Thurs. Nov. 28, 2013 - Happy Birthday Micaela!

The girls were very excited about the first snow of the year

Snow angel!

 Micaela helped bake her chocolate Minnie Mouse cake

 "No Mommy, I didn't grab a handful of Minnie's ears and stuff them in my mouth while you turned your back for 5 seconds!"

 I had lots of helpers while I decorated the cake

 Minnie Mouse, transformed from my Mom's original Mickey Mouse character pan from 1978

Daddy is an excellent party decorator

 Walking though streamers to get into the kitchen

 She loved the balloons

We started out our day at the Building for Kids where captain Micaela piloted us to Disney World

 Daddy relaxed in the cabin

 Riley the drummer

Micaela's favorite is always the water room

 She's always game for trying on new boots

 Riley fought 83 fires (according to her) while we were playing

 Micaela's friend Sophie joined us for playtime

 Riley, Sophie and Micaela in the firetruck

 Daddy explaining the dynamics of dominos to Riley

Yay, cake time!

"Riley, can you help me out with these candles?"

 3 little Minnie Mouses

 Micaela had lots of help opening presents

Time for Daddy to painstaking remove all the little pieces of her new toy

 Friends doing puzzles together

Presents are great!

This year Micaela turns 2 on Thanksgiving day. We are still figuring out how to make a holiday birthday special and decided on a last-minute party the weekend before we left for Illinois. Micaela loves Minnie Mouse (no surprise since she's already been to Disney World twice) so we decorated the house with Minnie and Mickey and I made her a Minnie Mouse cake. I was really excited to use my Mom's original Mickey Mouse pan from 1978. Its been handed around our family for years so I'm sure several of my cousins recognize the shape from their birthdays. Micaela helped me bake the cake and I kept telling her "This is your cake, Micaela!" while were were mixing and filling the pan. After it cooled and I flipped it out of the pan I turned away for a few seconds to put the pan in the sink. When I looked back Micaela had grabbed 2 handfuls of Minnie's ears and stuffed them in her mouth. When she could talk again she said, "Micaela's cake!" I guess the birthday girl can have whatever she wants on her birthday (and it was an easy fix with icing). 

On Saturday morning Micalea woke up to balloons and streamers. We spent the morning at the Building for Kids where we were joined by our friends Craig, Anna and Sophie. When they were finally tired we went home for pizza and cake. Micaela had a hard time blowing out the candles but luckily big sister Riley stepped in when she asked for help (I think Riley blew out Sohpie's candles, too. its good to have a big kid around). The girls had a great time opening just a few presents then playing. We had a wonderful day focused on our sweet Micaela. We love seeing her joy and sharing in her happiness.