We reserved the pavillion at a neighborhood pool for the party. McKenzie loves to swim and this is the place where she has the most fun. She hasn't made many friends in the four months since she arrived, so we invited Maddie's friends and some family friends to help with the celebration. We asked our friends not to bring any gifts since our family has been so blessed with toys and clothes. We just wanted them to have fun with us! The one exception to this rule were the grandparents. So, we opened presents on Saturday morning with just the four of us. Nanny and Pa (my parents) sent McKenzie an aquadoodle, which was the hit of the day. (I highly recommend this gift for any two year old or four year old). Grandma Rasmus (Kim's mom) gave McKenzie a Little People house complete with a doorbell and toilet. The girls have had a ball playing with the little people in this kid-friendly, plastic encased doll house.
Here are Maddie and Mama playing with McKenzie's aquadoodle.
After opening presents, I took Madison to dance class and McKenzie accompanied Kim to Wal-Mart to pick up the cake. It was only a few days ago that McKenzie began expressing a real interest in Elmo, so we found this cake design at Wal-Mart that is actually 24 cupcakes placed together to make Elmo's head. It was so cute! After dance and some lunch, we took a super quick nap and then it was off to the pool. McKenzie went down for her nap with no problem, but Maddie has trouble really committing to the nap.
The pool party was fun, that is for sure. It was incredibly hot and we were fortunate that Tropical Depression Erin passed over the night before, so we were left with merely humidity and not down pours. A kind, or perhaps forgetful, soul left 4 giant, inflatable sharks at the pool for our kids to enjoy. They were a huge hit!
The Elmo cake was fun, though neither of us really thought through the red icing. The red icing made EVERYTHING red, including teeth, tongues, fingers, my shirt, etc. I was concerned at first about the mess, but then I thought, what the hell. You only turn two once! So we let her lose! For any of those reading this blog who haven't had the opportunity to meet McKenzie, you must know her love of food. She needs to experience her food - the smell, the taste, and more often than not the feel. It was a riot!
It was a great day and Madison cried when her friends had to leave. Many of these children have been together in day care since they were a year old. Now, they are starting to go their separate wasy. It was great to be together again and I asked the children to perform their school song. We call it a Mt. Sinai Christian Academy Reunion!
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