The Birthday Princess' Day

Well, some of you have already asked me where birthday party pictures are and why I haven't updated.  Considering her birthday was Thursday, her party was Saturday, and today is Monday, I think I'm doing okay. Yesterday was my day of rest and I think I needed it!  (I think too many of you abuse my typical efficiency. :))

Late Thursday night, I updated Bailey's site with pictures from her big entry into the world of everything that is two.  That day included her waking up and looking out the living room windows to spot her brand new car.  Sixteen, two, eighteen, it's all the same, right?  But low and behold, Bailey had her very own pink car topped with a bright pink bow.  And the day had barely begun...

We had an appointment to have her pictures taken and we weren't thrilled with the time we had (11:50) but we went anyway to discover a long line, a completely full waiting room, and the girls claiming the wait to be 20-30 minutes when we knew that was laughable.  We opted to skip that and go ahead to our intended destination, which was Chuck E. Cheese where our two year could be a kid, since she's officially no longer a baby.

First, before we could do so, we took Bailey across the street to a Walmart to purchase a cake.  I detest store-bought cakes, but we thought Bailey would enjoy picking out her very own cake.  She spent a long time debating this task, and possibly questioning our motives since we've never allowed her to do this before, and finally chose a "rabbit cake" with the proudest of expressions.

With cake in hands, and properly titled with her name on it, we went to The Cheese.  Bailey was adorned with a crown and birthday balloon and we found a table quite close to the dancing, singing, robotic mouse.  Bailey was in awe of this critter on stage and she would constantly wave at him, and run to the stage and just look up at him like a crazed little fan.  She was definitely a groupie, but it was very adorable.

While waiting for our pizza, Bailey warmed up to her stimulating surroundings:  rowdy rugrats and noisy gadgets.  Bailey was far too overwhelmed to enjoy much of her pizza once it did arrive, but never too much to visit her mouse.  When he would sing, she'd dance a little jig right up front for anyone to see.

Bailey was very excited when it came time for her cake.  She immediately knew what to do once the candles were lit.  We sang to our little ti and savored her impatience as we went to cut the cake.  She devoured every last shred of the frosting and was ready to visit her rodent hero once more.  It was marvelously sweet.

She opened the present we brought and played with it for a little bit.  It was a magnetic puzzle.  There was a net with a magnet on it that you used to "catch" the buggy puzzle pieces.  Like so many other tasks we've witnessed, Bailey knew exactly what to do without any instructions.

Daddy went and asked if Chuck E. Cheese himself would be making any appearances, and immediately following, there he was!  Bailey saw him , but had to glance back at the stage version before running to him with haste and determination.  She followed him around intently, proclaiming, "WAIT, MOUSE!"  He patted her head several times and I could've sworn she reconsidered ever letting her hair be washed again.

After spending several hours at the Mouse Headquarters, Bailey was worn out (with good reason).  We cashed in our tickets, picked out some prizes and the second we pulled out of the parking lot, she was off to slumberland. 

Since she was napping, we decided that perhaps we could make our rescheduled photography appointment after all (we were never certain whether we would bail or not) and we let her continue her nap.  She woke up just in time to go inside and wait a little longer, while she gathered her energy together again (and that really didn't take long).  Our photographer was a bit pushy, pushier than we ever liked (she expected our two-year-old to pose exactly how she wanted, and all of her bright ideas cost herself more time and several adorable chances at fabulous sales.  I let her be until she had Bailey upset, and then we said we were done, went through what she had taken, picked out a couple and called it finished.

We had Bailey's favorite breadsticks for dinner (Fazoli's) and came home to play some more.  It was truly a memorable day for us and I think she had a little bit of fun herself.