birthday girl

So... Brooklyn really did have a birthday. No, really. We've just been terribly bad at blogging recently. We'll snap out of it. 

Since her birthday was on a Sunday, she kinda got two birthdays. On Saturday she woke up to these Ikea tent/tunnel toys (thank you yard sale)...

...and she was thrilled.

The excitement didn't end there. This is Brooklyn at the exact moment she saw Daddy bringing all the balloons for her party to the car from the party store.

She was a good helper.

We let her open one of her presents early because we thought we'd watch it at the party -- Winnie the Pooh movie! No more having to watch the YouTube clips of someone filming it on their TV with a phone!

Austin was on party design duty...

...and Laura was on party treats duty.

It made for a pretty cute little two-year-old party.

We couldn't resist the Winnie the Pooh balloon.

We reserved our apartment building's cool lounge area, which was the perfect size for our party. All ready for friends!

We set up Brooklyn's new tent and tunnel to keep the kids entertained...

...and the lounge had a pool table that kept the dads entertained.

Brooklyn has the cutest buddies!

We had a hat parade, which the kids enjoyed.

Brooklyn was most excited about getting her own little cupcake. She'd had cupcakes at a couple parties in the weeks prior and was very excited to have them at her own party.

Opening presents with friends...

...and playing with balloons together!

(Funny story -- we actually lost a couple balloons up on the very tall ceiling and couldn't figure out how to get them down -- we were trying to use other balloons tied to each other with tape on the side and then Austin remembered we had the tent poles. Mission accomplished.)

The girls love to see their pictures. They're two going on fourteen.

Someone got spoiled with so many fun presents from so many fun friends!

Speaking of spoiled, Brooklyn had her real birthday the next day.

Austin's sister Jenna made this super cute banner for us to hang up.

We did the balloons in her room again this year and she was excited.

Another second-hand score -- B was very excited about her new "bicycle" :)

She got some Winnie the Pooh books and wasted no time sitting down to read.

This later became a stroller for her stuffed animal buddies.

And you know your little girl is growing up too fast when she scampers off wearing a backpack.

We sure love our adorable two-year-old -- big thanks to everyone who made it such a special day (or two)!