Ella's Birthday!

We had a wonderful 3-day weekend, welcoming Grandma Cathy for a vist and celebrating Ella's 2nd birthday! Ella turned 2 on August 31st and we celebrated with Grandma and the Karlinsey family (my cousin's family). They came over for a pasta lunch - Ella was thrilled because "Brynny" (Brynne) came over. We had a wonderful time at lunch and then enjoyed a leisurely afternoon opening gifts a little at a time. It was so fun to watch Ella open a present and get a chance to really enjoy it before moving on to the next one.

Ella checks out her sit and spin with Braden.

I found this toy train at a garage sale - it has so many fun toys and Ella's had tons of fun with it the past few days.
Dad helps Ella with her new tricycle. She was so excited to ride it!

The wheels are a bit far, but she's getting the hang of it!

Here's her friend "Brynny". Ella gets so excited whenever she sees her cousins.

I love this picture of Mom and Dayna together.

The Karlinsey's gave Ella the new Laurie Berkner cd and some instruments - here she is dancing to the new tunes.

We had ice cream sandwiches for dessert because I had a cake planned for her party. Grandma was sharing her's with Ella because she'd already had one, but Ella didn't really understand the concept.

We had a party with our friends and neighbors on Monday. The day turned out a bit hotter than I'd hoped, but we had a great time relaxing in the backyard while the kids ran around. Some of the dads even got into the action and ran around the yard with the kids. We loved spending the afternoon with Grandma and our friends!
The party had an animal theme, with a Curious George "Happy Birthday" banner, animal confetti and party hats, and zoo pals plates and cups.

Here's Ella enjoying the afternoon with Grandma and her friends.

My first foray into birthday cake making. Ella loves puppies, so I made a dalmation cake.

Paw print cupcakes for the kids. This worked really well to cute down (a bit) on the mess.

Ella blowing out her candle - sort of. She mostly looked confused and just wanted to have some cake.

Yum! Cake and ice cream!

Our friend Mark ran around the yard with his son and our friend, Hayden. Ella watched and clapped.