Happy birthday, baby!

Can you believe he's 2 already? Seems like just months ago he was, well, 19 months.

What a wonderful five months it's been. The amount Sidamo has grown in every way—physically, emotionally, cognitively, and in terms of trust and confidence—is truly astounding.

Today we honor and give thanks to Sidamo's first family, who brought him into the world and loved and nurtured him so well for the first part of his life. We know they're thinking of him today, too, and we hope that—cosmically, somehow—they can feel how much we love and appreciate them.

We celebrated Sidamo's birthday yesterday with a lovely little family party. We had Grandma ("Guagua"), Grandpa ("Gapa"), Pappy ("Happy"), Dianne ("Dan"), the Great-Grandmothers (he can't even try to pronounce that one), Aunt Lisa ("Eesa"), and Scarlett ("Car") over for pizza and firetruck cake—the perfect feast for a 2-year-old.

A firetruck I can eat? Are you messing with me?

Okay, enough admiring—slice that bad boy up!

Sugar rush and presents? Can someone please explain why every day isn't like this?

There's nothing as promising as the new world of a new book.

Oh, was this police cruiser for Sidamo? He won't mind if I unwrap it, will he?

Toddler on patrol. Do you feel safer?