Kendall’s 2nd Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Kendall!  It certainly was an epic day for her.  Brandon and I stayed up way too late last night, getting things in order and getting some decorations going.  Brian helped us with some more decorations this morning–boy, was Kendall so surprised when she came down for breakfast!  Whoa, there’s Hello Kitty stuff everywhere!  She was so excited.  She really loved the balloons, especially the gigantic Hello Kitty shaped one (that used up so much of the helium!)  After breakfast, we got her dressed in her pretty satin polka-dot party dress and sparkly Hello Kitty shoes–she wasn’t particularly cooperative in letting me take pictures, but she was just so adorable.  After a little more frantic preparations, our guests started to arrive.  Kendall was interested in the process, but Brian was a very excited doorman!  He made another guest book for her, just like last year, and he tried to get everyone to sign it!  Brian got to invite some of his friends, and the kids all played with toys and generally had a wild time.  We had a pizza lunch, followed by a little more playtime.  Kendall had a nice little pretend picnic with Ty’s brother Van.  At one point, she went on a tear running around, attacking folks with an inflatable lightsaber–so funny!  The big boys thundered upstairs and shut themselves up in Brian’s room–Kendall of course wanted to join in, and it wasn’t long until she found them and busted in on their “secret boy time!”  Brian’s room had been destroyed in a matter of minutes, but it’s cool–they were having fun.  Soon, it was time for cake!  Kendall’s cake really was something else, matching the party so well, and all that sparkly edible glitter!  Wow.  It’s always tough to get the family photo at the cake, but after a do-over or three, we had more or less gotten it.  😉  The kids had a great time and us parents generally just enjoyed the chaos.  Folks started to trickle out after cake, the pull-string pinata, and a little more playtime, but Kendall and Brian were still going strong..  Once it got down to just us, Miss Jennie, and Nico and Logan (and parents), they really wanted Kendall to open her present before they left.  She adored the cool pop-up toaster (that will match her big Christmas present perfectly!)  😉  “Just one” ended up growing into full-blown present madness!  Kendall got so many great presents, and Brian and Nico and Logan (and all of us, really) had a great time helping her get into them.  We thought for sure she’d be toast by mid-afternoon, needing her nap, but she just kept going!  Tonight, Kendall surprised us all by wanting to use the potty–and she did it!  Whoa!  We weren’t even really thinking about that yet.  You go, baby girl.  She loved one of her party favors–a Hello Kitty magic towel (really just a washcloth that comes packaged in a tiny compressed square).  😀  She was so cute playing in the bathtub with her bumblebee ducky and practicing washing her own hair!  I just love the way she sort of growls when she says “bumblebee!”