Better Than Ice Cream: August 2013

Emma turns 2!

Hey look! It's a biker chick in a new birthday dress (thanks Olona!) For Emma's actual birthday, we thankfully had the day off together to really give her some special attention. We let her call the shots all day (as much as a 2 year old can) and it turned out to be a really fun spontaneous time together. Her first request (ok maybe we suggested it...) was breakfast at Starbucks which is always a hit. She chose to ride her bike which meant we moved slower than if she was walking but it was her birthday - who were we to stop her! Isla brought along a balloon so we were a walking birthday parade!

A girl and her bagel...could life get better?

Rather than bike the 1/2 mile back home, Graham opted to run home and get the car. :) Then we took off for the zoo to see monkeys. I think getting our cheap-o friends of the zoo pass was probably one of the best financial investments we've made thus far!

While the birthday girl got her beauty sleep at home, Graham whipped up some perfectly traditional picnic fare which we carted off to Juanita Beach. By this point it was after 5 PM but it was WARM so we all went swimming first. Lovely!

Our menu consisted of cherry tomatoes, a personal sized watermelon (which Emma almost literally consumed personally), a beet salad with lemon zest and almonds and homemade Beecher's Mac 'n Cheese with crab. I'm sure it's what everyone there was eating. Totally.

Needless to say, it was delicious!

Life guard for a day

It just so happened that the Juanita Friday evening market was in full swing so we perused for a bit before heading home for...

"PEGGY" CUPCAKES!!!

Emma was thrilled to have cake. Again.

Next came presents. I forgot how even two year olds can get so excited by gifts. I mean, look at Emma's sweet face as she opened her gift from Isla: twin babies with bunk beds! She LOVED them! Unfortunately my "brilliant" idea of getting two babies hasn't panned out as I'd hoped and apparently when one has two babies one needs BOTH babies. At all times. We're working on it...

Emma also got some new hair clips and Hello Kitty bandaids but the babies and beds took the cake!

The BIG 4

Isla's actual birthday fell on a Sunday and Graham was leading worship at church so us girls went on a girls-only breakfast date to Urban Coffee Lounge before church. We got to meet up with our dear friend Olona and have a little mini celebration at the coffee shop (she couldn't make it to the big party). Then Isla got to go to the 4 year old classroom at church for the first time which she thought was pretty exciting (though she still came out of there saying she didn't feel 4...) Next up was the rooftop of the Greenlake Starbucks for a picnic lunch I packed. Then remember those jelly sticks she requested? I guess you could say I made her wildest dreams come true by making my own rendition. She walked me through what to do step by step - vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries then more vanilla ice cream in a popsicle mold. Ironically enough, there's actually no jelly involved though you can't say I didn't try! :)

We stuck a candle in the jelly stick and called it her birthday dessert!

We were going to go to the park but then Isla caught wind that there would be presents and our agenda quickly changed.

This year she got new sunglasses, Woody and Buzz bandaids and some new headbands.

Oh and did I mention we gave the girls a joint gift of a Playmobile pirate ship? Long story but let's just say it was the first time I was ever a grand prize winner in a drawing! We debated whether to give it to them or not and finally decided to go for it and see how they reacted. I'm not sure why we ever hesitated. They LOVED it! Their mother might just have confiscated and disappeared the rifles and guns but at least she let them keep the cannon!

Isla requested over a month ago that we go to Red Robin for her birthday (she's a smart one and caught on to the singing and free ice cream quickly!) So we obliged. She's so much like her mama - not a meal at home her whole birthday. She sported her lovely 3-sizes-too-big blue dress that she insisted was her Cinderella dress since Cinderella wore blue and had a blue sparkly headband.

Happy girl after a very happy birthday!

"It's a Snap" Party

Last weekend we celebrated Isla's 4th and Emma's 2nd birthdays in a joint birthday bash. We let Isla choose whether she wanted her own party this year or whether she wanted to share with Emma and she opted for the latter! As their parents, we figured we'd monopolize on this decision for as long as we can. Both girls are super into sneaking off with our new smartphones and filling them with self portraits and videos and Isla was asking for a camera for her birthday gift so the "It's a Snap" photo theme was born. Grandma Crozier once again pulled off one of her amazing cakes, colors per the request of Isla.

We gathered a collection of fun dress up items and set up a make-shift photo booth for the guests' (and mainly for the eldest birthday girl's) enjoyment.

Isla kicked off the party by leading the miniature guests in a free dance lesson. Next she organized some play as both kitties and puppies. I'm amazed she didn't come home with holes in her pants!

Emma unfortunately did not find the photo booth activities to be pleasing but instead was rather attracted to the spread of all her favorite foods. That girl put away an unbelievable number of grapes. Thanks to her lead, we kicked off the lunch buffet early!

In addition to a platter of grapes, watermelon and strawberries (the girls' favorites), we served pasta caprese and fresh veggies with hummus.

We hosted the party at a splash park in Bellevue only to have the forecast be for 60-something degrees and possible showers. I guess you can't even guarantee a sunny birthday in August in this area! The kids didn't care though and by the end of the party, we were taking off sweatshirts and the birthday girls and their friends Scout and Leif even indulged themselves in the water.