Two Years My Girl

This 'little miss thang' is looking SO grown up these days and I'm feeling nostalgic. Her hair is even beginning to come in as it should! (although I always imagined my offspring would have curly hair...)

Who does the above pic remind you of??? 

(Thanks for the outfit, Aunty Carrie, Uncle Braden & Lucy!)

I'll give you a hint.

My Kalena Jane LOVES all things about Minnie Mouse. She even has TWO Minnie Mouse plush dolls that she has to have (one in each arm) while she sleeps.


It seems like just a short while ago my baby girl really was a tiny baby. We (Mitch and I) were instantly in love with her and we still are. Kalena Jane Schultz has been a joy to live with every day of her two years!

 I did write a post to celebrate Kalena's arrival to the world (She's Here!) and one to document her birth (A birth story). I sure love this little girl.

As I looked through some pictures that highlight her physical growth over the last two years, there were far too many to just upload them all individually (and I'm guessing others aren't as enthralled with them as I am). SO, I grouped pictures into 9-pic collages that can be perused with great speed ;)

Our little princess is quite the conversationalist. I have to laugh at our Dr checkups when they ask if she has X number of words. This girl has been conversing with full sentences for a while now. Trust me. She practices with me ALL DAY LONG ;) Or she has no issue with talking to herself when no one else is available.

Some of Kalena's classic phrases as of late are "How's your day?", "Soooo Boo-ti-ful" and "I love you SO much!" She finishes almost every statement she makes with, "okay?"

Today, Kalena walked over to Grammie and Papa's house (right next door) to play after supper. She was making her way there independently so I was watching from the front door as she meandered, swinging her hips as she went. She hadn't gotten far when she stopped, turned back to look at me and say, "Have fun, mom! Have fun! Okay?" I chuckled and told her to have fun, too, which must have been a satisfactory response because she turned and continued on her way, swinging her hips with all the sweet personality in the world. I love my girl.

There is a whole lot of pink and purple in these pictures, but what do you expect when Lena is our only girl AND she's had limited hair for her life thus far.

Last year, for Kalena's first birthday, I dropped the ball and really didn't do much for her. I felt guilty because for Jett's first birthday (of course he IS a first born) I planned a big shindig. So this year, I tried to make up for my previous lack of effort. My sweet girl was well celebrated.

We first celebrated Kalena's 2nd birthday with Papa and Grammie Schultz a few days early before they headed down to Texas. Kalena loves being 'queen bee' ;)

We didn't have big plans on Kalena's actual birthday, but we did go to Papa & Damma Sawatzky's for a fun birthday lunch.

I planned a very girly Minnie Mouse themed birthday party for Miss Kalena and we invited several of her friends. This was my first time planning a girly party in our home (obviously) but I did my best to cover all bases. I found Minnie Mouse everything: balloons, table clothes (I used one as a backdrop), napkins, cups, plates, candles, treat bags, piñata and of course, cake.

I started the party off by reading a book about Minnie's Bow-tique to the girls. It was my motivational set (Once a teacher, always a teacher) into our... wait for it... CRAFT! I am not a crafty person, but little girls are supposed to like crafts (I think) so we crafted away.

We made bows, of course. ;) I had lots of ribbon, stick on jewels, flowers and beads that could be fastened onto headbands or hair clips.

The girls all really behaved well and had fun as we ate a gourmet dinner of barbecued hotdogs.

AND Cake! I did NOT endeavour to make a cake. My skills are weak and I know it. Dairy Queen takes the credit for this ice cream cake.

Furthermore ;) I can always count on my gifted and famous cake making sister in law Sherry (Sliced Decadence at the Farmer's Market) to supply us with the fruit of her talents.

Did she sing along?? I don't remember, but I think my sweet girly basked in the attention. :)

After cake, Kalena opened her gifts. She loved that part :) No surprise that many of the gifts followed our Minnie Mouse theme.

We finished off the party with a Piñata. This wasn't the typical grab a stick and swing piñata session, though. This is a little girl version that has several ribbons sticking out the bottom. The idea is that each girl grab a ribbon and pull to break open the bottom and let the treats out. I think the girls enjoyed it; especially the candy collecting time :)

We tried to take a picture of all of the girls together before everyone left and these were the best we got.

Such little cuties. I am grateful that Kalena has many sweet friends.

After it was all over, I realized that I didn't get a nice picture of myself with my sweet birthday girl. So, we tried but Lena was all partied out and wouldn't pose for me. ;)

Now, my baby girl is TWO!
I wonder what Kalena will be into next year...