Lyla just had her second birthday last Sunday, and Dustin and I wanted to make sure our gal celebrated in style! Since her birthday fell on a Sunday this year, I wanted to make sure she still got a chance to go out and do something fun, so we decided to take Lyla to Fairyland for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this place was the PERFECT size for someone like Lyla. All the cute little storybook set-ups were just her size, and she loved that the characters and things to do were all within her little reach. While we were there we even got to ride a few rides and take in a puppet show. She is still talking about Fairyland and the good time she had, so I'm sure we'll have to go back again some time!
While we were wrapping things up at Fairyland, I had a brilliant (and selfish!) idea to take Lyla to Fentons for the first time as well. For those not familiar, Fentons is an ice cream shop in Oakland that has enormous ice cream creations. I have been having major ice cream cravings, so I thought all would enjoy a treat from here. Lyla loved all the ice cream that Dustin, Sherie, and I had, and was surprisingly neat and refined in her ice cream-eating technique.
The next morning was Lyla's actual birthday, and I wanted to make sure she had all day dedicated to her favorite things. So, we started off with a breakfast consisting of Sesame Street pancakes (Lyla's favorite show), sausage links (which Lyla could easily stomach 4 or 5 links!), and strawberries (one of Lyla's many go-to fruit options). At breakfast she kept asking questions about her birthday, the cake, and the presents. By the time we were getting ready to go to church, I think Lyla had started to grasp the concept that this day was her special day.
I had asked Lyla earlier in the week what she wanted me to cook for her birthday dinner, and she kept saying that she wanted chicken and rice, so I was happy to oblige as it's one of my favorites as well. I didn't think after Lyla's super helping of food that she could possibly have any extra room for cake, but sure enough she was asking for cake as soon as dinner was finishing up. I was trying to redeem myself from last year's cake failure, so I opted for a simple Sesame Street stencil design. Theoretically, it should have looked great BUT I tried out a nice ready-made icing to write with and it came out quite shaky. Lyla didn't seem to mind - she loved the cake and the singing and candle blowing that comes with it!
Lyla was REALLY excited to open her presents, but she was great at waiting patiently to open them. She got so excited about each and every gift, and every time Dustin tried to take her picture, she grabbed the latest opened present and smiled the biggest grin complete with squinted eyes and yelled "Cheese!".
We were so excited for Lyla's birthday and were so happy she was pleased with the whole event. Dustin said that when he was leaving the room that night after tucking her in, Lyla said "I love you Daddy. Thank you for birthday." That alone is always enough to make any and all efforts to make this girl happy worth it. We love you Lyla!
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