
Katya turns two today! Where has the time gone? We started celebrating yesterday (well, OK, maybe even before that, if you count cards in the mail and a much-loved stuffed dog from a babysitter!).
Nathan was very excited that it was finally time to give Katya her present–he had it waiting by her door so she could open it as soon as she got up. He made her a necklace with lots of different animal shaped plastic beads, and she wore it off and on all day (and wanted to take it to church with her today as well!). He put on lots of purple heart beads, so she would know he loves her very much.
Katya loves to be out, so we went as a family to wander around a fancy mall. It was fun to go with her in mind, traveling up and down the escalators several times, stopping for any stuffed animal kiosk with dogs in view, and visiting all the fountains. The mall also has an extensive outside walkway with a long water feature, so Katya and Nathan ran wild with delight in the Colorado sunshine, laughing and chasing and watching the water. We shared an Orange Julius, checked out the live puppies in the pet shop and had lunch at a fancy-looking Egyptian restaurant (Egyptian in decor only, not in food!)
For dinner, our good friends came over, along with Poppy (Gran B was taking care of the cousins so Aunt Kimi could celebrate her birthday!) We had a complete finger food menu, featuring some of Katya’s favorites: peanut butter and jelly, strawberries, cucumbers, and guacamole. There were also lots of grown-up style finger sandwiches, which Mommy had fun putting together and Daddy enjoyed eating (appetizers are his favorite thing to eat). I made a dog cake, one layer strawberry and one layer chocolate, and it must have turned out OK becuase Katya definitely knew what it was! (P.S. It wasn’t really that hard, so if you need to know how to make a dog face let me know…!) She successfully blew out her two candles and we devoured the ears, with plenty leftover for later enjoyment.
Sorry I don’t have better pictures, but we have several more birthday celebrations coming up with various parts of the family over the next few weeks, so I’ll post more as I take them. Katya will be a little confused about when her birthday actually is, but I think she’ll figure it out in a few years and in the meantime will not complain about all the extra attention!
