Ari's 2nd Birthday Party

OK, so there's going to be a boatload of pics, and I'm too lazy (and don't have the time) to split this into 2 entries, so my apologies to anyone with a slow Internet connection.

So Ari's birthday party was on Saturday, and the whole thing went swimmingly, if I do say so myself. We had a good morning--I managed to get almost everything done that I needed to get done in between keeping her happy, and she napped beautifully, right on schedule.

I got her dressed about an hour before the party, and made a point of getting some pictures of her in her party dress before guests started arriving and the place got crazy. Of course, she wouldn't cooperate, so I distracted her with some toys to get her to hold still. She was very excited about this animal until she realized she didn't know what it was.



I asked her to show me the hippo, and she did. You can see her hair bow in this pic, plus a little more of her dress. It looks kind of white in these pictures, but it was a pale pink. Ultra-girly, and super-cute.



I asked her to say "cheese" and this is what I got.



I asked her to say "cheese" again. (I should know better by now, huh?)



Showing me "Sin-dee-rulla." (I love her face in this shot.)



Giving Ivan lots of loving...



I made the cake from a box mix, made the frosting from scratch (using Tony's grandmother's recipe), colored it orange with food coloring, and then Tony decorated. Didn't he do a fabulous job? He simply looked at a picture of Nemo and then did this freehand. I was (and still am) super-impressed.



This is the food table before we had most of the food on it. I knew if I didn't take a picture before the party, I would forget, and I was right. So just imagine this table covered with finger sandwiches, a fruit tray, a veggie tray, and some dips, and some cheese and crackers.



And the big balloon. Yeh, I guess you could say we went with a Nemo theme. Kind of. The cake, and the cake plates and napkins, were Nemo, as were the tablecloth (which you just saw) and this balloon. And that was pretty much it. So if you call that a theme, then there you go.



Present time! I was the designated present-opener-helper, and a friend of ours manned the camera and took these pictures.



As you can see, every little kid at the party crowded around and wanted to "help." It was sweet.



But kids are easily distracted, so there were moments like this one where I was the only one paying attention. (Hey, I had to keep things moving...) Oh, also--see that rocking chair in the background? That was a gift from my parents.



Another gift from my parents--these books belonged to my grandmother when she was a little girl, and I remember reading them when I visited their house as a little girl myself. I think it's so awesome that I get to share them with and pass them on to Ari now.



Ari making one of her I'm-not-upset-I'm-just-weird faces... (Uh, yeh, we had Nemo on in the background, with the volume low. You know, to go with our big theme and all.)



More presents...



She got several of these kind of cups, and every time she opened one, she would stick the straw in her mouth and try to drink it. I had to keep explaining that they were empty.



I know you can't really see her face, but I just wanted to show you how curly her hair gets in the back now.



Uncle Dave was helping Ari play with one of her new toys. (I'm not sure who was enjoying it more...)



Cake time! I could totally tell you that this is a shot of Ari licking frosting off her finger as she enjoys her cake, but that would be a lie. Truth is, she didn't even touch her cake, same as last year, and since no one forced her to try it or purposely smeared frosting in her hair, she remained clean and cake-less. A few seconds after this shot, she politely declared, "All done" and handed me the cake. What a nut.



This is Ari with her 2 cousins (Tony's sister's kids), Taryn and Michael.



And then Pappy (Tony's dad) joined the shot. (Isn't it crazy how much Ari and Michael look alike?)



After some people left, the Wii-playing began. I knew it was only a matter of time.



We set up a canopy over the back porch (bought our own this year instead of borrowing one) for extra seating. These are our friends Brandon and Kerry (married) and our Pastor. The guys were all in a big conversation, and even though it looks like Kerry was sleeping, she wasn't. Anyway, in the foreground of this picture, you can see the very edge of Ari's present from Grammy and Uncle Chris (Tony's mom and brother)--a Little Tikes picnic table. Ari fell in love with it the moment she saw it and we had a hard time tearing her away from it when it was time for presents/cake.



Me and my "BFF" Dawn. I think this is a pretty good shot, considering I took it myself by holding out the camera.



Ari kept herself highly amused with these ice cubes--they were the kind with a hole in the middle, so she kept putting them on her fingers like rings. And yes, her hair is wet. It was drizzly and she had no problem being out in the rain, plus, like I said, she was playing with ice. At one point, she even stood under our air conditioner and purposely let the water drip onto her head. I'm telling you--the kid is nuts.



I saved this one for last because it's my absolute favorite shot of the day.



Even though her birthday was Thursday, it wasn't until after this party that I really felt like she was officially two years old. So... I'm the mother of a two-year-old. Bring it on.