Izzie's 2nd Birthday

She blew her candles out like a big girl!! I don't know why this surprised me, but it did.

My first baby is 2 years old. I find everything bittersweet about being a parent. I've become so much more emotional and sentimental, too. There's just something about being a mommy that other people don't understand until they have become one, too. I find myself appreciating my mom so much more, too. It's not that I didn't before, but now I just have a different appreciation for her. Ok anyways. On to the birthday party!

The day of her birthday, Todd and I took Izzie out by herself while Mimi and Aunt Hannah watched Garrett. It was a good time. We took her to Toys-R-Us. We planned on letting her pick out something, but she is still sort of too young to appreciate that. She would pick up one thing and hold it for a minute then run to the next. Right now, she is on a princess kick. I love it by the way. She is turning into a little girly girl. So, we picked up the Disney DVD, Princess and the Frog. I think it's important to collect the Disney DVDs. I always loved watching them growing up and still do!! After that, we went to the mall to eat dinner and ride the carousel two times. She loves it. She waves every time she goes around. The lady that takes the coins thinks that Izzie looks like her granddaughter and thinks Izzie is a hoot. We then came home. Everyone went to bed, but me of course. I had a lot of birthday party planning to get done.

As you can see by the picture, she made a pretty Minnie Mouse. Beautiful as always. We decided Minnie Mouse was a good idea. She likes Minnie and Mickey. Minnie is also a little girly. I like girly. I believe she is starting to like girly, too. It was a tough choice though. Our other options were that big purple dino named Barney and Elmo. You see why I chose Minnie?

I got a lot of ideas off a site called Pinterest. Oh, I love pinterest. I stayed up till 3am the night before the party making cake pops, Oreo cookie Minnie Mouse pops, and I made Pink Lemonade cupcakes. The cupcakes sounded delicious online and the picture of them was to die for. Unfortunately, they were disgusting. I had to throw them out the next morning, because they were just icky. At the last minute I just made box cake mix and added an Oreo Minnie Head. We cooked hamburgers, hotdogs, and mac & cheese. I also made Izzie's pillowcase dress and Minnie Mouse ears/headband. She liked it. She smiled when I showed her in the mirror :). Ok, so I took about probably 12hours of prep time for a party that last 2 hours. Wooo! Kid's parties are a lot of work. Worth it though.

We decided to just invite immediate family this year. We had enough food to feed an army and should have just invited friends, too.

Izzie received lots of cool presents. Nina and Grandaddy got her a swingset which was of course a big hit. She also got a little Barbie 4 wheeler.... which she currently is slightly scared of. She won't ride it, but we are working on it. Mimi and Poppy got her an easel. She is loving that. She loves to draw and write. We just have to make sure she doesn't used chalk on the whiteboard side or crayons. She also received a whole new closet full of Fall/Winter clothes which she needed. Oh, and a girl's best friend.. a ton of shoes. Of course, she also got a lot of baby doll items, a play doggie, puzzles, books, and more that I can't even remember.

Our house is really starting to look like it's run by the kids. Toys and baby equipment every where! It's ok. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)