Makena's Mickey Mouse Themed 2nd Birthday Party!

Makena had so much fun at her long awaited birthday party!! The day before the party was her actual birthday. We had a busy day out and about and had guests coming to stay with us that evening so when we got home we had a quick dinner of Chipotle (Makena loves the black beans and plain rice!) and then as she was finishing eating I snuck into the other room to decorate her cake. (I know snuck isn't a word, but I still use it, lol.) All along she'd been asking for a Mickey cake, and I had grand ideas but quickly decided I'd just be making simple cupcakes for the party. She is slightly addicted to the "Mickey Birthday Game" (as she calls it) on the computer. This is the link- It's really cute, and she wants to do it "me self!" but needs our help and gets frustrated. Her favorite part is decorating the cake (she always picks the Mickey head shaped one) and she likes the bubbles, and the blowing out the candles part. And printing out the coloring pages. Pretty much she loves the whole thing.  http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/birthday-fun/birthday-fun-games/disney_junior_happy_birthday_party-1943115

So she really had a Mickey head shaped cake in her mind, and a friend suggested I make her a cake for us to eat on her actual birthday, then cupcakes for the party. Genius! I had considered making both for the party, but with our Disneyland trip planned for the next day I was feeling overwhelmed enough already.

This is what I made, using 2 circle pans. We only have 1 circle cake pan, so the ears were cut out of a pie pan that I used, lol. I just freehanded it, then slathered it with frosting and put the #2 candle and figurines on top. We bough them at the Disney Store in an after Christmas sale.

She loved it, she was beaming! We had the lights off and sang and then she blew out the candle (all that practice from the game was perfect!) and then she picked off each character and licked the frosting. We cleaned them off as after she ate a bit of cake I put a somewhat wrapped Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Playset in the middle of the living room floor. I went in the kitchen and asked, "So where is their clubhouse?" and she shook her head and said "I know?" (her way of saying "I don't know?") and we went to go look for it. She saw the present and opened it and was thrilled!! This was an awesome score from craigslist, it was used but in great condition, and I got it super cheap! It talks and the Mousekadoer moves and lights up and everything. She loves it!

So, on to the party! These were the invites we sent out. I wanted to hand make them, but again I got too busy with too many projects so I bought a kit with the pieces from etsy and we assembled them ourselves. We love how they came out!! Unfortunately, according to a few guests, they fell apart in the mail. Bummer!

I also ordered these big Mickey head cut outs and hands, and I cut some letters to make this birthday banner! I love it! They were so expensive online, and though it was time consuming, I really enjoyed making it!

I printed out 3 photos of Makena and put them in frames with some Mickey embellishments. They looked super cute, and they were free!

 This is the photo I used in the frame above. My brother's girlfriend made this adorable hat!

We were so thankful to get to use the preschool where Pam works for the party. It had so much space, and so many toys and a full kitchen! It was great. The only downside was that it is heavily decorated and looks like a typical preschool room, so we put up some Mickey touches wherever we could!

 

There was another frame with this photo. I wanted to make the skirt myself, but saw this one on sale on etsy and realized it was probably cheaper than buying all the supplies. And the shirt was made from a vinyl iron on that I had made for us. I also ordered 3 for our Disneyland shirts, so we all matched and looked awesome. I ended up making her a shirt with some red little polka dot fabric I had, I cut out the letters T, W and made a black Minnie head then ironed them all on. I was super proud of how nicely it came!

We made those Mickey party hats, and they were a hit! I love her feet in that photo.

After an initial near catastrophe because the cd player wasn't working, Pam saved the day and found us a replacement one. We had a cd of Mickey and the gang singing a bunch of different songs with Makena's name in them, and it was imperative to me that we had it on in the background!! And I made this giant Minnie head for a Pin The Bow on Minnie game! I think I totally nailed it!

Oh, she's just so darn cute!! She was over the moon when she saw all the decorations. She had a blast playing and waiting for the guests to show up. Then as they started to arrive she got shy and clingy, but she warmed up the second her best pals walked in the door!

There were markers and crayons set out with lots of Mickey coloring pages. We kept our tradition of playing a Makena Trivia game for the adults, and we also had a jar full of red, black, white, and yellow M&M's for people to guess how many. Winner took home the whole jar! The parachute was such a blast last year that we played with it again for this party! We bounced the Mickey stuffed animals around, and took the kids for a spin.

We served Pasta Primavera, from my moms recipe. She came early to help with party set up and took over making the dish, thank goodness!! Nobody makes it as good as her anyways. :) We also had bread and butter, crackers, snack mix, and lots of fruit. And an Edible Arrangement!! They just so happened to have a promotion on their licensed arrangements, so I ordered the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one and it made a perfect centerpiece! I had the attached note say, "Happy 2nd Birthday Makena! I'm so excited to see you tomorrow! Love your pal, Mickey" And, how cute/clever am I for the Mickey head plate set up?! Love it!

It was time for cupcakes finally! We kept them simple, last years were so detailed and took forever. I used a Mickey head punch out and some black sugar sheet paper, and some brightly colored sprinkles (from the funfetti cake frosting) The cupcake wrappers were Mickey themed. Makena's eyes were huge as I brought the tower of cupcakes over and set it in front of her. She blew out the candle while we were still singing, she was just so excited!

