Grace Turns Two!

Grace turned two on Sunday, May 31!   How fun it has been to watch her grow up and see her own personality develop.  She is definitely one of kind, as is every person that God creates!

We had fun decorating with bright, spring colors and prepared one of the kid's favorite dinners:  homemade pizza and fresh summer fruit.

Grace doesn't seem to get all that excited about dessert time as she is a healthy eater when it comes to the main meal (which I guess isn't all that much of problem... :) )  So when contemplating what to have for her birthday party, we decided to forgo the traditional cake route and serve ice cream sandwiches, an item that rarely makes it into the grocery cart for both families!

That turned out to be a really fun choice which everyone enjoyed - including the birthday girl.  And we still managed to do birthday candles:

Grace didn't seem to quite know what to do after we finished singing "Happy Birthday", so aunts and siblings had to offer some assistance in blowing out the candles. 

But once they were removed, she had no trouble figuring out what to do next! :)

While the three younger children had their baths, Dad, Essie, Benjamin, and Sarah enjoyed a rousing game of Aggravation.  At one point it got so loud that me and Hannah had to join as observers and watch the action.  Benjamin ended up winning the exciting game!

And then came present time.  It was all the adults could do to keep the eager siblings from opening all the presents for Grace, but they were certainly there when assistance was needed.  With a little time, though, she eventually mastered the art.

One of the gifts that Grace received was a small package of Post-It notes with pictures on them.  She particularly enjoys such things but rarely ever gets to use them because they are easily wasted.  But this package of sticky notes was all hers, and she could do whatever she wanted with them.  It was no surprise but still quite amusing when a few minutes after they were out of the package, she was already taking them a part and saying, "Owl!  Owl!  Owl!"  Of course, the same picture was on all of them, but she had to discover that herself - and each new sheet warranted an enthusiastic response.

What a fun evening together!  Children are truly a blessing from the Lord!