"Little Lady Bug" Turns TWO!!

Little Ainsley, AKA "The Lady Bug" turned two on Friday. The next day was her birthday party. The day was off to a great start when Mary, her sweet babysitter/nanny came over with a pink donut with sprinkles on it. Mary knows what a birthday girl likes for breakfast!

She had a fun birthday party with a lady bug theme that afternoon,with lots of her friends and her mom's and dad's friends. The highlight of the party was a visit from "The Tumble Bus," a recycled school bus outfitted with a small trampoline, padded walls, monkey bars and all sorts of things to climb up and slide down!

Daddy and her friend Anthony helped her blow out the candles on her lady bug cake!

She even dressed like a lady bug!

This is what was going on inside the Tumble Bus!!

It was hard to get a clear picture because she was in constant

motion!

Mommy, Mary, and Lisa

When the party was over, Lisa and Matt stayed for Ainsley to open their present. Here it is:

To all of my grandmother/friends, you may want to steal this great idea. It's from Hallmark, and it records YOUR voice reading the entire book! Ainsley now has "Aunt Lisa and Uncle Matt" reading her this beautiful book!

And she loved this super soft big blanket from her Gigi, especially before she opened it all the way up and used it like a "muff." Before she went to bed, she said, "I want my SOFT blanket."

 Here she is playing with one of her presents, a little van that she quickly labeled "The Tumble Bus!!!"

Papa and I got her a new tricycle, which she called her "motorcycle," and Macy and Marshall gave me some money, and asked me to go shopping for a helmet for her when I got to Houston (they wanted her to pick it out.) She takes her shopping very seriously.

The Barbie one was OK...until we found....

....the "Bling-Bling Monkey Helmet!" You can't see it but it even has pink rhinestones on it.

Today, before I had to leave, Ainsley was eating breakfast and watching the news on tv (really!) and I couldn't resist taking a few more pictures of her. She has changed so much in just two months since I had seen her. She truly is turning into a "little girl." She is almost potty-trained! She can identify many of the alphabet letters and can sing the "ABC Song." Like all two-year olds, everything is "MINE." When I started singing the "ABC Song," she said, "NO, Mimi, MY ABC SONG!" She loves to put together wooden puzzles and doesn't need much help anymore. She also loves to color and dance. She enjoys watching "Word World" on tv, and can identify the words as soon as they pop up. Her teachers are amazed at how she talks in complete sentences. At her cupcake party in her classroom Friday afternoon, she got up to throw away her napkin, and she even said, "I go to throw away my trash." Later that night, she said, "Mom, may I have a drink of water, please." And then the one that surprised me later in the evening, was when she said, "I want the light on in the other room." A nine-word sentence! And she just turned two! Here are just a few more pictures that captivated me this morning.

Little Lady Bug, it was such a fun weekend. I can't wait to see what new things you'll be doing this next year in your life. I think if I had the power, I'd freeze you at this age!