A 2ND BIRTHDAY RECAP

Our happy birthday girl!

I think Johnnie's birthday was a great success. In true-to-us fashion, we tried to keep things simple and stress-free. Her party involved just a handful of close family and friends, ice cream cake (her favorite), some bubbles and -- the pièce de résistance -- a rented bouncy house, which the rental company delivered, set up and tore down without any help from us. It is so liberating to think about having a big shindig with a theme and decorations and the whole nine yards, and then not do it. Johnnie didn't know the difference, and neither did anyone else. It's hard to improve upon sitting in the shade with people you love, chatting and laughing and sipping iced tea on a gorgeous day in late summer. My advice: don't try.

Chasing bubbles.
(Hey look, my garden made a bit of a comeback after the tornado!)

Cake

Crammed in her new Thomas the Train tent with two of her aunts.

Bouncing with Nana and Gramma. 

Though it was a pretty low-key backyard affair, it was not a completely stress-free day because we had to rush to disassemble her crib and set up her big girl bed (our gift to her) in time for her afternoon nap. There was a lot of rearranging, vacuuming and heavy lifting going on all morning to get the room thrown together in time. We took her upstairs to see it just as nap time was drawing nigh, and after looking all around, wide-eyed and mouth open, she climbed in all by herself to test it out. By this time, she'd had a long day of excitement and was one tired birthday girl, content just to rest for a minute. (This is her completely pooped expression...)

This photo, which required some stealth to obtain, was taken about 30 minutes after she saw her new bed for the first time:

Success! Fortunately, she seemed excited about the new setup and has taken to the new bed quite well. Granted it's only been two nights, but she hasn't randomly gotten out of it to run around (yet) and she's gone to sleep without a fuss. Here's hoping the transition continues to go well.

I love her new room. Ez picked out the duvet at IKEA when he bought the bed, and I think it suits her. She also got a beautiful desk and chair from my parents that adds so much charm, and I have some art to hang to finish it off. At some point, once we take care of the remaining details, I'll share how everything turns out.

After all the birthday and anniversary celebrations this week, I'm ready for more house progress. How about you? We've got a To Do list a few miles long, so stay tuned.