The Puppy Pawty

For the munchkin's second birthday party I decided on a puppy theme, because she loves all dogs (no, she did not get one as a present).  Like last year, I relied on Pinterest and people much more talented than me to put it all together.  

This was the banner on the front door, and we had a "Happy Birthday" sign over the food.

I used vases and some clearance tennis balls from Target and collars from Dollar Tree to decorate the tables.

Here is the cake!  My friend used a rectangular cake and cupcakes to turn it into a dog bone.  We even had enough pieces left over to make a little smash cake for her (which she didn't smash, just ate the icing).

My wonderful sister-in-law made the cupcakes.  She used Junior Mints for the big part of the paw print, which I thought was so clever!

The dessert table also had Puppy Chow, of course.

We grilled hotdogs with all the fixings, and had the fruit served in dog bowls.

These were the treat bags everyone took home.  Found dog bone shaped cookie cutters on Amazon and baked sugar cookies and included a couple of puppy stickers.

We were blessed with beautiful weather and had a great day celebrating with family and friends.  

Guess who's 2?

Our munchkin turned 2 a little over a week ago, so an update is in order about her.

Praise God first because she's healthy.  Still on the short side, wearing 18 month pants and onesies comfortably but her belly means she wears 24 months/2T shirts (which isn't the same size, I learned).  She's overall still a good eater but cheese, fruit, and ice cream are definitely her favorites.

What she likes-
Water!  She asks for baths all the time.  Every time we pass by a fountain she has to stop and put her hands in the water.  Then she touches the water to her forehead, like she's blessing herself before going into Mass.

Being outside.  We spend lots of time in the backyard and taking advantage of our Arboretum membership.  Lately she has been trying to look for bugs. She likes to ride on her new bicycle, can throw and kick a ball, and is doing better about drawing with the sidewalk chalk instead of eating it.

Climbing.  The kid has no fear at the playground, or at home.  She is loving gymnastics class and has become a very good jumper.

Babies.  Thanks to some friends who have had babies recently, she is getting lots of opportunities to hold them.  If we're out and she sees a stroller or bucket carseat, she has to go say hi to the baby.

Reading books.  Spot, Todd Parr's books, and the series that started with "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" are her current favorites.

Saying no.  Sometimes it's pleasant, other times it's very emphatic.

It's really neat to see her vocabulary expanding.  If you ask her what color something is, she'll almost always say it's blue, although she can say the names of the other colors.  She will identify two of something without being prompted and will say "ABC" as well.  She has her animals and the sounds they make down.

I am waiting until summer to tackle potty training, and as long as she doesn't try to climb out of her crib, we're keeping her in it (hope I didn't just jinx it).  She's definitely starting to assert her will but most of the time, distraction will keep us from a temper tantrum.  Everyone told us it would go by so fast and it really has.  Sometimes I look at her and am just amazed at how big she is.  We are grateful for every day we have with her.