She's Two and a Day

Well, Brigid celebrated her second birthday much like she celebrates every day ... loudly. I picked up some balloons to have in the living room for when she woke up, which had the desired effect. They were the first thing she saw and was very excited by them. She spent much of the day running from balloon to balloon, pumping them and pulling on them. We did get her to call them her "Happy Birthday balloons" but I don't know if she ever made the connection and understood her birthday. Jack took her out for her birthday lunch -- hotdogs and ice cream (or e-eeeem) at Stewart's. She had a great nap and woke up in a great mood after I got home from work. We played and watched a little Madagascar before having to go get Margaret at school. I had to pick up a few things for dinner, so I grabbed a box cake mix and frosting tub and, at 3:15, started a birthday cake for her. It was cool enough prior to dinner to frost. It wasn't pretty; my cakes never are. But she had a cake.

She ate a good dinner of broccoli and hamburger (ate the cheese off it first) and then I brought the cake out with two lit candles on it. We sang, and she seemed a little unsure of the whole thing. In fact, I thought she was going to cry for a second. I took pictures while Jack tried to help her blow out the candles. She gave it a few pfftts and looked a little bewildered. But (with Daddy's help) the candles went out and I gave her a hunk on the tray. She immediately dug in, mostly because she thought the frosting was e-eeem. Chocolate cake and white frosting ... yum. She didn't open gifts because we're having Grandma and Granddad Downs over for supper (and hopefully her Uncle John, too, if he can make it) on Saturday. Auntie Shell can't make it, but we'll get together with her as soon as we can :)

In our house, it's always birthday month, anyway, because nothing ever gets celebrated on the right day. That's OK, because it stretches things out and makes it truly special. I kept saying to Brigid, "You're two! You're two!" and she'd repeat it and play with the balloons. Maybe it was the frosting, maybe it was the excitement of balloons in the house. I'll never know, but she did have an awful night for sleeping. She woke about midnight and wouldn't go back down so I brought her in with us. She was fitful and awake much of the night. She wanted to nurse but was punching and kicking throughout so I just rolled over in the hopes that she'd fall asleep. She did, for a while, then started climbing all over me again. Neither of us got much sleep overall and she wasn't in the best of moods when I left for work this morning. Hopefully, that will improve. The other two girls have a half day of school today, so Brigid will have Margaret and Patricia at home for much of the day. That will make her happy. And a happy Brigid is a happy home.