The morning of Atticus' 2nd birthday we went into his room singing our hearts out to the birthday boy and he greeted us back with a huge smile and a "morning!"  He then proceeded to hang like a monkey on his crib - not exactly a surprise.


We had set up his new art easel the night before so that he could play with it in the morning and he opened the presents that were art-easel-related.  He was very concerned with making sure that the wrapping paper made it's way into the recycling as he was unwrapping the gifts. Drawing with different mediums on his art easel was all he wanted to do that morning.



 Lucky for all of us, Daddy was able to come home from work early and made it home shortly after nap time to go out for Atticus' birthday photos at Vlietland. When he arrived home it was pouring rain, however we trekked off to the Vlietland in hopes that by the time we arrived the rain would stop. To our definite pleasure the rain not only stopped, but the sun came out for a small window of time; just enough time to get some photos of our newly 2-year-old boy (the photos were even taken around the same time of day that he was born at...that was just coincidence though). The official birthday photos that we took will be posted soon!

As soon as the sky began darkening again we raced back to the car while the rain came down and headed home for dinner. While dinner cooked, Atticus got to open up the rest of his presents. He was also showered with many thoughtful emails, facebook messages and birthday phonecalls complete with songs from family and friends. We cannot even begin to describe how lucky we are to have family who do so much to make sure that we feel close to them. And we are very blessed to have great friends here who love Atticus so much.


Dinner certainly wasn't fancy with Spinach and Garlic Mashed Potatoes, steamed broccoli and cubes of Gouda, but they are unmistakably some of Atticus' favorite foods. No matter how much he gets, he always asks for more. Although, there are very few foods that Atticus won't eat. Of course, he was certainly excited about his cake, decorated with a lion to look like his favorite toy.





Hopped up on sugar we all sat down to watch Atticus' favorite movie, Cars. Granted, 20 minutes worth was the max of his attention span before he would rather be playing with his new puzzle (there are only a few things that he cares to watch and we're quite okay with that).

We had plenty of cake left over so we made sure to share with our neighbors one of which even shares a birthday with Atticus.

And the birthday boy was then tucked into bed still buzzing with sugar...


The Saturday before Atticus' birthday we met up with some friends (the Prins Family) for a special birthday outing at a nearby indoor play place. Atticus was a little overwhelmed at first but that changed once he started exploring all the neat things there.

We made sure to bring along some birthday cupcakes to share; Banana Cupcakes with cream cheese icing. The kids sure seemed to love them. Atticus attempted to lick off the icing as though it were an icecream cone. For a little boy who does not usually get sugary treats, he sure had his fill for his birthday!

We all had such a fun time celebrating Atticus' birthday. We really are so fortunate to have him in our family. He is one very wonderful kid and we sure do love him.

Jason and I have a couple of pretty spectacular fathers. They made many sacrifices in the process of raising us and continue to provide us with unconditional love and support. While we may not live close enough to give them the big hugs that we wish we could give them, we were able to call them and thank them for everything they do. No matter how far apart we may live from them, we continually feel their love, support and prayers for us. We love them and are grateful for all they do.

On this side of the pond we celebrated Jason's second Father's Day. Words cannot express how blessed we are to have Jason as the head of our household. He works tirelessly to ensure that we are always provided for in every need and sets an incredible example for our children. He is honest, loving and sincere (not to mention, extremely handsome ;). We all love and look up to him. With that in mind we wanted to make sure Father's Day had a few nice surprises during the day.

Surprise number one was a new tie made by Atticus and a special card from all of us.

Sadly, Jason didn't sport the tie to church, but that was in part because he was going to be doing something very special at church - blessing Milayla (more on that later).

Jason and Atticus got to spend a little bit of extra Father-Son time together and attend a baptism following church meetings. And then they headed home for one of Jason's favorite dinners - lasagna and garlic bread.

For dessert we sent him on a treasure hunt. The 'X' marked the spot for a container of Buckeyes; another favorite of Jason that do not get made very often. He was ecstatic!

We attempted to get a picture of Jason and the children, but probably should not have left it until right before bed time. Both kids were very tired. We're happy that we still managed to get a photo of all three of them though!

At the end of the day, Jason and I were able to sit down and laugh as we reminisced about some funny moments that Jason has had as a father and that we have had with our own fathers. So many great memories and many more to come!

Love,

-The Clog Crew

It's hard to believe that the above picture was taken two years ago today when Atticus Berkley Hochstein was born into our family. We knew Atticus would bring incredible joy to our family, but we could have never fully anticipated just how much. 

No, Atticus isn't always perfectly behaved and we could probably use a few days where he isn't helping us to increase in patience, but through all the ups and downs we know that we are doing our part in raising a very special child of God and, boy, do we feel blessed.

At only two years old Atticus is constantly setting an example for us. When he sets his mind to something, he works until he sees it through like finishing a puzzle or coloring a picture. He loves to pray and never forgets to remind us to pray when we wake up, before we eat, before we go to bed, before we leave the apartment, with scripture study and even before every bite of apple he eats at snack time (yes, that has happened...). Our prayers have taken on incredible diversity as Atticus even requests prayers for the ducks. When guests come over he offers them water, shares his snack and lets them play with his favorite toys. And he beams with happiness when he gets to help someone. 

Yes, today marks a very special day for our family. Today we celebrate one very talented and incredible boy!

We love you, Atticus! Happy Birthday!

Below are some photos of Atticus on the morning of his birthday; his first photos as a 2-year-old.
More to come....!

 

 

He has grown quite a bit since these photos below were taken on his 1-year birthday! He is getting more handsome all the time though...