So everyone knows that I'm not very "crafty" but I got it in my mind that I wanted to make a banner that showed how Olivia has changed over the last 2 years of her life. It took MUCH longer than I thought but well worth it in the end . . .
. . . tada! Now in addition to not being "crafty", I'm also not great with Mike's camera so this picture is a little dark but you get the point.
Olivia's cupcakes and the party favors that our friend Meagan made. Each pencil box is personalized with the child's name and filled with age and gender-appropriate items. She put so much time into them and they were a huge hit!
Olivia's extra special party favor from Meagan.
The kids' craft table. Cooper spent quite a bit of time taping paper bags over the table because even though we had washable markers, why tempt fate?
"Happy Birthday" Dora banner
Bring on the kids!
So happy that the cousins Jamie and Hayley were able to come to the party. That's Cooper, Mike's son, in the green and he's standing flat-footed! He'll be 14 next month and is almost 6'3. He spent the week with us and is such a great kid.
Daddy, Mommy, and Olivia
That's us taking a picture of Jamie taking a picture of Nina and Olivia.
My sweet friend Laura and her beautiful girls, Avery and Reagan. When Laura arrived, one of the kids at the party (4 year old MacKenzie) ran up to her and said "You have 2 babies!" Laura gets it all the time but I thought it was hilarious.
Toys and babies everywhere!
Montana and cutie pie Sam. Olivia loves the younger men and says "hi baby Sam!"
My dear friend Tonya and her son Hayden. That's me behind the camera again as you can tell by the poor lighting.
Time for some lunch and coloring with Kennadi
And there's Cooper, typical teenager :-)
Hey Avery, you're cute and all but get your paws off my horsey!
Pet baby? Olivia likes to "pet" babies. Most parents are good natured about it.
Wonderful family! Don't mind me stuffing my face in the background.
Not sure what Olivia is doing here but it appears to be a hit to those around her
Thanks Leigh for helping me put on my new bracelets
Cheeeeese!
I have no caption for this because I cannot for the life of my figure out what is going through her head.
Olivia blew out her candle all by herself!
Please take a second to note that Olivia is eating her cupcake face first. This is because she didn't want to pick it up because she didn't want to get her hands dirty. She HATES to get her hands dirty. She finally gave in and picked it up but after a few bites asked Daddy to "wash hands, wash hands?". Well we've played this game before so Mike told her that she could wash her hands after she was done with her cupcake otherwise there would have been at least 4 hand washing/wiping episodes per 1 cupcake. About a minute later - enter Paw Paw (my Dad). "Paw Paw, wash hands, wash hands?" Paw Paw obliges because he's not as familiar with her tactics . . . and because that's what grandparents do :-)
Yup, that's a BLUE cupcake. For about a month leading up to her birthday party, we have had the following conversation with Olivia:
Olivia: Baby bike?
Us: Maybe you'll get a bike for your birthday
Olivia: Party?
Us: Yes, we'll have a party for your birthday
Olivia: Cupcakes?
Us: Ok Olivia, we can have cupcakes at your birthday party
Olivia: BLUE cupcakes?!
Us: Ok Olivia, we can make blue cupcakes
So we made blue cupcakes
More babies with more toys
Opening gifts was quite an experience for me. One of the first presents we opened was a Dora doll that Olivia held onto for most of the present-opening time. That didn't mean that I opened presents by myself, I had lots of help.
Olivia is under there somewhere!
Olivia got some help with her new Dora helmet . . .
. . . to go with her new bike!!
And she's off!
At this point, the party had been over for at least an hour but the helmet was still on. She put it back on first thing in the morning the next day as well.
My beautiful ballerina in the new dance outfit she got from her cousins in preparation for Kindertots, a dance class for 2 year olds at our rec center.
Well, that's it. Thanks for sticking it out :-)
Happy birthday sweet Olivia! Mommy and Daddy love you!
