OUR JEWEL FLOWER IS 2

It's a Sunday afternoon... Ruby is sleeping and Zoe is working on her "laptop," practicing her letters. Just like Mommy. I'm finally catching up to Ruby's birthday pictures and struggling to remember where my last two years have gone. In a flash my baby went from sleeping all day to dare devil jumper. Come on!

I'd prefer to use the "pause" button so no one has another birthday. Instead, I was forced to move forward with plan B and we marked Ruby's big day with another momentous event. We introduced her favorite animal, the giraffe (AKA - Jiffy).

We chose the Oakland Zoo where Grammy & Pa, The Levy and Dobrenski families met up with us. Our day was filled with: heat, sugar, animals, fun, sugar, rides, fun, animals, and more heat. It started with a sprinkling of frustration and melt-downs -- tons of fun in the middle -- and pretty much came full circle. In other words, a success with a 2 and 4 year old.

Ruby enjoyed meeting real-life Jiffys. (YouTube is great but sometimes you need to see the real thing to capture the magic.)

Besides the giraffes, the "Ruby highlights" included the camels, elephants and monkeys.

Ruby's fascination with giraffe's started with her lovey, Jiffy (no longer available...ugghh!). It was originally Zoe's but she never gave it a second look. It was one of the few stuffed animals that I actually purchased (so many gifts!)...I couldn't resist it...so sweet and soft.

So, when Ruby entered her cribby castle, once again I added the not-yet-named lovey to Ruby's crib. As soon as she had the ability to reach and hold, it was in her grasp. She hasn't let go since. Pretty quickly the lovely was named by Mommy 'cause how long can you ask Daddy to find the "yellow giraffe blanket thing?" We now have 4 Jiffy's which are regularly rotated and Ruby asks for a "fresh Jiffy" when hers gets dirty.

Not surprisingly, I've started reading a bit about giraffes. I know the questions will be coming very soon. Ruby has a few things in common with Jiffy:

• South African roots
• Height (18 ft. for Jiffy and Ruby's on track for 5 ft. 6 in....so close)
• Mommy's milk (10 months for Jiffy; 12 months for Ruby)
• Tongue is blue-black (Jiffy to prevent sunburn; Ruby after a blue lollipop)
• Distinct markings (Jiffy's spots; Ruby's big blue eyes and gorgeous everything!)
• Leaves (Jiffy likes to nibble; Ruby likes to collect)
• Magnificent creatures!

So, really, they're soul-mates. ;-)

And, if we weren't convinced enough about Ruby's fated connection to giraffes, it was cemented after lunch at the zoo. The girls got a kid's box lunch which included a surprise toy. Zoe's toy was a polar bear and Ruby's was....drum roll please....a giraffe. This tiny, .25 cent rubber toy has not left her hand since. She sleeps with it, bathes with it and kisses it throughout the day. I shudder at the thought of losing this one.

You can also see more pictures from Ruby's birthday weekend here. We celebrated a morning with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, the park before nap and ice cream cake and presents in the evening.

See video below.