and suddenly, she's two.

{a drop of golden sun} party

this child. 

she has been the sunlight in our lives, even from day one. she's been such a pleasure to parent, even in the tough moments. i don't pretend to think that "two" is going to be easy, but some patience+GKGW+some deep love for this little Rae has to make it an adventure. we can't get over the kindness and/or funniness that she has, stroking our arms on her own sometimes, saying: "ahhh mama" or saying "daddy, poot, funny"--she's got her priorities straight. she helps clean. she likes to be creative. she always wants us to be around. she loves her babies. she loves her cars and her colors and balloons. 

so, we celebrated her turning two with a saturday brunch with the most important requirements: good food and playtime. our friends nicole and brian were kind enough to lend us their bouncy house, and it was surely a hit. the basement was a veritable three ring circus of play-doh, bouncing, and parents refereeing the Cosy Coupe. fun for all! 

 perfect mini pancake stacks by the Grammy

 buckets of beverages

  cute friends {like Hunter!}

 tons of good food.

 pear bread, pumpkin bread, bagels, maple pecan butter, bacon, turkey sausage, bird's nests (hashbrown mini miracles), grilled breakfast pizza, fruit + marshmallow dip, pumpkin baked donut holes, mini quiches, cinnamon rolls, cardamom espresso cinnamon rolls, morning glory muffins, chocolate chip coffeecake, chocolate chip biscoff scones, lemon truffles, cinnamon french toast bake, fluffernutter cupcakes.

friends! 

 front and center: lauren's cinnamon french toast bake. 

 the Grammy cake. I tried to "fancy it up" with some fondant--terrible idea. should leave the classics alone. it at least did nothing to impair the flavor, just the looks. 

 she wasn't so sure about that fire-sparking-candle thing. 

 loved the Grammy cake. she ate the cake and left the icing. it's okay, we complement each other--i ate it. 

 the girl with her yellow balloon. i believe that we've started a tradition of 3+ foot balloon, one for each year. last year was one...this year we had two... by the time she's 18 we'll have to make sure the mailbox is rooted in cement. 

i love that "r". totally bought it for her new "big girl" room. 

 we couldn't leave the grilled pizza off the menu. 

this time it was the breakfast edition, and boy, it will see an encore. 

we're so grateful for a happy, healthy little two year old. we're tremendously grateful for great family and friends who celebrate with us. it was a wonderful day, spent catching up with friends, eating and eating some more, and letting the kids "have at it". I could not have done it without Phil's help, and Grammy and Papa were instrumental in helping us pull this off. 

Looks like that drop of golden sun affects a pretty large group of people :)

we love you, rae!