Alice's 2nd Birthday Party

I decided to have a small birthday party to celebrate Alice's 2nd birthday.  Nothing fancy, just a playdate with a few friends and cake.  We invited Sammy, Lilly and Izzy.  Since Izzy's mom is a pastery chef who works at our local HEB bakery, I asked if she would make Alice's cake

Since Alice is in her Nemo phase, I asked the cake to be Nemo themed.  Imagine my surprise and delight when Tavo delivered the cake for Alice's birthday.  It was fantastic and more than I ever dreamed..I was thinking it would be nemo shaped, but this was fabulous!  And it tasted delicious.

We had cheese, fruit and chips for the kids to eat while they played outside.  Her sandbox was a hit and they all played side by side in the sandbox for a while.  They also took turns swinging on Alice's new playscape.

We brought the cake out and Alice just about freaked!  She grabbed Dori off the cake first, and we had to hold her back from sticking her hands all in the cake.  We sang happy birthday and I cut the cake.  The cake was so big, we only ate the first tier.  Mom and Dad's co-workers got to enjoy the bottom layer the next week.

Alice enjoyed eating the cake.  She insisted on feeding herself at first, but later let us give her additional mouthfuls as she ran around and played.

The playdate birthday was over, but Alice was full of cake, dirty beyond normal limits and happy.

Happy Birthday Sugar Bear

Mom and Dad love you!

Cactus Balance Game and Donuts

Alice recieved this cactus blalancing game for Christmas.  It's a pretty simple game and pretty fun to play - especially with mom and dad.  After playing this morning, we all piled into the car and went for donuts.  Alice loves donut holes....no taking BITES...she shoves the entire hole into her mouth!

Finding Nemo

I guess every toddler goes through a Finding Nemo stage.  I've had several friends comment on how their kid was addicted to Nemo for some period of time.  Alice started her Nemo stage right before Christmas.  Just like with her obsession with Spirited Away, Alice will recite and enhance the dialogue along with the movie. 
When she first started watching, she called him Meno....which has progressed to Memo....and I'm sure she will eventually get the name right before she loses interest.
As of right now, we find Nemo at least once a day during the week, and up to 3 times a day on the weekend.

Bubbles

I just had to take a screen shot today of Alice at school chasing bubbles.

Looks like alot of fun!

Learning Her Name

She has started to say her name in the last few days. So far she always says it in a whisper. Even if she is talking in her normal volume, when she comes to her name she'll whisper and then resume talking at normal volume. I love hearing her say her name, especially when she looks into the mirror and says "Alice" and "Daddy".

New Playscape

We got Alice a new play-scape for the back yard.  She loves it.  We have done much swinging since it was installed, even in 40 degree weather.  Alice has learned the value of mittens and hats (they let you swing longer), so I guess its an educational toy :)