a sweet and simple party

amelia's second birthday party was a simple one at home with our family. yes, you read that right. no, i have not be abducted by aliens. i am capable of toning down the birthday parties. and this is proof. :) pretty pink balloons and a well-loved (read: used over and over and over) banner were hung in the kitchen for our decorations.


oh wait. i did go way overboard and buy a second identical bouquet of balloons for the living room. party games consisted of "guess what time uncle jeff and aunt kristie will arrive since mommy completely forgot to tell them the time of the party" and "let's see who can push the button the most on the musical books that grandma brought to the party". those are both bound to sweep the nation as birthday party classic games, i am sure! i also forgot to give the kids (just my kids plus cousin karina) their party favors, so they're going back to target this week. 'cause we need no more junk at our house.

the adults ate pizza and visited while the kids played happily in the kids' rooms. when it was time for cake, they emerged to sing happy birthday to amelia. everyone loved the cake, which thrilled ethan and caroline. amelia loved hearing her favorite song being sung to her by all her favorite people....


if i stare at this candle long enough, maybe it will blow itself out...


and in the time that it took to gather up ethan and caroline for a quick family picture, amelia was already getting down to business...


the birthday girl did not approve of me taking the cake away for it to be sliced.


these eyes are saying, "don't even think about touching my cake."


i don't blame her. that cake was deeeelicious.

after cake, it was time for presents. now, the grandparents had all pitched in on amelia's toddler bed because we just had christmas, and our house is up to its ears in toys. well. those grandparents didn't really listen very well. they all gladly pitched in for the toddler bed and brought presents. yes, plural. and some even came bearing gifts for my other children. i guess this is in the declaration of grandparenthood, right after the article stating that ice cream is only to be given within 30 minutes of bedtime or after the third cookie. :) so amelia had several gifts to open... i was snapping pictures, and brian had the video camera, so out of nowhere, ethan automatically assumed the big brother position of handing amelia the gifts and talking to her in his high-pitched-big-brother voice. it was pretty cute. i think he even let her open a present once.


amelia got some new pink pots and pans...


and karina showed amelia how to use the doggy kennel she gave her.


as amelia was opening this scarf that nana made for her, nana said, "it's not really very exciting"... well, tell that to amelia! she grinned from ear to ear when i put this scarf on her! isn't it adorable?!?!? i know that totally made nana's day for amelia to be so excited about her very first knitting project. yay for nana and her cute scarf!!


our one present to amelia was this little birthday cake. i have been waiting since after thanksgiving to give her this (yay for half-off sales!!), and after she got really into birthdays, i was so excited that i'd already bought this for her. why did i even try to get a picture of her showing me the cake?


it really is a super cute little toy. you can make it light up to 5 candles, and then after the song plays, you can blow out the candles! it was a big hit with amelia, and she amused herself (and everyone else) by going around "singing" happy birthday to everyone and having them blow out the candles.


i think aunt kristie had 3 birthdays in a matter of 10 minutes!


brian's grandmother gave amelia a really sweet cross necklace to match karina's and caroline's. it will be put away for a few years, but she really liked opening the box and showing everyone her necklace. or the lid. :)


i love how serious she is in this one.


and finally it was time to open her big present! i didn't know if she would even "get" the big deal of a big girl bed... well, see for yourself....






i could not have asked for a better reaction from this little birthday girl! she giggled as she climbed right up in that bed! all the grandparents just loved it. and since she'd just had an hour nap earlier that day, she was ready to put this bed to use...


aaaand then she was up again! and she spent the next 15 minutes climbing in and out of that bed. she knew this was big girl stuff.


she even let her brother and sister squeeze in there...


and the little one said, "roll over, roll over"...


i love this group shot (minus the big kids) of family at the party!


and here we are with our little wriggle-worm. we should've tried this picture much earlier in the evening!


amelia was so happy to climb into her bed all by herself that night.


she did pretty well the first night, especially going to bed right after the excitement of a party (and allll that sugar that day!). i had to snap a picture the next morning of her still in her bed.


she has definitely gotten the hang of sleeping in her big girl bed, and she is loving being two!


happy birthday, my sweet amelia! mommy loved your little party at home!