The Big 2

Here is our big girl about an hour after she officially turned 2! The look on her face says, "Mom, it's too early for pictures."

 I tried to do Meili's favorite things for her birthday. We took a bath, painted (in that order), watched a movie, had an omelette and grapes for lunch, and macaroni and cheese for dinner.

 Josh dressed up for work, and he tried so hard, but I kept telling him that he is too attractive to really pull off being a nerd.

 With everything I tried for Meili's birthday, Josh still won. Her brought balloons home for her, and that really would have completely satisfied her.

 From the moment Meili saw this costume, she knew she wanted nothing to do with it. We've tried a few times this month to get her comfortable with it, to no avail. Finally, on Halloween, after seeing a few kids come to our house and leave with treats, Meili was ready to go trick-or-treating. (It could have something to do with the dog outside that she wanted to see.) The above picture really isn't accurate, because she was upset about having to have her picture taken but not the costume at that point.

 That's more like it!

I LOVED trick-or-treating with Meili. The three of us went to probably ten houses, and she seemed to really like it. We practiced saying "trick-or-treat" all month, but she never said it at the houses because she was too shy. However, at most of the houses, she would say "Thanks," really quietly as we were leaving-I was happier about that then if she had said "trick-or-treat."

 When we got home, we opened presents. Don't judge me for her outfit. I had something else in mind, but it was her birthday, so she got pick.

 Love the classic "reading with daddy" pictures that we seem to get every holiday.

 Oh yeah, don't judge me for my hair either. It was Halloween okay!

 "What a great birthday present Mommy! My very own Big Girl Potty!"

 I have to tell you the story of this house... I know none of you will care, but this shows the great lengths that parents go through for their children (or to save a few bucks I guess.) I've been looking for a little house all month, with little success. I finally went to Kmart-which I found had the best toy selection in Cache Valley, who would've thought? I literally sat on the floor of the store for a half hour debating between the Disney Princess House or the Little People House. The Disney Princess House was $5 more, but it also sang songs, so in the end, it won. I debated the whole way home if I made the right decision. The next day, I took it back and got the Little People House. A few days later, I was in Walmart and saw the Disney Princess House, and it was even cheaper than at Kmart. I went home and checked the internet to see if Walmart sold the Little People House. Which it did, for $10 cheaper. The site said that if I ordered it online, it would be at the store that day. (Which, in my mind, meant they already had it at the store.) I immediately drove to the Walmart on the other end of town, and found the Little People House, but the price listed was only $6 cheaper than I had paid. Ugh! I went to customer service and they said that they can't price-match their own online prices, and I would have to order it online and then wait for a few hours for them to "stock it" (even though I already had it in my hands.) So I walked away, bought the house to save six dollars, and took the other one back to Kmart again. I'm sure I spent that in gas going back and forth to each of the stores. However... Meili has loved the house. So I guess it's worth it.

Moving on...
On Saturday, we had a family birthday party for Meili. Any guesses on the theme?

 Pooh! How'd you know?

I stressed and stressed all week, (and worried about the dumbest things mind you) we got the house as ready as we could, then we went to the Aggie Football game. What every 2 year old would want for her birthday, right? 

 The two cute cousins in their Aggie gear.

 Pooh cake, Huny Pot sugar cookies, and Tigger Tael chocolate covered pretzels.

 Teep, Grayce, and Chalisse

 Marlyse, Bren, and Amy

 Jake, Alex, and Chris

 Josh, Jared, and Kami

 Greg and Carson

 Dad and Emily

 Shasta

 Ruby

 The birthday girl!

 MaryElizabeth, Sara, and Nick

 Jensen (behind the book), Cherilee, Carson, and Lou

 Kaleena, Meili, and Mom

 The birthday cake. Again, we practiced blowing out the candles all month, but she couldn't quite get it the day of.

 Someday we'll have to break it to her that this trash can is not a hat.

 She wouldn't hold still so we could model her skirt!

 This picture is priceless for Ruby in the corner if for nothing else.

 Her Jazz outfit is a little big now, but no problem, Josh will make sure we get our use out of it. He may have a new favorite.

I shouldn't have stressed so much, because everything went so well, and Meili is so lucky to have such a great family! I planned the party pretty last minute because I kept going back and forth as to whether I wanted to put in the effort, plus both sides of our family have a lot going on right now. With that being said, I think we had a good turn out. We were only missing Josh's sister, Liz, who was out of town, and my sister, Bethany (and her family), who has a brand new baby boy and a 3 hour drive is not in the cards just yet.

As if you haven't already seen enough, one last picture of Meili modeling her new dress (and Mommy's hat) before church today.

Everyday we love this little girl a little more, so here's to another great year Sweetie Pea!