The Celebration

First, can I say how fast the past year went by? It flew! I can hardly believe Aspen is already TWO. For her first birthday I went aaaaallllll out with a big party, but this year, for various reasons, I wanted to keep things asap (as simple as possible). Aside from my simplistic aspirations,  the evening before I all of a sudden decided I needed to do something to help spruce up the celebration and make sure she noticed the day truly was being celebrated - so I ran out and bought 2 yards of fabric (inspired by the color of her birthday dress) and threw half of it across the table (later I will make it into something else...pjs perhaps?), and then made her a special party hat. Added a balloon chandelier and- Wa la - it was looking good! (And I can't forget, the cake - I started it at 9:30pm and finished around 2:30am. I sure hope she liked it!)

Besides my evening of sprucing things up and baking, it was a simple celebration. It was Sunday, so she wore her special birthday dress to church. I fully intend to take some pictures of her in her dress in the next couple of weeks. I kind of failed on the one year pics, so let's hope I can catch her this year! I am usually not drawn to rich, deep, colors - and she tends to look best in lighter shades, but she looked stunning in her little red dress. So, we had cake, ice-cream, and some presents at home - and three special guests: mama, daddy, and her big bro. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the dinner request: German pancakes with fresh fruit. Top that with the cake and ice-cream and it's no surprise the kids were wound up that night!

Above: waiting for cake and practicing singing "Happy Birthday". So cute!


Below: She was soooo excited, she started blowing out the candles before we even put them on the cake! She kept saying "MY birthday! Happy Birthday, Ah-pen!"

And finally, the candles. 

May all your birthday wishes come true, little one!

We love you so - you truly are like sunshine!

Here's to another great year, and many many more to come!