In keeping with my recent tradition of non-linear blogging, I will backtrack just a bit to write about Hayden's birthday. She turned 2 on July 12th with plenty of toddler friendly fanfare. There were balloons...
and presents....
and cupcakes.
I think she had a great time! Despite still preferring to fill in the blanks of the Happy Birthday song with Poppop, she did learn to fill in Hayden, after we had talked about her birthday. (for the record, she still likes to sing Happy Birthday Hayden randomly, even two weeks after her birthday!) Grammy, Granddad and Grandma were all in attendance for her party - a lovely treat to have so much family around. Our friends, Sarah and Brad, Brittany and Mandy, Scott and Noah, all came to her low-key afternoon grilling party. In honor of Hayden, we had hot dogs and corn on the cob, two of her favorite foods these days. There was also pasta salad, chips, fruit salad and plenty of beverages. Hayden and Noah both had a good time eating together at their special kid-sized table.
One of the big hits of the day was the new sandbox from Grammy and Granddad. We assembled it sometime late morning. Hayden was ready to go in right away, even before we were done pouring the sand in. She quickly adapted to the "shoes off" rule, telling anyone who came near the sandbox to take their shoes off. (and yes, she's in her pajamas - getting dressed in a real clothes was not a birthday necessity till party time.)
During the party, Hayden had a good time. She even managed to work in an "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" moment when she didn't want to share her chalk with Noah. (actually there was an earlier one when she introduced Noah to her new sandbox. I think she would have preferred he stand on the edge and watch her enjoy it, rather than jumping in and using her toys. But she did manage to share... eventually, after some time spent in her happy place rubbing her belly and sucking her thumb.) I can't remember quite how the chalk incident went; I think Noah went after a color that Hayden considered off-limits. Luckily Noah is really good at appeasing Hayden and handed it back. He even followed up with a hug to help her feel better! (Notice her tears!)
But again, she still needed some happy place time, while carefully clutching the chalk. :)
Hayden had a blast opening all her presents. She even seemed excited about all her new clothes (and she got some really cute new clothes! Thanks everyone!). She would pull them out and lay them flat, in a pile, very neatly.
She also was quite tickled (literally?) by the "tickle me elmo" that Sarah and Brad got her. I'm not sure she quite knew what to make of him (Blizzard was a bit confused too!) but she laughed at him a lot.
After each present opening, we encouraged her to give the giver(s) a hug. Noah got a particularly big one. (yes, it's just SO cute when they hug, we have to document every single one!)
After presents, we did cupcakes with sprinkles as Hayden had requested. (When asked what kind of cake she wanted, all she would say was sprinkles - I threw on some mini-marshmallows too, because she likes those too!) We even did candles this year and Hayden did a good job blowing them out, although I'm not sure she understood our instructions of make a wish! She also really enjoyed (as did everyone else!) the homemade blueberry ice cream that Mandy brought along. And of course, she tried to mooch more from others - as usual Sarah was a target, and let her have a bite of her cupcake.
Once dessert was done, we let her open the present from us, a baby stroller and I'm proud to report that we knew what she would like! She wanted it out immediately and pushed it all around the patio at a rapid pace, laughing when she'd run into things or accidently (on purpose) make it fall over. First Elmo got a ride, and then when we went out front to say goodbye, baby doll got to take a turn. I think Noah really wanted to try it out, but Hayden wasn't ready to share quite yet.
But even if she wouldn't share the baby stroller, she did give him one more BIG hug to say good bye and thank you for coming. This time there were even kisses on cheeks!
What a great birthday!! A big thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! Can you believe she's two already? Check out how much she's grown from about 2 months to 2 years!
and presents....
and cupcakes.
I think she had a great time! Despite still preferring to fill in the blanks of the Happy Birthday song with Poppop, she did learn to fill in Hayden, after we had talked about her birthday. (for the record, she still likes to sing Happy Birthday Hayden randomly, even two weeks after her birthday!) Grammy, Granddad and Grandma were all in attendance for her party - a lovely treat to have so much family around. Our friends, Sarah and Brad, Brittany and Mandy, Scott and Noah, all came to her low-key afternoon grilling party. In honor of Hayden, we had hot dogs and corn on the cob, two of her favorite foods these days. There was also pasta salad, chips, fruit salad and plenty of beverages. Hayden and Noah both had a good time eating together at their special kid-sized table.
One of the big hits of the day was the new sandbox from Grammy and Granddad. We assembled it sometime late morning. Hayden was ready to go in right away, even before we were done pouring the sand in. She quickly adapted to the "shoes off" rule, telling anyone who came near the sandbox to take their shoes off. (and yes, she's in her pajamas - getting dressed in a real clothes was not a birthday necessity till party time.)
During the party, Hayden had a good time. She even managed to work in an "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" moment when she didn't want to share her chalk with Noah. (actually there was an earlier one when she introduced Noah to her new sandbox. I think she would have preferred he stand on the edge and watch her enjoy it, rather than jumping in and using her toys. But she did manage to share... eventually, after some time spent in her happy place rubbing her belly and sucking her thumb.) I can't remember quite how the chalk incident went; I think Noah went after a color that Hayden considered off-limits. Luckily Noah is really good at appeasing Hayden and handed it back. He even followed up with a hug to help her feel better! (Notice her tears!)
But again, she still needed some happy place time, while carefully clutching the chalk. :)
Hayden had a blast opening all her presents. She even seemed excited about all her new clothes (and she got some really cute new clothes! Thanks everyone!). She would pull them out and lay them flat, in a pile, very neatly.
She also was quite tickled (literally?) by the "tickle me elmo" that Sarah and Brad got her. I'm not sure she quite knew what to make of him (Blizzard was a bit confused too!) but she laughed at him a lot.
After each present opening, we encouraged her to give the giver(s) a hug. Noah got a particularly big one. (yes, it's just SO cute when they hug, we have to document every single one!)
After presents, we did cupcakes with sprinkles as Hayden had requested. (When asked what kind of cake she wanted, all she would say was sprinkles - I threw on some mini-marshmallows too, because she likes those too!) We even did candles this year and Hayden did a good job blowing them out, although I'm not sure she understood our instructions of make a wish! She also really enjoyed (as did everyone else!) the homemade blueberry ice cream that Mandy brought along. And of course, she tried to mooch more from others - as usual Sarah was a target, and let her have a bite of her cupcake.
Once dessert was done, we let her open the present from us, a baby stroller and I'm proud to report that we knew what she would like! She wanted it out immediately and pushed it all around the patio at a rapid pace, laughing when she'd run into things or accidently (on purpose) make it fall over. First Elmo got a ride, and then when we went out front to say goodbye, baby doll got to take a turn. I think Noah really wanted to try it out, but Hayden wasn't ready to share quite yet.
But even if she wouldn't share the baby stroller, she did give him one more BIG hug to say good bye and thank you for coming. This time there were even kisses on cheeks!
What a great birthday!! A big thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! Can you believe she's two already? Check out how much she's grown from about 2 months to 2 years!
2 comments:
yay for hayden's birthday!! we had such a good time. I agree, toddler hugs are so cute!! i love the pic of the kiss on the cheek cause it looks like "hay-hee" wasn't quite sure what to think about it. awww, what a cutie.
Yes, Happy PopPop...err..I mean, Hayden! :) She looks like a glowing birthday girl - I especially like the sleepy balloon grin!
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