Two

few weeks ago, N turned two.

This birthday was extra special because last year we had thought we would have her home with us, but we didn't, and we missed her first birthday.

This year we had a little family party for her the Saturday after her birthday. My parents, my youngest brother, and his family came over for burgers, brats, cake, and ice cream.

I made a chocolate cake (how could her first ever birthday cake not be chocolate?) from How to Cook Everything with vanilla icing. It was an okay cake, but the Hershey recipes I have are better. I tried (twice) to make the Pioneer Woman's Best Frosting Ever, but I could not get it to the right consistency. Not sure what the problem was. C was sent to the grocery store to score some frosting in a can for back-up after the first try, and it's what I ended up going with. Which irked me a bit, but in the grand scheme, I just wanted this cake to have frosting.

By the time we were done with dinner and into cake time, N was over the high chair scene, so she sat in my lap and thoroughly enjoyed her cake.

Then we gave her ice cream for the very first time. She was intrigued. Check out the look on her face! She likes ice cream, don't get me wrong. But at this point she likes cake better. Just like her mama.

Then we opened presents. We got her just a few things, LOL! Grandmom and Grandpa gave her a kitchen that she loves to play with.

Uncle Gary and Aunt Brenda gave her an ABC caterpillar, which was particularly awesome because she had one when we first brought her home, and loved it, but then it broke about two months later. So now she has a new one.

C and I gave her three books. Two are flap books and the third is a Wonder Pet book with buttons to push for sounds. We had a hard time getting her to focus on anything else after she got that.

We also got her some musical instruments (xylophone and tambourine), a shopping cart and play food to go along with the kitchen, and a baby doll with a high chair and crib. I was going to get her some hats to play with, but forgot while we were shopping and still haven't picked any up. There is a toy hard hat at Kindermusik that she is completely in love with, so I want to get her a hard hat, fireman's hat, and perhaps a cowboy hat. She has a sun hat she plays with quite a bit.

For her birthday she also received a pink stuffed elephant from her Auntie Liz along with some nursery rhyme flash card type things with colors and numbers on them. And some beautiful outfits. Auntie Liz has excellent taste.

The next week we decided to have Knit Night at my friend Dawn's house, by the pool. I decided to bring N along since it was starting earlier than usual and we did a little Rockstar birthday for her. She loves swimming and didn't want to go when Daddy came to take her home. I stayed to knit and visit past her bedtime.

More cake. This time I made chocolate with chocolate icing, both recipes from my Hershey cookbook and very, very chocolatey.

Our two year old. Sometimes it seems like we've had her forever and then sometimes it feels like we've hardly had her long at all. She's growing so fast!