Grace's 2nd Birthday Party

So, as Grace's 2nd birthday approached, I went back and forth deciding whether to throw a birthday party or not or just have a little family party with us at home. While Atticus loves being the center of attention for events like birthdays or Christmas, Grace hasn't been like that. In fact, at Christmas, while all of us opened gifts, she went back and forth between the living room and GG's room to watch some Paw Patrol and back to eat a cupcake and then maybe to open a gift and so on. She was happier doing her own thing and if we tried to force her, she wasn't happy. So, I didn't know if giving her a birthday party would be fun for her or not. At the last minute, about a week before her birthday, I decided I would do a small one anyways. So, on her actual birthday, March 12th, a Thursday, we threw a party. I decided on a Minnie Mouse theme. We ate lasagna, cold veggies, and pizza. We had cupcakes and cake. We opened presents and let the kids play all night. We had a few friends over including Chris, Katherine and Olivia; Kirsten, Jonathan, Katie, Katerina; Russell, Sarah, Austin and Aubrey; and Travis, Rachel and Lillie. It was a great group of people and even though it was a Thursday night and I was afraid this would throw a knot into people's normal weeknight schedules, they all came and we had a really good time! And the best part of all? Grace was in her element! Only once did she cry and that was when I was holding Olivia. But, as soon as Katherine picked up Grace, she was happy. She just thought she needed attention too. I'll tell more through the pictures below...

First, we took some porch pictures in her little outfit. I happened to give her a fruit roll-up right before. I made her t shirt.

Then, I have some pictures of my decorations and cake and cupcakes. I saw the cake on pinterest and decided to try it. I had to bake 4 9 inch round cakes to make a double layer face with ears. And then I piped stars all over it in icing. I was super proud that it looked like Minnie. The hardest part was mixing the colors and using way too much food gel coloring! Also, the bad thing about black icing? When you eat it, it turns your teeth and lips and mouth a shade of purplish black. Oops!

We opened presents and Grace was gifted some really thoughtful things.

 

 

 

 We sang happy birthday which she ended up loving! She liked to be sung to and liked being the center of attention; I was so surprised!

It was a really fun evening and Grace played and had a good time and was never unhappy on her birthday! I was so glad! By the end of the evening, she was a disheveled little Minnie Mouse mess, but she was also officially a 2 year old.

Happy 2nd Birthday Grace Caroline Seidel!!