't seem all that interested in.

Happy Feet?

Seeing Shamu was a must... but no splash zone for us,

as we opted to sit up high to get a better view.

And what a magnificent view it was!

Such an amazing show. 

After an incredible show like that, Allen was just beside himself!

I'm pretty sure Moe-Joe, Jei and I could've gone to the other side of the park, ate lunch, rode a roller coaster, and come back to see Allen right where we had left him! 

There certainly was no shortage of amazing things to see.

Especially in this particular aquarium... where Allen

got to see one of the most silly & crazy creatures of them all!

Allen loved the Stingray exhibit! Loved just watching though... as he was too freaked out and unsure about sticking his little hand in there. 

But Mom certainly tried her best

to get him to get his hand in there to pet some Stingrays...

And then Dad tried even harder!

Once we finally got around to seeing the Dolphins, it was game over. Allen could've sat there and watched them swim & play around forever!

We told him it really wouldn't make a difference, but Allen insisted that if he got as close as he could to the glass, he would feel like he was in there swimming with the fish too.

"Hey there Mr. Turtle...

Are you 150-years-old too like the one in 'Nemo'?"

Allen: "Hmmm... I wonder if we'll get to see any sharks?!"

With such an absolute incredibly beautiful background, I couldn't imagine anything ruining a picture there... that is until I noticed a certain someone's little finger where it didn't belong... which sadly, did in fact ruin a couple of good pictures! 

In the end, we had to leave him be and let him pick till his little heart's desire! Allen eventually stopped... just long enough to finally get the perfect shot! 

One of the best parts about the park... and arguably Allen's favorite,

didn't even involve any animals at all! 

Not only did SeaWorld have water exhibits for all of the animals,

but they also had one for little humans too!

Allen sat on the sidelines for a while... getting the lay of the land so to speak. And he definitely took a while to get comfortable playing in all the splashing water everywhere, but he eventually got in there and got plenty wet! 

As hot as it was that afternoon, I'm sure it felt really good to get wet and cool off... and it certainly was a fun & entertaining way to end a great day. 

It was Allen's first visit to a theme park... and it was a huge success! He was a trooper and powered right through nap-time so that he could see all of the amazing animals. It was a long, hot and tiring day... but definitely lots of fun and totally worth it.  Thanks to Moe-Joe for treating us and for spending such a fun day at the park with us! 

Our last day in the sunshine state... and we got just that: lots of sunshine! Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh treated us to a big delicious meal at our favorite breakfast spot, and then after eating way too much, we tried our very best to walk it off. 

With it being Moe-Joe's last day with Allen...

you better believe she kept him all to herself!

Thanks again Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh for such a spectacular fun-filled week! We couldn't have planned it any better... and wouldn't have changed a thing!

"Mom... can we come back and visit Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh again?

That sure was a lot of fun!!!"