Tanner turned two (how did that happen?)

On June 26th, Tanner Boo Boo turned two!  I am so happy and proud of the toddler he's becoming.  He is such a sweet boy. He hugs and kisses Brennan all of the time. He has started kissing everything on the way out of the door when we leave the house.  He kisses the baby swing, his motorcycle, the couch, etc.  He no longer clings to me or Bobby at family events.  One of my favorite things we do is to cuddle on the couch before bed.  After I put Brennan down, Tanner and I get into PJ's (Ok, I'm always in mine), and then cuddle on the couch watching "Wheel of Fortune."  What can I say, he likes it!  :)  He can count up to 3 now and he recognizes that words have letters.  For example, he will see a word in a book like ELMO and say "A, D, E, R."  Then I will say the letters in the word. We have been working on the letters in his name.  He now says 2-3 word phrases.  They usually start like this "I do.......(mom mow, poo poo, night night)  or "I need........(this, water, shoe)  or "Where.....(Daddy, sock, Dede) go?"  He is getting into the independent phase, which, for the most part, I am happy about.  However, when he insists on walking down a big staircase without holding my hand or putting on his shoes by himself it can be challenging!
For his party, we decided to have it at our house so that Tanner's friends could come.  His friends Tom, Ryan, Andrew, and his girlfriend Emma came!  We were going to have the kiddie pool up, but it had a hole in it.  Oh well.  The kids got to play outside with bubbles and Tanner's many vehicles.  His grandparents came and some of our friends too.  My first attempt at mini meatballs came out pretty good, if I do say so myself!  Plus Mama Roney made some delish mushroom and cheese apps and her famous jalapeno poppers.  We had cupcakes and Tanner opened presents.  All of which had wheels!  Hehe!!  The night ended with fireworks, too bad Tanner was already in bed!

These past two years have gone by so fast.  I think back to when Tanner was a newborn and sleeping in the swing, or when he was army crawling after the cats, or trying Mommy's spaghetti for the first time, or cruising around the couch, and it makes me teary, but in a good way!  :)