Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Aubrey's Tiger Birthday Party!


We opted not to do a birthday party for Aubrey's first birthday, considering that she 1) wouldn't understand, 2) doesn't have any family in the area, and 3) didn't really have actual friends or play with other kids so much as near them.

But a year makes a big difference in a small person's life, so this year we invited a few friends for a tiger-themed birthday party. After all, Teetagee (Mr. T.) is Aubrey's favorite, and she's always loved tigers!

I had this whole vision of only black and orange foods, but Daniel insisted we have a little more variety than those parameters allowed. Psh, party pooper.

Still, I did manage to work in a number of orange and black foods--orange juice, chocolate milk (an Aubrey favorite), Cheetos, black and orange Sixlets (another Aubrey favorite), olives, orange bell pepper slices, mini carrots, cheddar slices (again, an Aubrey fave), and blue corn tortilla chips (not quite black, but close enough).


Another view of the spread:


I also did a Pinterest thing! And I didn't even mess it up. Granted, it was really easy, but still. I present tiger-face clementines:


And last but not least, we made a tiger pizza. I had grand plans to cut the pepperoni pieces to make a better nose and a much better mouth. I also wanted to incorporate olives for the eyes, etc. But when everyone started arriving and the pizza hadn't even gotten into the oven yet, I had to simplify. So this is what we had.


Yeah, it's a little sad. But whenever Aubrey sees the picture of it on my phone (she loves going through my photo gallery), she says, "It's a tiger!" So I guess that's what really matters, right? Right.

Unfortunately, I was so busy doing food, eating food, and trying to get Aubrey to eat food, that I didn't get many photos of the eating and mingling portion of the party. Like, I got one. And only one of Aubrey's friends is in it. And he's blurry.


After food, we played Pin the Tail on the Tiger--as much as you can do any organized thing with a bunch of toddlers. Daniel Photoshopped an awesome poster (which unfortunately had printing problems just above her head) for the event. 


And again, I didn't get photos of all the cute kids putting their tails on. I was too busy handing out said tails and trying to keep some sense of order. But the finished product is fun. 


After the game, we did cake. I had this whole vision of a tiger-striped cake, but the orange batter was not at all orange, and the stripes just ended up as blobs. Oh well; it's cake.


Singing "Happy Birthday" to Aubrey proved to be the most amusing part of the day. She ducked her head down and got very serious, almost like she was embarrassed. Luckily, we got video.


(Incidentally, she has since become obsessed with watching this video. She claps at the end. It's adorable.)

However, after all of that, I don't know if she even ate any cake. Maybe a little...


My biggest regrets were that I didn't get a proper photo of Aubrey in her tiger outfit (The hood has tiger ears!) and that I didn't do something cute with her hair (I just ran out of time for that one). But those are minor things. Aubrey had a lot of fun, and that's what matters!

Aubrey Turns Two!

Though she has been acting like a bona fide two-year-old for awhile now, Aubrey only officially turned two last week.

*Insert all of the she's-growing-up-too-fast cliches here.*

On her actual birthday, we had a mommy/daughter date at the local zoo. Unfortunately, it had snowed the day before, so it was a little chilly. I tried to dress her in some warm pants and a sweater, but she pointed at her closet and said, "Minnie Mouse dress!" And who was I to argue on her birthday?


When we got to the zoo, we bundled the birthday girl up with a blanket and set off. On the plus side, the lackluster weather meant that there were absolutely no crowds. It was me, Aubrey, and one other mommy/daughter duo that day. It was nice to have the place to ourselves! But the poor girl kept asking me for a picnic, which I had to deny her due to all of the benches being covered in snow. *Sigh*

Anyway, we started off the day with goats, and Aubrey was unimpressed.


The lions compelled her to get out of the stroller, however. And man, they were ready for their closeup! But Aubrey wasn't; she freaked out when I tried to take her picture with them...


... and when I tried to take her picture with me.


I did finally get one okay shot, but that was all she'd give me.


Her favorite animals were the lions, the sloth bear, the meerkats, and--of all things--the water monitor (basically a huge, creepy lizard). She kept telling the lazy guy, "Swim, froggy!" He ignored her.

But mostly, Aubrey was content to carry around a stick and glance at animals on her way past.


After we'd seen all of the animals--some more than once--we headed to a local ice cream place, where we split a chocolate shake (and I ate a whole huge plate of nachos by myself... but that's not really the point).

Aubrey was thrilled that I let her sit in the booth like a big girl. She hates those highchairs! It was a chore keeping her in the bench, but hey, birthday. See how happy she was?


Thankfully, all the people in the adjoining booths were very friendly and didn't get annoyed when Aubrey popped her head over the top of the booth and said things like, "They're all done!" and "He's eating rice!" She was feeling particularly friendly that day.

When we arrived home, Aubrey was ecstatic to have mail and insisted on opening everything right away.

She loved her school bus card from Nana and Papa, which inspired her to sing a familiar song. So glad I had my camera ready!



There was also a package from Aunt Karen and cousin Emma. In it were all of Aubrey's favorite things!


She immediately put on the stickers...



... and tried to blow up the balloons...


... and asked for M&Ms.


Amazingly, considering all of the inducements to stay awake, Aubrey took a decent nap and allowed me to get her presents wrapped and ready for when Daddy got home. And as soon as he did, she came down and dug in.

Well, kind of... it turns out she is a very slow unwrapper.


We got her sidewalk chalk and her own little rocking chair.



Nana and Papa got her a cute little table with a chair and stool, which she loves to use with her toy kitchen.


Grandma and Grandpa got her a bike that triples as an indoor rocker, outdoor push toy, and tricycle. She's only used it indoors as a rocker, but she thinks she's riding a bike and loves it!


In short, she was in present heaven and has been enjoying everything so much.



After opening the presents, we forced her to take a break to eat dinner (which led to tears... oh well). Cake was saved for her birthday party, which I shall write about in my next post. But hey, she had ice cream and M&Ms, right?

So all in all, it was a good day. Hooray for Aubrey, my favorite little person in the whole world!