Happy, Happy Birthday!

Last week Livie turned two! I know I'm just like every other mom using all the cliches about time passing too quickly and children growing too fast, but I seriously cannot believe my little baby has gone from this:

 to this:

 
 
in what seems so short a time!

We kept her birthday fairly low key this year. We went to the park and ate a picnic lunch and rode on the carousel and ate cotton candy.

Flattering, I know.

We also had a little party later in the evening with some friends, the Cedenos. These are people we've been friends with for years and we're so glad we know them! Their little boy and Livie have become the best of friends. They are so so cute together! We are sad because they are moving next week and we won't be able to see them and play with them much any more. But we're glad they came over for dinner and to help us celebrate Livie's birthday.

We had a yummy dinner filled with some of Livie's favorite things: hotdogs, corn on the cob, tomatoes and carrots, pasta {I made a pasta salad that I ended up not liking and neither did Livie - oh, well}, strawberries & cantaloupe, Jell-O {the first time she'd ever had jigglers - they were a definite success!} chips and, of course, cupcakes. She also got a ton of presents, including some necklaces {you can see her wearing one of the green ones in the photos below}, a Hello Kitty purse {Hello Kitty is another favorite around here} and hat, an apron that I made her that she doesn't care about {someday I'll get her to wear it and get a photo}, an Elmo book, an Etch-a-Sketch, and a Leaptop {a little laptop computer for kids - she loves it and it is courtesie of my grandparents}. She also got an adorable little Hello Kitty dress and pants from the Cedenos.

Opening one of her presents.

This is her excitement over one of her very favorite presents, an Elmo book.

Giving her dear friend a sweet hug. Or perhaps I should say getting a hug from her friend. That little guy loves hugs!

Last year I really went all out with the decorations and food and theme but this year I kept it a little simpler. Livie is a pretty big fan of Elmo so I did a couple of Elmo themed things. Maybe next year we'll do something bigger but for now that works for us.

I also had to do some cookie monster cupcakes because he's my favorite and one of Livie's. She calls him "num num"!

This was Livie's face when I showed her the Elmo cupcakes. This is the face she always makes when she says "Buhbo!!" {translation: Elmo} She sure likes that guy.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! You are a light in our lives and we are so happy you are ours! We love you!