The second birthday of Isabel.

Up late, loaded on sugar, it was a pretty fun day. We ate out, then all four of us when shopping at the big sale at Toys R Us, got Mrs. Spider's tea set, a blue Booh-Bah, a dinosaur piano and some weebles (which are great for working-out muscle knots in your back, by the way). She has been growing and changing by leaps and bounds lately, and thinking of her rough start and close calls early in life makes it all the more amazing. She is tiny (a whopping 24 pounds of charm), but she is talkative, expressive, so sweet and cuddly, already has quite a wonderful sense of humor, and even bats her eyelashes on cue every time.

She calls herself Bee Bah.

She showed relief when I finally started calling her that - shame on us for giving her a name impossible for a two-year-old to pronounce. She does tell you she is two (cheee-oooo) and holds up her crossed fingers when you ask her how old she is - I find quite impressive.