On Saturday, March 31st we celebrated our big girl's 2nd birthday! We chose a Pancakes & Pajamas theme. This girl loves any food & clothes so it works. I wanted to choose any easy theme/party so it was perfect! Nora really, honestly enjoyed it! She was a perfect birthday girl...from greeting all the guests to eating in her spot. She even gave them hugs for her presents! The only downside to this party was the time. 9am on a Saturday isn't the easiest. We had to get up extra early to get the room set up & the guests had wake up early to make it to the party! Aaron's mom helped us rent a room at the Leroy Springs Complex for the party since our house is not quite big enough for all our family & friends to come eat breakfast. It worked out well! Since we all know I have a hard time choosing which pictures to post, I made a few collages. I'm hoping you can click on it to make it bigger if you want to see a small picture. Here it goes:
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For decorations we used pink & blue. I made lots of paper pennants to decorate a big space with little effort and a few signs about pancakes/hotcakes. (Due to time flying by before the party, we probably used 1/3 of the pennants I made!) We covered the tables with plastic tablecloths (hello, syrup) & added wrapping paper runners. I love the paper! We also were able to get small tables from the preschool for the kids to have their own table...it was great! The pink tablecloth the food is on is what I spent a lot of my time & money on. At about 1am the night before we decided it wasn't going to get finished in time. It has one ruffle on it...still needs 5 more! I bet if you pay attention you'll see it make another appearance at a party soon enough. I can't wait for it to be finished...it's going to be soo cute!
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It isn't a party unless there's food. Here's some pictures of everyone chowing down. There was a pancake bar with lots of toppings. We had powdered sugar, nutella, homemade raspberry butter, chocolate chips, strawberries, bananas (Nora's favorite food in the world), whipped cream, & 3 kinds of syrup (1 was homemade berry)! There was also bacon and candy/pretzel eggs & bacon treats. We had plenty of juices and milk for all to drink on our drink table with striped straws to make them cute. (Ha!) Nora & I were very thankful for Aaron & Uncle Adam making all the pancakes and Tutu for cooking the 5 pounds of bacon. We went through a lot!
After everyone ate we played a few games. The first was a pancake race. I made some felt pancakes that the kids carried on a spatula. Nora & her friends her age had lots of fun just walking around & holding them. =) (This is about when my camera died! Thankfully Aunt Laura saved the day by taking pictures for me!!)
Then, we made cereal necklaces. Nora enjoyed eating the Fruit Loops by the scoopful. Right out of the bowl. Here's her Aunt Christie helping some of the kids make them.
We also read a story. It's one of my favorite children's authors: Laura Numeroff. Children's books really make me miss teaching first grade. We used to do a unit on her since she has so many good ones & they teach important concepts like cause & effect. This was Nora's guest book for this year. All the guest got a chance to sign it & write a little note to her. I love it.
Finally, we got to eat cake! Nora's {practically} Aunt April made her cake. She did a great job! She even had to squeeze it in between working, which is a feat in itself! Nora had some help blowing out the candles (twice), but she didn't seem to mind. Around the cake table were the favors. Curious George Makes Pancakes for the kids & sugar cookies made to look like short stacks for everyone.
Last but certainly not least, Nora opened presents. She definitely made out like a bandit! She really likes opening presents these days & insists on pausing after each to try it on or look through it. She did a great job of showing her guests how much she loved & appreciated the gifts! When all was said & done she walked out the door in a complete different outfit than the one she wore to her party!
One present she got was extra....extra-special...extraordinary...extreme...! Her present from PeePaw & G.Viv isn't available yet (wooden play kitchen) so they brought something far more entertaining. She got 2 baby chicks! They were 2 and 4 days old & oh so cute! It was perfect for Easter! We aren't sure what we're going to do with them yet (or whether their hens or roosters). They have to stay with their heat lamp for several weeks...stay tuned.
We are blessed with such great family & friends! So many people love Nora & came out to celebrate with us. We love you all & are so glad you could come. We are especially grateful for all those that helped with the party! Thanks for celebrating this special occasion with us...it was fabulous!
