Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Okay so maybe I did wait until Wednesday...

...but this is going to be anything but wordless. I've got a lot to cover. Isn't it just like me to have a semi-big event (Kate's party) and have it throw me out of the blogging world for a week? The smallest break from routine and this chic is out of whack!



First things first - The milk situation is under control. It never left an odor, thank goodness. I think the Shop Vac was the key. Thanks to everyone for the advice, I was ready and armed with my vinegar just in case!


So here I am trying to post about Kate's birthday and my foyer still looks like this:





Partied on Saturday... Bags still hanging out on Wednesday. Clearly I have my priorities in order.



Also, an overabundance of photos were taken on this very special day, so be prepared. Kate had her own personal paparazzi going on and there's a million pics to prove it.

And let me apologize in advance for being in so many of these pictures. BUT, in my defense, it was my little girl's birthday and I am her mama, so I think that I had a God-given right to be all up in her biz - at least while she thinks I'm still kinda cool?!


I'm gonna try and save (most of) my sappy I-can't-believe-how-time-flies-my-little-baby-is-growing-up story for the baby book, but I can't help but do a little reflecting.


Two years ago at this time I was big as a Buick and almost positive my neck was with child, too. Seriously, I just knew it had its own due date. After being a week overdue, I was induced (yay for giving me time to shower and shave!) on June 12th and my life changed forever.



Kate Page has brought more joy to our lives than I ever imagined possible. Holding her for the first time took my breath away, and I've never felt more proud of anything or anyone in my entire life.


I remember not wanting to leave the hospital because I was so scared I wouldn't know what to do with her. I came close to asking my nurse if she would just ride home with us for a few days until I got the hang of it. I was a total nutcase, I'm sure. But when we made it home, I felt more at ease. She had a way of looking at me that told me I was doing everything just right.


I love that girl.



Skip ahead...


Now we've celebrated her second birthday. For her first birthday party I ordered everything online and had it shipped to my house two months in advance. This go around, I went and bought everything the week of her party. I'm definitely more laid back than I used to be, maybe a little too much?


Since her actual birthday fell on Friday, I couldn't let the day go by without having a little something for her. So I hooked her up with a cupcake decorated with none other than Dora and Diego. Unfortunately for Dora, Kate calls her Doo-Doo.






On Saturday we had a party for friends and family.

Event parking? One could easily be led to believe that we went all out with orange tape and stakes to guide our guests to their parking spots.

Not quite.

The stakes have actually been a permanent fixture in our wanna-be lawn for about two months now. They're part of M to the Izz-A's (and his brother and father's) project, and what I like to refer to as Operation Great Green Hope. It's pretty much Operation False Hope at this point, because they've planted grass seed twice, and well, as you can see, it's still in the seed stage. This all stems from the fact they found it necessary to install a commercial-sized drainage system, for our family-sized land.

















I thought for sure Dan knew Party Etiquette Rule #1: When invited as a guest to a party, never take it upon yourself to invite and bring your own guests of sorts, no matter how small they are.








I wanted to do something different with Kate's cake this year and decided to decorate it myself. I used all different kinds of candy. Most of the decorations we made by just sticking the candy into the icing and creating a design with them. The only part that took a little effort was creating the letters.
The letters were made by rolling out onto wax paper Starbursts and Airheads candy and then using lettered cookie cutters. FYI: It helps to warm the candy just a bit in the microwave before trying to roll it.

The kids loved eating all of the candy off their slice of cake. And all the leftover candy went to fill the pinata...and Mommy's purse! Sometimes I'm that loud person in church unwrapping candy. But then all you have to do is cough a little and everyone excuses you because they think you're unwrapping a cough drop.










I thought it would be neat to compare a pic from her 1st birthday party. Wow! Look how much she's grown! One year makes such a big difference.

Kate's 1st Birthday 2008









































31 comments:

Pamela said...

She is so dang adorable! You are such a creative lil' mama!
I didn't know that the "cough trick" was common knowledge! :)

Sweet Simplicity said...

She has changed so much in a year! Such a cutie pie! Love that you mentioned the coughing to cover up wrapper noise.

JAMIE said...

So adorable!!

Mandy Rose said...