Present time!! Makena got some really fun gifts, Lincoln Logs, her very own LeapFrog Laptop, a Snoopy hoodie, a cash register, clothes, books, a handmade apron, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse dvd to watch on the road trip, and some Disney gift cards to spend on her own! I made her a pillowcase with Minnie Mouse printed fabric. :)

It was a great party, she loved seeing all her friends and when it was over we quickly cleaned up and went home to PACK!! What a whirlwind! Next post will be all about our unbelievably wonderful Disneyland trip!!

Adventures in pottying!

 We had wanted to wait on full blown potty "training" until after our trip to Disneyland. The 6+ hour car trip and long days spent at the parks sounded like a huge pain without diapers! But we realized we were holding  Makena back and making it difficult and confusing for her. She's always enjoyed lots of diaper-free time at home, and we've had the potty set up for quite some time. She'd use it occasionally, and we knew she was ready to make the leap but due it to inconveniencing US, we weren't in a rush. Then she started to resist putting a diaper on, and was asking to use the potty instead, so we had to go all for nothing! I'm so glad we did, because it's been SO awesome!

On January 1st we spent the day at home, snacking and drinking lots of fluids. We made up a potty song to the tune of the Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, lol. Makena was only wearing a shirt, and she had a couple accidents but more potty hits! Lots of singing and dancing and cheers! We spent the next couple of days focusing on her using the potty. She did amazing, only 2 accidents that whole week. So we started to leave the house for short periods of time. It's been overwhelmingly successful! We always take a potty with us, and she uses it just fine while out and about! We do need to get her used to the real toilet soon though. But for now we are so so proud of her, and she's so proud of herself!!

 

We ran a lot of errands this month, mostly getting supplies for her birthday party. At the party store she found these foam letters and said, "M! Ken, ma, M!" She mostly talks by just saying the first syllable of words, but what she meant was, "M! For Makena and Mama! M!" Haha.  

She loves anything with wheels to ride on, and I wish we had as place to store a bike or scooter for her. Luckily we get to play with the boys' toys a few times a week... AND we all get to practice sharing. It's a work in progress. Mostly Makena just cries and gives up her toy. Lately though she's been starting to assert herself a bit and saying no. So we ask for a turn and then wait. Though Makena immediately says she's all done, and happily shares. :)

Making me some toast for breakfast, and putting the lid back on each salt/pepper/cinnamon shaker when she's done.

Pam took her to Happy Hollow one day and gave me some uninterrupted time at home to get lots of party decorations made! Sometimes I get so touched out on whiny clingy days and I crave moments alone for some "me time." Pam walks in the door and I want to go crawl into a hole and read a book all alone. But then at the same time, I hate being away from Makena. We went to the movies for a very rare date night the other evening, and it was nice to be out but I checked my phone every 20 minutes and thoughts of Makena creep in to my mind constantly. I also think it's important that Pam and Makena get time alone together. So they went out for the morning and she sent me these photos-

Then Pam sent me a text saying they were on their way home, and to just wait till I see Makena. Of course my first thought was, "Omg, is she okay, did she trip and knock out her teeth?!" I had to calm my mind down and tell myself that Pam would have let me know if there had been an emergency, and anything minor she is more than capable of handling herself. When they got home Makena had a butterfly face painting. :) he was ready for milk the second she saw me, so I happily nursed my beautiful butterfly baby girl!

She was fiercely obsessed with her Mickey stuffed friends this whole month. We could get her to do anything by saying Minnie (Or Donald/Daisy/Goofy...) wanted her to. They helped her get dressed, brush her teeth, etc. We reminded her often that soon we'd go to Disneyland and see them all. She'd bring it up on her own and couldn't wait to go. She had no idea the fun in store!!

 Playing outside in a puddle, we walked by it on the way to the mailbox, and she asked if she could touch the water. I said yes, and we stayed to play for a while. She was jumping and splashing and laughing. I was texting Pam photos and we were marveling over how awesome she is. We do that a lot. I feel so fortunate that I get to be with Makena 24/7, and stay home with her or take her to work with me a few hours a week. I feel like if I were in Pam's shoes I'd never get anything done at work because I'd be busy thinking about her, so I send photos. I also send texts of frustration when I'm having a rough day and Makena won't nap and she's being a whiny pants. But those are few and far between. ;)

This is what Makena does when she's upset. She walks away and hangs her head and pouts. We don't know where it came from, but it's hilarious! Okay, it's a little heartbreaking too. But not so much when she's just bummed that we have to go upstairs to eat lunch.  She's turning out to be quite dramatic. Totally has my emotional genes! She also has started to say "Me self!!" for just about anything that she wants to do herself. Sometimes she adds a little arms crossed thing. We might start coloring and I'll mention she should get the kitty coloring book or something, and she'll jump up and say "Me self!" and cross her arms as if she's mad, but she's not. Thankfully it seems to be dying down. It was a little too snooty looking for my tastes!!

