Marion's 2nd Birthday Party

It's been almost a month, yet I still can't believe that my sweet baby is 2. She is her own little person now. She's spunky, really spunky. She's not a "pleaser," she definitely would rather do her own thing; but she is so loving, that she usually gets away with whatever it is.

For her birthday, I wanted her to have a nice party, and to me, that meant a party at our home. Kids these days (and parents too, it seems), expect lots of entertainment at little ones birthday parties. This stresses me out!! I watched the weather the whole week before, it went back and forth from pleasant and cool, to cold and rainy. I put off renting a jumpy until the last minute, when I rented one that would fit inside our garage. Whew, done stressing about the weather. I was having a jumpy INSIDE -kindy funky- but hey, the weather wouldn't matter.

I shopped and planned. I ordered a cute cake, cookie favors, bought and made many decorations, and ordered plenty of food. I decorated my tables, filled and hung a pinata inside, and cleaned like a mad woman! I even made chocolate covered, heavily sprinkled pretzels, and called them fairy wands :)

Here are some pictures from her party...
















Well, Marion had a wonderful time at her party. She had plenty of little friends to celebrate with her, and everything went well. I thought the party was a total success, until Sunday night. Yes, the party was Saturday morning, a house full of happy kids. Sunday night, half of those same sweet kids were puking with an awful stomach virus, including my Marion. It lasted a week for Marion. She had dirty issues in her diaper through the next Saturday. Ugh!!! So much effort and money into her party... and I cried the whole next week about it!!

On the bright side, at least Marion is young enough that she wasn't worried about the aftermath of her party, even if her mama was broken hearted!

irish italian parade and festival

This morning we took the girls to St.Thomas' annual Irish Italian Parade. It was both girls' first parade and we had so much fun! Grace got tons of beads, doubloons, moon pies, and even some cabbage and potatoes! One car had a girl in a green gown riding in it; I pointed out the "princess" to Grace. After the parade, I explained to her that many of the kids in the parade went to Sacred Heart, and that when she starts school, she'll be able to ride in a float and throw prizes too. She quickly answered, "I want to ride in the one with the princess!"

These glasses were courtesy of the Saenger Theater's Buddy Holly float.

Marion was even awake for some of the party!

...but she didn't last long!

Grace used my Mardi Gras bag that I got when I was her age! I'll make her one of her own for next year!

Later in the day, we went to 4 o'clock mass and then to the Irish Italian Festival. It was really an awful day out - rained all day - but the kids still had fun in the kiddie area...

Grace with her friend Meredith after getting their faces painted.

Grace in her "cooker hat" that she wrote her name on!

rock star

Last night we hit up Grace's favorite late night hangout, Walnut Circle. Grace danced in front of the stage for an hour and a half, with only a few 20 second power naps on Nana's lap.

I guess professional videographers don't use crackberries - excuse the poor video quality - but you get the idea... she was having a total rockstar moment!

for me?! watch her take a big bow when everyone starts clapping!



notice how she picks up the flowers that her fans have thrown on stage!

Watching Grace dance last night, I couldn't help but admire the lack of self-conciousness and insecurity that she had out there. I wish she could stay that way forever, although I know it's just part of the innocence of being a 3 year old. It would have taken me a couple glasses a whole bottle of wine to have been out there boogie-ing down the way she was!

As for little Marion, she slept right through the whole party - not a peep!

grace's nightlife

On Saturday night, we went with Nana and Paw Paw to our favorite kid friendly nightspot, Walnut Circle. Grace loves to dance and is always looking for a partner. The catch is, Grace doesn't dance on the sidelines, she has to be center stage! Here are some pictures...

Grace dancing with Paw Paw