I just love your little family! Kate is too darn cute! And wow how much she has changed since ONE! Happy Birthday to your baby girl! Great pictures!

Girl Meets Beau said...

Awww this is adorable! You all seriously seem like the most fun family!! Is it sad that Kate has more friends than me?? HA She is quite the cutie and it looks like you all had such a good time!

Angela said...

Oh, I love pictures of you and Kate. I can't wait to do posts like this about my own little girl!

Jamie Lynn said...

she is so cute:)

&& the slide into the pond is a real neat idea.. i wish when i was a kid my brothers woulda thought about that when we lived on the "old farm".

Love it:)

&& i love the good pictures your camera takes! what kind is it?

Kerri said...

Many comments:
1. That is a great pic of us...but why would I EVER BUY A WHALE TANK TOP? I never noticed how re-tarted it looked on an adult until today...Can you photoshop that out?
2. Kate looks SOOO much older than last year...like a little girl.
3. Totally proves my point...water wings and ear plugs in EVERY PIC!
4. It was a great summer party and we can't wait to go back to the ol pond:-)

Megan said...

I can't believe how much Kate has changed in one year! Wow! Loved all the pictures, it looks like one heck of a party!

The Panke's said...

Love the cake!

That's Mrs. Russell said...

Beautiful pics! looks like she had a wonderful bday and the cake is amazing! So creative.

Bridget said...

Happy bday Kate! cute cake:)

Abbi said...

the party turned out so good! we had a blast!!!
kate is becoming a little girl!! she's adorable!!!
great pics!!

Elizabeth said...

Great party!This almost made me teary eyed....I guess I'm feeling emotional or something, but my daughter turned 18mos. old today and it makes me kind of sad b/c in 6 months she will be 2!!! I'm not ready for that. I wish she'd stay this size forever!

Anonymous said...

Kate's very lucky to have a mommy like you. The party looks like it was so much fun. Thanks for sharing how you made the letters on the cake- that's a great idea!

Molly said...

Looks like a blast! Happy Birthday to Kate!

tickledpink said...

What an adorable party, and Kate looked so cute! I have to ask what are in those ice cream cones? They look so YUMMY! I thought maybe it was a brownie with pink and green icing, but just wanted to ask because they look fun! Great job on the party! Happy Birthday Kate!

Unknown said...

Hey! I love the candy on the cake idea! What a fun birthday for her! Have a great week Hollie!

Rebecca Jo said...

Look how much she's grown from the first year to the 2nd!!! Isnt that amazing!

You did a fantastic job on that cake! Love all the different candy on it!

Kate's expression looking at her gifts is precious... PLAY-DO.... looks like the best gift EVER to her :)

Anonymous said...

The candy idea is so neat! I wouldn't have the patience for it - but it turned out GREAT!

She's adorable! Love the pictures!

Anonymous said...

What a cutie!! Looks like a lot of fun and I love the cake. Very creative. :)

Abby♥ said...

Happy Birthday, Kate! I can't get over how adorable she is.:) She just gets cuter every day.

Alicia W. said...

What a great party you threw! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the creativity in the cake you did. You go girl!!
Happy birthday to your sweet lil Kate.

Perfectly Imperfect said...

Looks like a great party! Happy (belated!) Birthday to your sweet girl!!

Heather said...

I love looking at all of your pictures and don't feel bad about being in a lot of the pictures, your hot!! :) Kate is a cutie and I love where you live. I would so want to hang out there everyday! Looks like a great time!

MiMi said...

It looks like an absolutely perfect day spent celebrating with family and friends! It doesn't get much better than that!

Happy Second Birthday, Kate!

The Pink Owl said...

Kate is such a beautiful girl! And that cake? Amazing!!!

Kari said...

What a great party! You did great with the cake. I never would have attempted that! :)

Madison Sanders said...

Kate looks ready for summer in that cute dress!

By looking at all of the pics, everybody had a great time. Happy Birthday Kate!

Trina said...

That cake is AWESOME! Might have to borrow that idea :) Thx! Love all the pics!

Kassidy's Korner said...

Aw....I wish we could have been there!! Kate is absolutely gorgeous and I hate that we missed her 2nd birthday. I guess that's part of what sucks about being 9 hours away from home, huh?!