Two Down: 16 To Go!

We pulled it off without a hitch. Actually it was the least stressful birthday party we have ever hosted in our seven years of having them. I am not sure if it was the fact that all of the guests had already been to our new dwelling so there was no pressure to spruce up the house. Or maybe it was my new outlook on life that not everything has to be perfect for people to like me, because it never will be. Or maybe it was because Elizabeth herself is so laid back that we just followed her lead and let everything just happen.


We grilled out some burgers, brats and hot dogs. I made a cute four layer cake with a variety of flavors and decorated it with hard candy, sprinkles and hair barrettes. We put together some side dishes and called it dinner. I hung some pink balloons and a strip or two of streamer and used our gender neutral “Happy Birthday“ table cloth. Simple and easy. We really stayed low key.

For a theme, I finally decided to go with baby dolls simply because we have so many in our house already. I used some of the dolls as centerpieces on the tables and play a game with her new one. Actually, it wasn’t until Matt and I were eating that we finally came up with the entertainment for the evening. We had one person give the doll to her and tell her to take it to someone else in the room. She knew fewer people than we thought. The game ended quickly but just in time to blow out some candles.

We all seemed to have a good time. Elizabeth got some wonderful presents. They are wonderful to me anyway. I doubt there are many more years that we can get away with receiving practical gifts like diapers and pull-ups. But at the ripe old age of two, they work for now. She got some really stylish outfits but with big sister that is so clothing conscience she is set for life. She also got a rocking cow from us that we got for free at a garage sale. After discovering that it is neither male nor female, we have named it Ashpenaz (after the eunuch in Daniel, Chapter 1) but we call him/her “Penny” for short.

We have two of her birthdays behind us and only 16 more to go. Hopefully, many, many more than 16 with us. But, I promise you, she is only getting 16 more theme parties out of me. And that is only if she gets her act together and starts having favorites.