2nd Birthday, Barney Style

Lyla's actual birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so she was able to enjoy her birthday party on the actual day! The day turned out to be unseasonably warm and we were able to use our new backyard as well. Too bad we did not check the weather a few days before, otherwise we would have turned the heat on in the pool and told everyone to bring their bathing suits!

I decided I wanted to keep her birthday party simple, I think I will go even simpler next year. Like where I feel like I get to ENJOY time with everyone and REALLY focus on Lyla. Lyla LOVES her some ice cream and her Barney, so I went with a Barney ice cream party. Easy! I got several kinds of ice cream and then tons of toppings and let everyone go to town! We still did a cake because after all, you have to have something the stick the candle in. I had my friend Kelly's sister make a Barney cake and it turned out so cute. I had to find the cake mold on you guessed it, ebay! She also is amazing at making cookies and she made Barney and Baby Bop cookies that I handed out as the take home. I know I took pictures of the cookies, they turned out SO cute, but I cannot find where they are, so once I find them I will post pictures. You can find Megan on etsy. She does cookies for all occasions and is amazing enough to pretty much do/try anything you ask! I am sure the moms just loved all the sugar I gave their kids :)

I found Barney napkins and plates online at PartyCity's website. And then pretty much everything else I just accented with purple and green. Again, so easy. I planned to have the party after naptime so that Lyla would be well rested....I don't think she actually slept though! One thing I will do differently next time is designate someone to take pictures the entire party and let them know of specific pictures I want taken. I feel like we hardly have any pictures of her party and it's because I had absolutely NO TIME to take pictures. Thankfully, someone, I believe my wonderful sister and Adam, both picked up the camera at certain points and took pictures. Otherwise we would have none. So thanks!

Adam's parents were able to come down and they were so helpful in getting ready for the party. It also worked out for Adam's grandmother who lives in Florida to make the trip up as well as Adam's aunt Linda and uncle Joe from Louisville, KY to come. They had decided to drive through Atlanta on their way to Florida to stop and visit their brother, and we insisted that they HAD to stay with us for the weekend. We had a house full, but it was so much fun! We loved having all of them here and having enough SPACE for everyone to have their own space! We are loving our house, if I haven't said that enough!! We cannot wait for them all to come visit again. Lyla loved having them all here (and so did Adam and I!). 

This is not from the party, but from the weekend, and it is too cute not to share. Lyla loves her Pawpaw (Adam's dad).

When I say that Lyla loves her Pawpaw, she LOVES her Pawpaw. Everytime she gets on the phone to facetime with Honey (Adam's mom) she asks for Pawpaw. She also still remembers that Pawpaw slept in the guest bedroom, so she will knock on the door and peek her head in and call "Pawpaw?!". And when asked whose bed is in the guest room she will say "Pawpaw".

The topping table.

All different kinds of cones.

Every topping you could imagine.

I also did other kid friendly snacks that are favorites of Lyla's, popcorn, pretzels and goldfish.

Her Barney party outfit.

So, I found THE CUTEST Barney outfit for Lyla to wear for her party on etsy. I mean SO cute. Barney was sparkly, and the tu-tu was super cute. We had worked it out for the lady to get it to us on time and then her sewing machine broke! Talk about BUMMER! So, of course I was running around trying to figure out what she would wear the week of. Finally, since again you can't find Barney anywhere, I decided to buy a sparkly iron-on that you could design on the computer and print out. Adam designed the shirt with Barney holding a 2 and Lyla's name on it. She still LOVES wearing this shirt, surprise surprise! Then I got online and followed a step by step blog on how to make a tu-tu. SO EASY! I even hot glued sparkles on it. So even though I did not end up with the original outfit I wanted her to wear, I ended up saving money by making my own. Maybe next year I will actually be able to make something even better with my new sewing machine....if I can learn how to use it!! It was my Christmas present from my wonderful in-laws and I cannot wait to start using it.

Honey, Lyla and Pawpaw

"Cheese!"

This girl LOVES chex-mix!

Daddy, Lyla and Mawmaw

Feeding Barney some chex.

And some chex for her other Barney.

Nonnie (Adam's Aunt Linda)

Relaxing, watching the game and having a beer...or two :)

Lyla and Mimi...ready for some ice cream.

Is my baby really TWO?!

Barney Cake!

Deciding what toppings she wants.

Good friends and our new neighbors came to help celebrate.

"I want some of everything, momma"

Lindsay, Oliver, and Karin.

Hannah and Lyla

Heather helping with the toppings.

Ms Courtney, Eva and baby Levi waiting to make his appearance.

Ready to eat come cake!

"Happy Birthday to you...my sweet girl!"

Blow that candle out!

Some help from momma and daddy.

The two great-grandmothers.

Lyla is SO lucky to have two wonderful GREAT grandmothers around who love her and are in good health. They are so involved in her life and I love it! My grandmother, Nana, lives here in Atlanta, and loves getting to spend time with Lyla. She even babysits some for us! And then Adam's grandmother, Mawmaw, lives in Florida, but we try to see her as often as we can as well. Lyla loves seeing Mawmaw! When Lyla was born, she actually had FOUR great grandparents alive and has met and spent time with all of them. Unfortunately we had to say good bye to her great granddaddy (my mom's dad) and her great grandmother (Adam's other grandmother). But I think that is still amazing that she got to meet FOUR great grandparents. It will be a special memory for Adam and I and she will be able to look back at the pictures of her with each of them.

Our sweet family!

FINALLY getting her ice cream!

Picking out her toppings. Yes, I let her have what ever she wanted, it was HER day!

Karin and sweet Katherine

Kelly and baby Caroline

Let me just tell you, Lyla LOVES Kelly! It is too cute. She talks about Kelly at LEAST once a day. She always wants to know where Kelly is and what she is doing. She always asks when we get in the car if we can go see Kelly. She LOVES Kelly. I am so thankful for our friendship and how much she loves Lyla. We love the Dean family! The Dean Christmas card was Lyla's favorite because she loved pointing out Kelly, John and baby Caroline. And Lyla is pretty much obsessed with baby Caroline. She loves taking care of Caroline. I think it will be so great when they can actually play together and be great friends!

Enjoying our backyard for the first time.

"Cheese"

Eva and Lyla enjoying their yummy ice cream!

Eva, Lyla, Tripp and Oliver

"yum-yum!"

Time to open presents!

So fun how she really got into it this year.

Our new neighbor, Rosie helping Lyla open gifts.

A tea set!

Water paints!

Reed helping out as well!

A babydoll!

Sweet Hannah.

Aunt Allison and Uncle Dan

It was such a fun day celebrating Lyla with such good friends and family. We are so thankful with the people God has blessed us with in our life and who love Lyla.