May 4

Happy 2nd birthday to Daisy!

Two years ago, Chris and I were riding the high on the arrival of our first daughter.

One year ago, we celebrated with a Derby Day party.

This year, we decided to keep things a lot more low-key. Instead of a big party, we tried to thoughtfully craft a day that Daisy would really enjoy. I asked Daisy what she'd like to eat on her birthday, and she said, "Sausage."

"Sausage?"

"Sausage. Cupcakes. Sausage cupcakes."

My girl never eats sausage. She rarely gets the opportunity to eat sausage. But she insisted that for her birthday she wanted sausage cupcakes.

We decided to take her to the Butterfly House in the morning, because it's one of her favorite places. In the afternoon, we would open presents and have cupcakes and eat her favorite meal: Swedish meatballs with lingonberries and homemade pickles.

My parents were out of town, but Chris' parents were eager to join us for our trip to the Butterfly House, and suggested brunch afterward. Daisy was thrilled.

Unlike last year, today was a cold, gloomy, rainy day. Luckily, things are always warm and bright inside the Butterfly House!

Daisy soaked up the attention from her grandparents. 

Caleb made do with snuggles from Daddy.

I knew that Daisy would enjoy her morning, but I was honestly shocked at how much fun she ended up having. She really relished her time with Grandad and Grandmother!

And then, a butterfly took a liking to Grandmother. Here, she's modeling the latest in fashion: the butterfly beard.

This same butterfly pestered poor Gayle for at least five minutes, landing on her face, her hair, her glasses... Daisy and Dan really got a kick out if it!

Caleb started getting a little bit jealous of all the special time Daisy was getting with Grandad and Grandmother, so he climbed up on their bench for some tickles.

Happy boy!

Can you tell how happy these kids were?

(Can you also tell that these photos are straight out of camera, with absolutely no editing? I'm so overwhelmed by pictures from the last few days that it's all I can do to get them on the blog.)

After we left the butterfly area, Daisy showed Grandad and Grandmother her puzzle skills. Clearly, Grandmother was impressed.

She. Was. So. Happy!

Then Grandad and Grandmother took us to brunch, where Daisy was able to get the sausage she had asked for. Surprisingly, she gobbled it up! Who knew? I was certain the kids would fall asleep on the way home from the restaurant, but I was wrong. They were too happy and hyped up from grandparent time. It turned out to be a great thing that they were still awake, because we arrived home to find that our friends Caleb and Hannah were next door. We delayed nap time just a bit so that the kiddos could play.

After naps, presents. Chris and I only got Daisy a few presents, but last night I sent Chris and Caleb to Target so that Caleb could pick out a gift for his sister. As soon as I said  "Target", Caleb knew exactly what he wanted to get, and where it was. Chris said that Caleb didn't even want to look at anything else; he knew that Daisy would want a little Cinderella doll that he had spied a few weeks ago in the checkout line, among all of the impulse purchases.

The boy was right!

Daisy loved it! This is really her coming over to hug him and say thank you for the doll.

My last-minute purchase for Daisy was a bubble machine; Caleb had a small one that broke, so I purchased this super-duper one for Daisy.

We were not disappointed.

Daisy loved it!

She also loved her main gift from us: a little wooden rocking horse.

After Daisy gobbled up her dinner, she blew out the candle on her cupcake like a pro.

(Don't worry; these are definitely not normal cupcakes. They're bean cupcakes, but they taste almost like real cupcakes.)

See? Daisy approved,

and Caleb approved.

Happy birthday, Daisy!