Allie's Two!

My baby is not a baby anymore. Sniff, sniff. How did this happen? One day she's all squished and squirmy and has no control of her own body, and then she's...well, she's this:

 

Beautiful and silly and very mischievous at times. A big girl indeed. 

These last few months have been nothing if not crazy in terms of schedule and house keeping responsibilities. Most of that is because we are getting ready to move to Charlotte and start a new campus of our church there, so we're trying to sell this house and find a new one. Lots of travel, lots of cleaning. And Allie isn't exactly great a the tidiness thing yet. 

So when we began thinking of Allie's birthday, inviting 10 little kids to our house for cake, ice cream, juice and various sugary and staining items, didn't sound so fun or helpful to the "let's-keep-this-house-spic-and-span-for-prospective-buyers" cause. We decided that two is the perfect age to do something a little lower key. 

One is a big birthday, if not for the kid, but for the parents. It's a time to step back and say, "I kept this kid alive a whole year." There's great social pressure to do a 1 year old birthday party, a smash cake, the whole nine yards. 

The three year old birthday is a pretty big one, we've found, because the kid actually has an opinion of what she wants. Ella was slightly completely obsessed with Dora the Explorer when her third birthday came around. And so the theme of her birthday was really a no-brainer. She cared about who came (and who didn't) and still remembers most of the day.

But two? Well, two is what I've affectionately named "the year of the breather" because a two year old rarely has a specific list of birthday party guests, themes, and menus that she desires. And, a two year old will probably not remember her birthday party (or lack thereof). Granted, this term, "the year of the breather" is only appropriate when put in the birthday party context.  Certainly it does not belong within any other conversation revolving around a two year old. 

And that being said, I thought about what our two year old likes the most. And I came up with Family, Fun, and Food. Not necessarily in that order all the time. In fact, as I mentioned in this post, Allie likes eating more than most people 16x their age (me, at 32--yes, I just revealed my age, gasp)! And since we are trying to get the girls excited about moving to a new city soon, we decided that celebrating her birthday in Charlotte would be really fun. So we invited John-John, Pepper, Channing and Mama Nissi and Papa John to meet us at Monkey Joe's, and indoor bounce park, in a part of the city near where we are thinking of planting the church and living. (Pappy was out of town and couldn't make it, but he was invited, of course.)

 

Everyone had a lot of fun (including the adults). But maybe no one more than the birthday girl. Bouncing is her thing.

After we bounced ourselves silly, Brandon and I had the opportunity to take the family to two possible church locations that we are considering. It was great to get their feedback, and by the end of the tour, we were all pretty set that one is going to be better suited for RWOC Charlotte than the other.

Next we went to a local restaurant, but there was a long wait. No problem. We Berrys are resourceful. We transformed John and Pepper's Subaru into Party Central, brought out the gifts and cupcakes (who doesn't like to eat dessert first?) and kept everyone entertained as we sang "Happy Birthday", laughed and talked in the beautiful weather until the dinner bell rang buzzer buzzed calling us inside to dinner.

 Allie received some fun new toys, books and clothes, though she was painstakingly slow to open each one. At some point Big Sister couldn't take the suspense any more and had to "help" Allie tear into them a little faster.

So my baby is growing up. She's doing two-year-old things like tantrums and potty training. She's talking in full sentences now and loves to carry on conversations with anyone or no one at all. And I'm enjoying every minute of it. What a sweet blessing Allie is in our lives. We are so thankful to the Lord that He has entrusted her to us. 

Happy Birthday, Allie!

Into Everything Allie

 There's a book called Oh, David! that I read to Allie often, changing the main character from David to Allie. It goes like this:

"Allie's mommy always says, 'Oh, Allie!' (Picture of baby with entire roll of toilet paper unfurled on bathroom floor).

