We kept Avery's 2nd birthday small and just had family and a few friends at the house, but we still had to go with a theme. It was a hard choice for a two year old, Strawberry Shortcake or Tinker Bell. In the end "Strawberry Cake" (as Avery says) won out.
Auntie Tina and Uncle Bryan couldn't stay long, so Avery got to open their present early:
Checking out the princess shoes:
Cousin Cash getting in on the present action:
Now come the princess dresses:
Avery's pick for favorite gift went to the ballerina back pack (she still has to have it on 15 of the 24 hours in the day):
Cake time! Everyone wanted to know why there were so many candles, and my answer was "why not" but in reality this was Avery's favorite part. Anytime she would talk about birthday parties she would always end by singing the song and blowing out imaginary candles, so I wanted to make it memorable for her and two candles wouldn't have done it!! So load 'em up:
Time for singing:
Blowing out ALL the candles:
Mmmmmm:
Opening gifts with lots of helpers:
Birthday girl with mommy:
Birthday girl on a mission:
More gifts:
Hugs from big brother:
This picture didn't come out as cute as the in-person effect, but between the diaper hanging out, the dress being caught on the back pack and the plastic princess heels, Avery was a class act at her own party:
Checking out gifts with daddy right before bed:
Our kids are similar in a lot of ways, but while Miles was all smiles at every party he's ever had, Avery still managed to maintain her stoic expression at all "two" of hers. Even though she's not a grinner, she still had a great birthday and she talked about it for days. She does love the attention and is actually old enough now to understand it. It was a lot of fun this year and we would like to thank all of the friends and family who made it special.
