Happy 2nd Birthday Madeline!

It's difficult for me to even believe that my sweet little Madeline turned two! She has been my baby for what seems like so long, but over the last six months or so she has really blossomed into a beautiful little girl. Sometimes it still catches me off guard and I forgot how truly big she has grown. She's super independent and well on her way to potty training. Though in ways I miss her being a baby, it has been so much fun to watch her grow and develop into a big girl!

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday with three families we quite close with. Since moving here, I have long given up on traditional children's birthday parties. I forgo the large parties with games and friends and chaos and stress. Instead we have small parties at home, with the few families that feel like family to us and the girls. We do a nice dinner, let the kids play, and top off the evening with a cake. It is honestly exactly the kind of low key family celebration that we all enjoy.

Madeline was so fun to watch this year. She is a child born into this family and accustomed to the noise and chaos that come with our family. She is pretty easy going, goes with the flow, and just seems to accept being in the middle of the chaos. Her party was no exception. She was quite low key, loving every moment of being the center of attention, but not demanding any attention. She loved the entire process, the cake, the presents, and seemed to really savor every moment of "her day."

Relaxing to some Dora while waiting for our friends to arrive.

The Dora cake. My third Dora cake for my third second birthday party. My girls have all loved Dora! I rolled around trying marshmallow fondant on this cake. Then pregnancy caught up with me again and I was exhausted. So we went with traditional easy frosting on a rather lopsided cake. Maybe next year we'll try something more ambitious. . . but for this year she loved it and that is all that matters. And it was tasty: triple layer, two chocolate, one vanilla, with chocolate frosting in between.

Emily and her friend Tuscany and their balloon babies. Can you tell one of their mothers is pregnant?!

Excited about her cake!

So seriously when did she turn into such a big girl? There is not an ounce of baby left in this girl. She's adorable.

Blowing out the candles.

The whole gang of kids.

Enjoying her cake.

Really enjoying her cake.

Making a few silly faces while waiting for presents.

So meticulous with her present opening.

A toy cash register from Macyn and McKenna. She loved playing with theirs so much and was so excited to receive her own. She literally kissed the box when she saw what was inside.

Reading her new books from the Cruz family. She loves these duck books, they are adorable!

A little mama. She loves all things babies: strollers, bottles, baby dolls. We got her one gift for her birthday, a new baby crib (and a new dress for her baby doll).

Happy 2nd birthday little Maddie Cakes! We sure love you!!