'Open up, Allie.' (Picture of baby refusing to eat-though Allie eats everything she can get her hands on most of the time.) 'P.U!' (Picture of a satisfied looking baby with a full diaper). ' Hold still, Allie!' (Picture of Mama trying to diaper a super wiggling child.) 'Go night, night, Allie.' (Picture of baby standing in crib.) 'Oh Allie, I love you.' (Picture of baby on Mama's lap reading a book)."

This book goes along with some of the things I love about our second born:

• She loves to explore her world, and isn't afraid to rock the boat, make a mess, etc...when she's caught she always has a coy little smile on her face like, "whaaaaaat? You're mad at me? Have you noticed how absolutely cute I am?'

• Her love for food rivals my own. We have neighbors who laugh because every time Allie comes over to their house, she always beelines it to their pantry, which is stocked with all sorts of yummy food. Though she eats like ravenous wolf, she stays petite, which may be a great thing if her metabolism stays like that when she's older. 

• She's as strong-willed as her Daddy, and she knows what she wants. Whether it's her 'bippy' (pacifier), 'ba ba' (milk) or just a good hug, she is really good at persistently reminding us that her desires are not being presently met. I think that if we hone this attribute in, it will work for her in the future as she advances the Kingdom of God!

•  Her laugh is amazing, and I try to do whatever I have to hear it everyday! She often laughs as she tries to get away from me on the changing table!

• She's a great sleeper and I have never really had a problem with putting her down to sleep for naps or nighttime. She loves routine, but is also flexible when our schedules dictate 

• She's a little lover. A hug from Allie Berry will make anyone's day, and she gives them out liberally. I love how fiercely affectionate this little girl is!

What a precious child of God and gift to our family!

Allie's First Birthday

We had an amazing time at Allie's 1st birthday party. I decided to keep things "low key" and just make the decorations and cupcakes. Turns out, that's not so low key when you have two little kids running around and providing bi-minutely interruptions, and you can't quit the ideas from popping in your head. Yes, low key can turn into almost overwhelming when you have time to check out what all the other creative mamas are doing by Googling "homemade 1st birthday party". At some point, I decided to quit adding and stick to my low key plan. I was having a blast thinking of all the great things I could do with my plethora of scrapbooking supplies and my newfound sewing skills. The final projects that made the cut were a homemade birthday tutu, a customized onesie, birthday hats, cupcakes with toppers, a banner, and some other around the house decor. I was pleased with how it turned out.

One of the best thoughts for the low-keyness of the party was to ask my friend, Rhonda, to take pictures for us. She is a photographer and fellow stay-at-home mom who lives across the street from us. Our 1 year olds are just about at the age now where they can have a play date that consists of more than diaper changes and major meltdowns. So, in lieu of gifts, I asked her to take a few shots for us while they joined in the festivities. This allowed me to enjoy the party without worrying about capturing every moment on film (or digital card).

Click here to see some of her great shots. Also, if you would like to order any of her shots, you can go to rhondadanner.com . Click on Client Proofing, type "allie" in the password box, and take a look at the whole kit and kaboodle. Ordering information is on the website. (The posted pic above is not one of her shots...hers are even better!)

We had a nice turnout for the party, including most of Brandon's family, and a couple of Ella & Allie's friends with their parents. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and we enjoyed grilled hot dogs for those to whom it didn't pose a choking hazard, and other 1 year old appropriate goodies.

The apex of the party had to be Allie getting to break her 1 year sugar fast and tearing into her cupcake. She LOVED it and barely left a crumb to clean up. She also had a chance to experience her first non-diluted juice box and she surely enjoyed it. The kids were a little sugared up by the end of the day, but a nice long outside play time and Easter egg hunt negated it and they happily went to bed on time that night and slept all the way through.

We are so very thankful to have Allie in our lives. She is such a source of joy and laughter in our home, and we are beyond amazed at her sweet spirit. Thank you to all who celebrated with us!

Precious Pics

More Pics of Allie

Introducing...

Allie Elizabeth Berry

April 6, 2009

12:24am

7lbs, 13oz

20 inches