On her 2nd birthday! We love to stop and get bagels on the way home from dropping Pam off at work. I get her a raisin bagel and she dips it in cream cheese. I get an egg and cheese bagel sandwich and she eats most of my eggs. Sometimes we split an orange juice.

I honestly can't even believe how fast she's growing up. I remember being pregnant and just wanting her to be born so badly. I remember spending hours sitting on the couch holding her. I remember her crawling, then walking. I remember Pam and I watching her in awe and saying, "Omg, one day she's going to run around and be a little kid!!"

She's not a baby any more, but she's MY baby for sure!

Christmas catch up!

Oh man, another catch up post! I really really wish I could remember to write more here. It's so important to me to get all these memories written down!! I've already forgotten so much about Christmastime/December. Thankfully I have photos to jog my memory. :)

She loved our Christmas tree, she helped hang the ornaments and every day talked about it. She also liked to sing "Oh tree! Oh tree!" instead of "Oh Christmas tree."

We went to Colin's 2nd birthday party at the fire station.

Playing in a huge pile of leaves outside of Ian and Colin's house! That's our new car in the background. 

We all love NY!

She adored playing with this little Santa set that my mom gave her. This doll house is probably her most played with toy of the year, and she had a blast acting out Christmas. It really got her excited about what was coming! She also really liked looking for the Elf on the Shelf each morning. She just walked by the computer and was pointing at this photo asking to play with it. I explained it's packed away with the Christmas stuff and she started to cry. I miss Christmas too!!

We were given tickets to Gilroy Gardens for the Holiday Lights, and we had a lot of fun looking at all the decorations and riding the rides at night time! We'll have to make a trip there this summer. It was so cold! There was a special Charlie Brown Christmas show and Makena was overjoyed to see Snoopy! 

Not the cutest photo, I think I caught her as she was saying something, lol. But isn't her shirt adorable? We think it's 2 mommy showmen and a baby. :)

Christmas Eve we stayed up late wrapping gifts and getting everything ready! We ate cookies and drank the water Makena left out. I had a hard time sleeping, I couldn't wait to wake up and see Makena's face. 

Christmas morning! We all had our matching jammies on, and we ate Cinnabons and tea and opened presents! Makena wanted to stop and play with each toy, of course. So it took a while, but it was fun!

We went to my parents house and Makena saw the huuuuge wrapped gift. She opened it and it was her new kitchen play set! This is definitely one of her favorite things to play with. Almost every morning I sit on the couch and she makes me breakfast. Usually it's a plate with cut up fruit, but sometimes she gives me toast with butter. Lol! When she cooks food she says it's too hot so she puts it in the freezer for a bit, just like we do. She's so funny. She likes to pretend to wash her hands too, and she uses the curtain as a towel to pretend to dry her hands. It's so cute! And she picks up the phone and says, "I yhuve you too, ma!" completely unprompted. I love her!!!!

My Christmas cutie!! My sister and Makena's cousins Nicolas and Sofia came over in the evening and Makena had such a great time playing with her new toys with them! She cried so hard when they left.

 At the end of November Emily was born, and Makena was so excited to meet her. She gave her a stuffed carrot toy that she picked out from Ikea, lol. Now she talks often of "bay Em!" She loved holding her, and I can't wait until they can play together!! Friends having babies is the best thing. :)

Just a little loving! She can be so affectionate, it warms my heart every time she comes up to me for a hug. I love smushing her into me for a big cuddle!

After all the Christmas craziness was over and it was time to get back to a regular routine, Makena stopped napping. She went 4 days without a nap. I feared it was over for good. Thankfully she does still nap, but usually she wants to around 3 pm and that's just too late. If we are at home I try to get her to nap around 1. And if she misses it, oh well. We have a rough evening and then she usually goes to bed easily.

We started watching a lot of Disneyland promo videos and stuff, to get excited about our upcoming trip. We talked a lot about how we were going to see Mickey and all the friends. I was worried she'd be scared of the characters, so I wanted to show them to her as much as possible so they wouldn't seem so big in person.

We went to the Children's Museum in San Jose and they had some fun art exhibits...

As always the water play area was the biggest hit! Winnie the Pooh and Tigger made an appearance,  so as a little tester we brought Makena. She was so excited to see them, but as we got in line she got nervous. She slowly warmed up a bit, and gave high fives and took a photo.

With some gift card money from Christmas we went to Toys R Us and Makena got a toy train set, a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sofa/bed, and a few other little things. She absolutely loves this couch!!

We went to the park on New Years Eve day, while Pam stayed home cleaned up and went through piles of paper to straighten up. We wanted to help 2012 off to a good start! I showed Makena how to blow on these to make a wish, and told her about her birthday being soon and that we were going to have a Mickey party and she could blow out the candles and all her friends would come. We spent the next couple weeks prepping for the party and getting her pumped up for it! I couldn't wait for the party, and I also couldn't wait to go to Disneyland the next day!

And now I can't wait to post about it but it'll have to wait because my poor neglected child is asking me to do a puzzle with her. Which is infinitely more important. :) I suppose that's the bottom line of why I'm slacking so much with posting in the blog. I'm too darn busy living to stop and write about it! I love this blog, I love reading back and remembering everything. More later!