Happy Birthday to Brynna!

Brynna has had a marvelous second birthday.


She's old enough to sort of understand the concept, and for a couple of weeks now she has been saying "two!" when asked how old she is, and we have often heard her singing "Happy Birthday to Brynna" or "Happy Birthday to B." We left out the presents part when describing the celebration, but she definitely knew that we would sing the song, and wear the party hats that great-grandfather Dickie sent.

Once we realized earlier this week that I wasn't going to be on call today (I'm going to try to go back to work Monday), we decided to put together a very low-key little party, and invited two of Brynna's friends: J and mom A from daycare, and C with her parents and new baby sister from just down the street.

Here's B with "big brother" J, getting ready to party!


Several months ago, my mom promised to take care of the cake, taking this enormous responsibility entirely off of my shoulders. She's been plotting and planning ever since, and here is what greeted Brynna when she came downstairs from her nap this afternoon:



She was thrilled!


She did engage in some quality inspection before the party (it passed):


And there were even matching Elmo cupcakes:


Brynna enjoyed her promised rendition of Happy Birthday with a huge grin:


And then everyone dug in:


Brynna experimented with some different party hats during the cake-eating part of the festivities:


J, who had his own birthday a few months ago, then instructed Brynna that it was time to open presents, and helped her get the unwrapping started. He made a Build-A-Bear for her, which sings "Twinkle Twinkle" in J's voice. She loves it!


C gifted B with a fabulous train, sure to be a favorite:


M and Deen brought a toolbox, and B appears determined to take after her father in this way as well:


And Brynna got her allotment of snuggles with A, as well, which was quite a treat for a Saturday:


All in all, a grand success. The kids then spent a couple of hours gallivanting in the yard, playing on the jungle gym, while the non-supervisory grownups got to sit and chat for awhile. If I'd known it would go so well and that people would stay for several hours, I would have arranged something for dinner, rather than just nibbles!

It's hard to believe that our little B is two. It's amazing to watch her grow!