Everyone comes clown around as Ellie turns 2!

Hooray!  It was the morning of Ellie's 2nd Birthday Party, and big sis Evie wanted to snuggle in their pajamas before getting ready. 

 

 

The big show started at noon - the theme, of course, was a Circus Carnival Celebration! Mom coincidentally had a lot of fun with chalkboard spray paint this year... 

 

The dessert table was set with clown cupcakes, three types of popcorn, snack cups, rice krispie treats, donuts, and ice cream cones decorated as clown hats. 

Mommy and Daddy had spent an hour creating the circus canopy in the dining room - what a masterpiece! 

Of course, the best part is always Daddy's cake creation - this year an adorable clown with licorice string hair, jelly bean buttons, lollipop nose, and vanilla wafer bow tie.  Unfortunately we ran out of yellow food coloring, hence the interesting choice of green shirt (Marc says the army green color was in honor of Memorial Day - huh).  It still impressed everyone, though, and tasted delicious! 

  

 

Mom's piece de resistance was the bean bag toss chalk clown which she drew by hand (thankfully chalk is a forgiving medium). The kids had a blast throwing the bags into the holes and also hitting the cans (Evie particularly liked standing 2 feet away despite Opa's attempts to get her to step farther away).  

 

Aunty Lillian came all the way from Philadelphia for the celebration!  She was a great help putting the last minute things together for the party.  

 

Mom and Ba enjoy the perfect weather - high 60s and a slight breeze kept everyone outside having fun.

 

Mason, Charley, and Katie all try some "duck fishing" in the water table... luckily, Daddy had used some powerful magnets, so the real challenge was trying to get the duckies off the fishing poles!

Luke, Bryn and her sister London all enjoyed the spin art station (a tradition for our girls' second birthdays).  Thankfully this year it didn't break after a couple of tries like at Evie's.  

 

Then Mollie the Clown arrived, to everyone's delight (and occasional screaming). Actually most kids were ok and everyone had warmed up by the end, especially Evie, who really got into being Mollie's assistant.  Meanwhile, Ellie was waking up from her nap and took a little bit of persuasion to get in the party mood.   

 Evie got to sport her official clown hair in her capacity as special deputy assistant to the clown.

... which she later traded for a giant rainbow hat.  

 

Ah, finally there's the birthday girl!  Ellie finally woke up and was ready to party, and nothing gets her in the mood like a limbo dance!  Even Ba gets in the action with other kids and parents. 

 

Alex was a good sport and served as deputy assistant to the clown, and recruited Lori to hold the limbo pole.  He also is pretty skilled at freeze dancing. There are some great advantages to being short, as the girls learned through this game. 

 

And you thought chicken dance only happened at weddings? Mom and Ellie show off their quacking skills.  Mommy admittedly got a little confused on when you clap and when you wiggle your tail feather. 

 

Evie mastered the moves quickly, flapping her chicken wings with gusto! 

 

The best part of the chicken dance was holding hands as we walked in a circle, Ellie's favorite part.

 

We take a break from the dance party to blow out the #2 candle on the cake (hidden under the clown's party hat).   

Look at this beautiful girl - who can believe she's already 2?!?

Later Ellie enjoyed a rice krispie treat and cupcake. Poor clownie was decapitated and then Evie started licking its lollipop nose... 

 

Lucy had fun playing with the circus blocks inside. She is perhaps the only 2-year-old I've ever seen that actually liked wearing a party hat.  

 

Later, Ellie had a chance to do the spin art with Ba.

Bebe had come all the way down from New Jersey to celebrate with the girls.  They both cozied up and then fell quickly asleep at around 5 p.m.  Whew, what a day!  Thanks to everyone for joining us and making Ellie's second birthday so special!  

Evie's Graduation from MHCP

On the last day of school, we celebrated Evie's graduation with a small ceremony in the MHCP courtyard.  Unfortunately it was a little rainy but a big tree kept us dry before it started raining harder. Before the big ceremony, Ellie got some practice on the playground since the little babe will be starting the 2's class next fall.  Looks like she already feels at home!

Then each student was announced at the door, and then took a ceremonial trip down the slide. Here's Evie's turn, as she slides down into Ms. Elaine's arms for a hug and a flower. 

 

Mommy and Ellie cheer for Evie! 

Evie and her classmates take one quick picture to celebrate a great year!  Off to kindergarten! 

High Art, Low Art Weekend!

We kicked off the weekend with Evie's art show at the Athenaeum Gallery in Old Town, which was a beautiful setting to be impressed by all the art on display.  Evie proudly stands by her cherry blossom tree, put together with tissue paper, paint, and green construction paper.

Ellie was impressed by the art gallery, despite her blase expression, but also by the goldfish snacks.  Afterwards, the family celebrated with burgers and froyo in Old Town. 

Then, on Friday, we headed up to New Jersey for the cousins' May birthday celebrations: Ellie is turning 2, JJ is 5 and Stanny is 4! The morning was spent at the Barnum and Bailey Circus "Built to Amaze", where the kids and grown-ups too enjoyed the tightrope walkers, elephants, tigers, and fancy poodles do their tricks.  Then it was back home to Bebe and Popi's for cupcakes and candles! The birthday girls and boy get ready to blow out their candles as the family sings along. 

 

Ellie gently blew out her No. 2 candle like a pro. 

Then she and big sis Evie dig into the frosting, their favorite part, of course. 

JJ and Stan are delighted too with the pink frosting and sprinkles.  

Later Bebe gave Ellie a case of the giggles.  

Which cousin Molly was too happy to join in.  

 

Even Popi got into the action, a clown at heart. 

 

Later Stan sang us a beautiful song. 

Aunty Karen and Bryn relax on the couch.  Poor Bryn might have had a little too much cotton candy. What a trooper!

 

Bebe and Ellie play with her new Minnie the Mouse car.  What a wonderful birthday celebration for everyone! 

A week to celebrate Mother's Day

 

A week for mothers?  Why not?  Mom and Ba started the celebrations early with a tour and tea at the National Cathedral on Tuesday.

Despite the rainy day, the stained glass windows still looked beautiful and the two ladies enjoyed the stories and learning about the history of the cathedral.

Then, on Wednesday, Mommy was able to go to Evie's Mother's Day tea at her preschool and listened to the kids sing a beautiful song to the mommies.

Evie also showered her with gifts like a flower pot, handprint bookmark, and the beautiful grass they had grown in class.  What a memorable day for the both of us!

 

Then, on Saturday, the girls and Mommy got all fancied up for a Fancy Nancy tea party at the library.   Do we know how to put together a beautiful ensemble or what? 

The girls enjoy some time on the swing before we head to the party, where we enjoyed cupcakes, watermelon, and crackers, along with stories, craft-making, and a little hokey pokey.  

Ellie gets some nice pushes from big sis.

Then on Sunday we enjoyed a delicious brunch at the Carlyle.  The girls loved eating their brioche french toast but liked the donuts the most.

Look at these beautiful mom and daughters!

Ellie loves climbing onto Opa's lap for a story.

And dancing was something the two sisters could not live without!

Big smiles! We are very lucky mothers!