The Birthday Pics...

Here is a little synopsis of Leila's 2nd birthday...



We had the BEST day! I took the day off work and started it off with huckleberry pancakes with my b-day girl. Leila was so excited that her big day was finally here! After breakfast I got to go get my hair done (Finally!) while Leila spent some quality time with her daddy. Following a nap and some lunch, we headed out to our town's beautiful carousel with Leila's cousin Beau, for their FIRST carousel ride!

Pre-ride, getting excited (well, mommy is anyway!)...


On the move! Leila wasn't quite sure what to think...


After the carousel ride we headed home for some last minute party prep before the rest of the family arrived. We kept it pretty simple for Leila's party. We had family over for BBQ hamburgers & hot dogs, potato salad & pasta salad, some delightful punch, and of course, delicious dessert consisting of lemon raspberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (made by Andy) & chocolate cupcake pops (made my me!). Check out these cupcake pops/balls I made! For those who know me, this is totally not me. I am not a baker in any way, shape, or form so I impressed myself even!

Thank you Bakerella for the great idea!






All of our family had arrived by 4:30pm and at 4:47 (Leila's birth time), we all sang the happy birthday song to Leila. It was pretty hilarious because she was standing in the middle of a circle of us and started smiling really big and then ran away during the song.

After chowing down on some goods, it was present time! I loved every second of watching her open her gifts because she truly enjoyed it and was so into it! She wasn't all about tearing everything open... as she opened each one she wanted to play with her gift before moving on to the next. She really appreciated everything she got and was soooooooooo happy!







And finally, some family pics...

Leila ate 3 cake pops that day!


This was the best family pic we got. I'm not a huge fan, but it's better than nothing!


Leila's party went on until about 7pm. The rest of the evening was spent playing with all her new toys! Despite being completely exhausted by bedtime, Leila was still too excited to settle down. I put her to bed with her new dolls and little backpack she got and I kept checking on her - every time she was just sitting in bed playing away. It was so cute that I couldn't get frustrated. I think she finally conked out around 9pm.

Overall, we had a GREAT day and I can't wait until she turns 3! (okay, maybe this is a lie...)

:-)