it's true...

i know i've said it many times here on the blog, but time flies when you're having fun. the fact that lucy has been around for 2 years completely blows my mind. milestones are certainly bittersweet, aren't they?

we started our celebratory day with a breakfast of homemade waffles...

followed by a little present opening...

her new piggy bank may have been the hit of the day (she ran off right away to start transferring her coins into it) but i was pretty fond of the alphabet magnets i made.

i also made her a little cloth memory game... the fabric was just too cute to pass up.

birthday gifts are always better when shared with someone you adore..

my "big gift" to lucy is a year's worth of writing--daily journaling that hopefully she's appreciate when she's a little bit older. i do this partially for her, but also for myself, as my memory tends to fail me at times--and the details from lucy's childhood are something i just can't bear to forget. i've taken 10 months or so off from these daily writings, but am committed to starting up again now and continuing through her third year of life.

after having a bit of fun with her new gifts, it was time to head out to one of our favorite spots... a small river a couple of hours from home. i took a slew of photos, so excuse me while i go nuts with the posting.

we did a little bit of stick-throwing...

a little bit of sand-collecting...

a little bit of cookie-eating...

a little bit of exploring (with a friend, of course)...

a little bit of toe-dipping...

there was lots of merriment...

along with some serious pondering...

and it was finally time to pack up and head home. car naps were a guarantee!

we capped off the celebrations with bowls of post-dinner ice cream at the birthday girl's request.

happy second birthday, lucy june! you are, quite simply, amazing.