Audrey's second birthday

Audrey girl turned two last week! We celebrated with a small party consisting of family and it was pretty great. I know I've mentioned it before, but we try not to have too big of birthday parties unless it's more of a milestone year. That means minimal decorating and the invite list is short. Of course, no party can be completely plan and work free, since we like to go all out with the food (think made from scratch, not necessarily creative) and of course have a clean house and gifts for the birthday girl. 

It's really quite nice to have those you love dearest come and celebrate without the pressure of having a huge theme complete with party favors, decorations, and costumes or specific fancy foods. I get stressed out just thinking about it. We do other things to make the birthday girl feel special. The hoopla of "today we having a party for you!" is the main thing,but she also gets to pick out a birthday donut, eat what she wants (easier as they get older and can actually tell us what they want), and of course getting showered with hugs and kisses all day long. It also helps that we all celebrate her. This year, Josie rocked at making sure Audrey knew it was a big deal that it was her birthday. I so loved watching that.

Like I mentioned earlier, we can't help ourselves with the homemade food. I made cupcakes with buttercream frosting, which turned out perfectly. I love to pipe the frosting... there's something about getting the swirl just right that makes all the work completely worth it. It didn't feel like all that much work, but when you make a ton of food from scratch instead of having it prepared and purchased ahead of time, it just takes a lot of time. 

I made homemade buns and potato salad (along with the cupcakes) and hubby smoked a few roasts for bbq style sandwiches. My MIL also brought coleslaw. It was a great meal (if not completely seasonal... what do we think it is, July?). 

All the gifts we got were so appropriate and fun. A few clothes, educational toys, an outside playhouse (a huge hit). Of course, a balloon we'd been gifted earlier in the week was also a huge hit. Cheap fun. :) 

I think the best part, though, was just all of the people being together, enjoying company and celebrating our Audrey girl. She had a huge smile on her face the whole time. 

And now the pictures!

A few pictures of the new outdoor playhouse that we just had to check out right away.

The newest member of the family, my niece, Clara. She's so sweet, isn't she? 

 

Very few decorations, but the birthday banner is a must.

  

And finally, the birthday girl blowing out her candles. She loved being sung to and blew out the candles like she's been doing this for years. I wasn't sure if she'd like all the attention, but her bashfulness didn't mean grumpiness and she just seemed even more sweet. Oh this girl... she wins over everyone she meets.