Happy 2nd Birthday Ruby

I always knew it would be hard to have a December birthday. What I didn't know was how hard it is to be the mother of a child with a December birthday. I had grand plans of throwing her a "real" party this year, but after a few failed attempts at picking a date that would work for everyone we quickly downgraded to a little family party which then led to the continual postponement of the celebration. With December being so full and Ruby being so young "tomorrow" always seemed like the best day to celebrate. Thankfully, my guilt caught up with me and we finally celebrated Ruby's birthday on December 31st. (It just wouldn't have seemed right to be celebrating her big day in both a different month and year than the actual date.)

I may have been late with the party, but we didn't totally neglect December 9th (the official day). Sam and I were leaving to South Carolina for my marathon that evening so we decided to at least make a special breakfast for our big two year old.

Ruby loves to cook (or "stir, stir, stir" as she calls it) so it was the perfect way for her to start the morning.


I realize now that for me making something "special" usually involves food coloring. I often feel like the color purple (the actual color, not the movie) rules Ruby's world. If she sees something purple, she's gotta have it. For this special occasion we had purple pancakes.




Besides purple, Ruby LOVES hearts, So for Ruby, heart pancakes were a must! (Can she really be my daughter? I've never been a heart fan. I even had a phase were I actually despised hearts...just ask Sam. Not to mention that purple is easily my least favorite color.)


Not bad for a first try...


Ruby was thrilled with the singing and the candles.


So thrilled in fact, that we did at least ten times. I think this was at about round 4. There was nothing left of the candles by the time we were done.


On the 31st when we finally got around to the big celebration, purple and hearts were both on the scene. The only thing Ruby also specifically requested was a birthday hat. I thought it was so funny that she would always ask for a hat when we talked about her birthday, which,by the way, we've convinced her is a month long tribute, after we spoke and sang of her birthday frequently throughout the month of December.

Ruby in her birthday hat.


Her cake.


Ruby was so pleased with her cake. She was not pleased, however, when we placed it in front of her and made her sit there and not touch it while I took pictures.








When it finally came time for blowing out the candles she needed a little boost from Grandmother.


And boy was she happy to finally get her cake.




This is how she shows "two". We have some work to do.


After cake we opened presents.



I was so excited to give Ruby her little kitchen. She does love to cook and now she can "stir, stir, stir" all she wants.


After presents it was time for some dancing. It was a party after all.









It may have taken a while, but when it was all said and finally done I think she felt celebrated and very loved.


Happy Birthday my baby Ruby! We love you.