A Tardy Weekend Update (Sawyer Turns Two!)

Sawyer turned two yesterday and instead of a party we took him to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I had never been and while I thought it was neat, I won't be in a huge rush to go back. He enjoyed it, though! We went through the place in maybe ninety minutes, which doesn't really justify the hour drive frequently. But I'm glad we went once! 

We of course did the whole cake and present thing. Now I need to to the whole clean out the old toys thing.

Sunday the kid and I drove down to Carlsbad to see the Flower Fields. I have never been in the middle of the afternoon and it was horrible to find parking (like to the point where I almost turned right around and drove the ninety minutes home). Once we were able to get a spot we took a tractor ride around the property, which Sawyer was convinced was the only purpose of going to the place in the first place. Once he accepted that it was in fact not, and mommy wanted to walk around and buy flowers, he had a blast. 

[ranunculus for days]

I met an older couple on the infamous tractor ride that for once agreed with my sentiments about kids getting older. They were going on and on about how much fun it is to watch your child grow up, instead of lamenting past stages. I find each age more fun than the one before, and while I did love my squishy little ball of baby Sawyer chub, along with his gummy smile, I much prefer having a toddler. I'm excited for him to grow up and do cool things with me that I haven't been able to make anyone else do, like go to the Smithsonian, hike around Yellowstone, visit the Grand Canyon, and whatever else I'm able to persuade him into doing. Plus it'll be exciting to see where his interests lie and to have actual two-sided conversations with him.

Not that having a toddler is always a walk in the park. He can be a picky eater, an inconsistent sleeper (still! He was doing really well for the past few weeks, but birthday weekend has apparently disrupted his schedule), and feisty as hell. But nothing that working with teenagers hasn't prepared me for! 

Happy birthday, kid. You're the best.