Maddy's 2nd Birthday

On Saturday we celebrated Madelyn's 2nd Birthday. Officially, she does not turn 2 until June 27th - but, with graduation and internships nearly all of her friends will be gone by her actual birthday. So, we threw it a little early.

Madelyn was very nervous about the candles. Her back was glued to the chair and she was looking at the cupcake like, "what in the world are you doing Mom? that is a fire!"

She was really good about blowing them out though. She was able to do it all by herself. Though the video makes it look like her friend Stu blew one of the candles out. The candle actually relit, which was surprising because we did not buy trick candles. When did she become so grown up?

She has become a very meticulous eater as of late. If her hands get dirty she will say "uh-oh, mama!" and promptly extend her hands to me to get cleaned. Dan recently taught her to just lick her hands clean (What would we do without Dads? :)

We had a really good time. We launched noisy balloons and had the kids chase them, we ate cupcakes, and Madelyn gave each of her friends finger puppets. She loved the positive reinforcement she received when she gave her friends presents. After all the gifts were passed out she grabbed a napkin, tore off a piece, and handed it to one of her friends. She repeated the process until the entire napkin was gone. It was so cute! I love her!

Launching the balloons with Dad. She loved this game. She would watch the balloon and say, "wow!" - then she would chase it, usually with a squeal or extreme excitement.