Addy's Birthday Palooza!

January was a big birthday month for Addy...she turned TWO!!

And boy did we celebrate!  We had a party for her with all of her little friends from the mom group.  The next week we had a party for her with our family and a few other friends.  And the next week she had a party at her school.  Not to mention that none of the above events occurred on her actual birthday, so of course, we celebrated on that day as well :)

A Birthday Palooza it was!  It got to the point where Addy thought we should be singing Happy Birthday to her every morning, and multiple other times throughout the day.  And now whenever we talk about someone else's birthday she looks confused and says, "Happy Birthday to Addy!"

So we started off the festivities with a bang.  18 children ranging from 7 weeks to 5 years, and 10 mothers came to our house for party number one.  That's right, 28 people, including 18 children.... in our house... at one time.  It was a zoo to say the least!  And of course the night before the party we had freezing rain/snow and our power went out for over an hour when I was literally right in the middle of baking cupcakes for the party.  And it was 10PM the night before the party.  (With me being the procrastinator that I am, would you expect anything different??).  So that batch of cupcakes was ruined, and Mike and I were left scrambling around trying to hang decorations and get food together by candlelight! 

By the next morning the roads were fine, but everything was melting and it was still cold, so my sliver of hope that the kids could play outside was dashed. 

All of them were inside, downstairs.  And I have never been so thankful for hardwood floors in my life.  There was icing streaked down the hallway, crushed grapes, raisins, and goldfish crackers everywhere, and random spots of spilled juice wherever I turned.  But as chaotic as it was, we all had a lot of fun!  Addy may have been slightly overwhelmed (as she was VERY clingy to me), but she really enjoyed herself too.  And she did very well with sharing her toys, which I was nervous about.

Here are some pics from the day!

Before:

The Birthday Girl!!!

All ready to party!

Let the festivities begin!

Actually these pictures don't really do the party justice.  It was A LOT more chaotic than it appears!

We had Addy bawling during the Happy Birthday song...

...until she got her cupcake.  Then she was fine....

...until she realized that I had my camera.  I was promptly told to "turn it off Mama!"

We had kids climbing on the counter to get the last cupcakes...

And of course afterwards, we had a mixture of toys and food all over the place...

All in all the party was a complete success!  We even had a plate of cupcakes left over :)

Two things I wish I had from this party: a group picture and a video.  But in the chaos, neither of those things ever even crossed my mind.

The Birthday Girl signing out.  It's nap time folks :)

Party Number Two for Addy occurred the day before her birthday, and it was definitely a lot more low key... thanks to the fact that a large majority of the guests were adults.  

Bring out the birthday outfit and we're ready for Round Two!...

Waiting for her guests to arrive...

Addy and Carley

Store bought cupcakes this time

No crying for the Happy Birthday Song this time...perhaps because Daddy was the one bringing her the cupcake ;)

Addy with Carley's baby bro, Chris

A few of Addy's favorite gifts...

A new hat!  

(Daddy ended up opening the birthday gifts because Addy was much more interested in watching the pictures of herself scroll through on the TV.)

Rockin' Mickey

The Aqua Doodle (coolest toddler toy ever!!)

Tub Tunes (which included these xylophones, a drum, and three flutes)

And last, but not least, a camo tent, tunnel, and sleeping bag!  

And a week later, out came the birthday outfit for the third and final time for Addy's school celebration!  Mike and Emma went to the party, and he even took a few pictures for me so that I could see what I was missing :)

No tutu this time.  She has to be ready to play!

Cupcakes with friends :)

And that folks, was Addy's Birthday Palooza!  I think our family has had more cupcakes in the past month than we have had in our whole lives!  There were literally cupcakes at our house for weeks... and it wasn't because we weren't eating them!  But it was a really fun month, and we all know that our little sweet tooth was loving life!

Happy Birthday Addy Marie!!!  We love you so very, very much!