Johanna is two.
No one is sure where the time went.  Somewhere in the midst of teaching long division, taking a few vacations, and doing a lot of laundry Johanna got to be a two-year-old.   Truthfully, I think the 35 hours I spent in labor were much longer than the last two years. 

She has been a part of this family from the get-go. She has been flexible and portable and has never fussed about our pace. She doesn’t know any other way except the homeschool way and is surrounded day-in and day-out by her siblings.

Somewhere in the last six months I have taken to calling her, “Riffy.”  My mother heard me say it once and said, “Is that because she is terrific?”  YES.  Nan got it.  (Everyone else says, “Why do you call her Riffy?”)

We celebrated her birthday late in the day.  She is such a good eater that no food has stood out as her favorite.  We ate burgers and salad and grapes.  Not that exciting.  We then settled in the family room for a few gifts. 

She got one, two, three, four, FIVE new t-shirts to go with all the hand-me-down skorts she has.

She got her first, very own coloring book!

And then… she beamed as her brothers and Daddy carried in a new-to-her table and chair set.

Birthdays are incomplete around these parts without a candle and dessert.  She was blessed with a Bob and Larry cake.

The kids have said, “Oh no – now she will be Terrible Two, Mom!” coining the phrase they’d overheard somewhere.  I assure them we are now into TERRIFIC TWO.