Two-Year Photos

Officially two years old! Well two fingers and a thumb anyway. Sweet thing, she is concentrating so hard on getting the fingers right. You can see the focus in her eyes.

Halloween Parties and Trick or Treating

What a pretty princess. We decided to call her an Asian Princess in her lovely kimono that M brought back for her from Tokyo. We gave her a little face makeup, some chopsticks for her hair and she was set.

First, on Saturday afternoon we attended a neighborhood party at the club house. There C got to decorate cookies, make a necklace and a bracelet, play with Play-Doh, color and eat lots of treats. We saw a few folks that we have met along our walks and playground outings. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes and mingle a bit. We only stayed 45 minutes or so because the event time frame was right smack in the middle of nap time. But it was plenty of time for a 2-year old to party.

Sunday was Halloween and the night for trick-or-treating. M and I took our Asian Princess around to about five houses and then joined our neighbors at the bottom of our driveway to hand out treats. They set up a fire pit and we all sat around chatting while the treat-seekers came around our cul-de-sac. M and I dressed as Boston Red Sox fans since we didn't plan on any other kind of costumes at all.

We were originally told to expect over 300 kids...but all in all we got about half of that. We were prepared with so much candy that we ended up handing out three or four pieces to each kid toward the end of the evening.

"Get some cake!"

Proudly holding two fingers up with big smiles, C turned 2 this weekend. We did the best we could to make a big deal about her birthday without really knowing anyone in town. C didn't really seem to mind. She knew it was her special weekend. Anytime anyone said, "Happy birthday!" to her she replied: "Get some cake!"

Friday was the actual day and we went to the gymnasium and play place to celebrate with some new friends. Little John and Kate, both 2 years old and their older siblings Will and Meg joined us in the snack room for cupcakes and a birthday song. But really, the morning was all about the trampolines and slides for the kids. C had an absolute blast. She even got a little present from John and Will--a Noah's Ark with building blocks inside. Very fun, and a surprise since I wasn't expecting anyone to give gifts. It was such a lovely gesture. Thanks new friends!

Saturday we got some pictures taken at a portrait studio. C did amazingly well. I wasn't sure how she would do since she got school pictures taken only a few days earlier and didn't crack a smile at all. The studio photographer and I teamed up and got her to laugh and have a great time. We get the photos at the end of the week, so you'll have to wait to see them. They are too adorable for words...in a proud parent's opinion.

Later that afternoon, we were invited over to a neighbor's house for dinner. C had a great time checking out all the toys they had over there for her to play with. She especially loved the Xylophone, got the mallets out and knew exactly what to do. She even knew what it was called without any help from me.

Sunday M was home so we celebrated all over again and C finally got to open her presents. We Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa V. so they could join in on the celebration. They got to sing happy birthday to her, see her open her gifts and watch as she devoured a messy cupcake. It was like they were in the room with us. I love Skype.

After presents she proceeded to play with her new toys for at least an hour before it was almost time for a nap. When she awoke she had one more present to check out...a new tricycle from her other set of grandparents. She couldn't wait to take it for a spin around the neighborhood. So that is exactly what we did. She rode it all the way to the park and back, dinging the little bell the whole way.

I would say she thoroughly enjoyed her special day. Enjoy this little video...C sure did.