J's 2nd Bday Party

If you have met my daughter, you would know about her shoe obsession. I bought a pair of mint green flats this last week and she thought they were her own. She cried and threw a fit when I wore them yesterday, demanding they were hers in her limited vocabulary, "WAAAH! MINE!!"

So for her 2nd birthday we had a shoe themed party. And purple. For no particular reason. You all should be proud of me too, since this was relatively low key as far as one of my parties go.

We had a cupcake cake that was impossible to photograph well when I had other things to finish. I even used store bought frosting. See? Low key.

She now gets the whole blowing out candles thing. In fact, she tried to blow out all the candles at Anthropologie last week while saying, "Happy to you"

The only decorations were purple balloons, a large restraint on my part, with subs and grape soda. The first idea had the subs made out to look like shoes, but those details were edited out due to poor effort to effect ratio.

The best party advice I've ever heard was from Jordan Ferney at Oh Happy Day. She said every party needs something unexpected or a kind of surprise to be memorable. So J's party had a giant shoe chair she refused to pose on.

No, I didn't buy it, but borrowed it from an old high school friend who had it in her room when she was a teenager. You wouldn't guess such a bold furniture piece would have such staying power.

I didn't even make J's birthday outfit. Well I did iron on the 2, but I didn't applique it. Which is why it is in various states of peeling off in these pictures. There shows my restraint yet again. She was particularly spoiled by all her extended family.

Padre Dos included a candy necklace, promptly transporting J to her own version of nirvana.

Madre Dos got her an abundance of socks at this Mommy's request. Those things disappear like chameleons.

Uncle Keith and Aunt Marcie and cousins have brought about the word "Paint!" into a daily word at our house.

Aunt Julie and Uncle Matthew gave a set of books that came in a "purse" which have become regular favorites around here.

Big Sis bought her a stroller that gets used or fought over every day since.

I got her a little power wheels quad I found for $2 at Goodwill months ago. Husband managed to hack it to run on a lantern battery so it is awesome and cheap.

Her daddy wanted to get her something special so he took her out that morning on a special date to the toy store to pick out a new dolly. Melted my little heart and gave me a chance to prep for the party without my pint sized companion.

It is even cooler than I thought since it blinks and falls asleep after you hold the bottle to its mouth long enough. And it giggles or cries depending on where you squeeze it. 

She had to take the new baby to "work."

And what party is complete without a pinata? I even showed restraint by not making one. But not really since I was planning on it when Big Sis found the perfect shoe pinata for me as part of J's present.

The pinata ended up being more solid than we thought so the big kids got to try.

So we just let the kids go at it on the ground.

The remnants even made lovely fashion accessories

Now I can start planning her 3 year old party :) Maybe if I do it now, it won't sneak up on me in December.