Gwen's Messy 2nd Birthday Party

What do 2-year olds love to do? Make a mess. So that's precisely what Ariella planned for Gwen's second birthday party on Saturday afternoon. The yard was littered with different activities that let Gwen, Morgan and their friends get completely messy -- and for once, it was totally okay.

Canvas painting was the first activity on the Messy Mystery Tour. We hung a giant canvas on the side of our fence in the back yard and left a table full of brushes, paints and fingerpaints for the kids flaunt their artistic sides. By the end of the party, the white canvas was covered with birthday messages for Gwen.

 

Speaking of fingerpaints, the next messy activity combined 6 tubes of fingerpaint with 8 pounds of spaghetti. The result was a slimy, colorful mess that all the kids (and even some of the adults) found irresistible.

The Squishy Bath (sold in stores as "Squishy Baff") was another thrill for the little ones. Take 16 gallons of water. Add two packages of mystery powder and -- PRESTO! -- you've got 16 gallons of sloppy, jello-like, pink slop to splash around in. When you're done, add two packets of sodium chloride (a.k.a. salt) and it turns back into liquid. It all sounds like a science experiment gone wrong. But for the kids, it was one of the biggest hits of the party. Gwen yelled "Apple Sauce!" when she stepped into the tub, which is exactly what it felt like. 

"Goop" was another fun activity for the kids. It's 4 parts corn starch, and one part water. Mix it together and you've got a slimy, rubbery paste that oozes through your fingers. (Bonus: wait for it to dry and you can use it as sidewalk chalk!)

After all that messing around, it was time for food. Keeping with the theme of the party, Ariella and Lindsay cooked up a whole menu of messy goodness: Buffalo Chicken roll-up, sticky barbecue ribs, pulled barbecue chicken, gooey mac n' cheese, and more. 

After dinner, we capped off our feast with more messy treats: Frosting-splattered birthday cake (the cake itself was chocolate and strawberry swirled together). And, of course, no messy party would be complete without chocolate fountain.

Soon, everyone was back outside. After a second round of messy fun, Gwen opened up her birthday presents. Gwen cleaned up (figuratively) with a singing Jasmine doll, a new baby doll, a teddy bear that's made to be scribbled on, and much more.

At the end of the party, everyone cleaned up (literally) at the final pit-stop of the day: the Clean-Up Station.

Gwen Turns Two

I know we say this every time one of the girls has a birthday, but we'll say it again: We can't believe another year has gone by. It seems like it was just yesterday we were welcoming little Gwendolyn into the family. But on Thursday, our little girl celebrated her second birthday. 

As you'd expect, Gwen has changed a ton since her first birthday. She's talking in full sentences. She loves to play, color and blow bubbles. She also loves Dora the Explorer and Disney Princesses (especially Jasmine). Her favorite foods are bananas, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, and scrambled eggs. And, of course, her bald little head has been replaced by a mop of curly blonde hair. 

At her 2-year checkup on Monday, she weighed 24.2 lbs (18%), was 33.75 inches tall (48%) and had a 19.25 inch head (85%). 

On her birthday, we started off the morning with donuts before heading to school (where she gobbled up even more donuts with her friends). After school, we opened up birthday presents from Mom and Dad.

Gwen's big gift was a new wagon for her and Morgan to ride in. She also opened up a set of Aladin figurines (including Jasmine, of course), a "Jasmine Castle" (as she squealed with glee), the third book in the Knuffle Bunny series (Knuffle Bunny Free), baby princess dolls, and a Blu-ray of Toy Story 2. ("Buzz and Woody in there!" she said)

  

After dinner, we took the birthday girl for a spin in her new wagon. And of course, no birthday would be complete without singing Happy Birthday and eating cake. Gwen blew out her candles like a champ (must be all her experience blowing bubbles).

On Friday morning, we continued Gwen's birthday celebration at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. Gwen was only about 7 months old the last time we took her to Please Touch, so it was all new to her. She loved splashing in the duck pond, and picking out groceries in the kid-sized market (she cleared out their entire banana section).

   

  
After cooking dinner and delivering some mail, Gwen gave an MRI to a baby doll before exploring Wonderland with Mom, Morgan and Aunt Lindsay. Her birthday adventure was over, but her birthday weekend was just beginning.

4th of July in Connecticut

Memorial Day is the "unofficial" start of summer. But in our family, summer officially starts with our first trip to Alexander's Lake, usually around July 4. This year, with Independence Day falling on a Wednesday, we turned our trip in a weeklong affair. And with Aimee, Henry and Alex also spending the week in Connecticut, it was going to be a very full house.  

On Tuesday, July 3, we celebrated Alex's 11th birthday with donuts and presents at breakfast. Morgan and Gwen can pack away donuts pretty well for kids their age. But they're nothing compared to the Coleman boys.

  

While Alex and Morgan spent most of their time in the water, Gwen spent her time trying to figure out where the cats go when they scoot through the hole in the basement door (above).

Morgan has gotten so good at swimming in her "floatie" that she get herself all over the place. She still hasn't figured out to get herself up onto the end of the dock, though.

On the Fourth of July, we visited with the Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. Like last year, Morgan loved drawing alongside Sarah and Alex. But perhaps the biggest hit of the afternoon were the red, white and blue popsicles. 

Alison shot the photo above herself. Gwen wasn't prepared for the shot. (Or Allie, for that matter.) Later, the girls proudly hammed-it-up for the camera in patriotic attire while we waited for the fireworks to begin. 

This year, we let Gwen stay up late to watch the fireworks over the lake. This was the first time she had seen fireworks in person. She LOVED it, and screamed "Lookee 'dat!" ("look at that") every time another firework lit up the sky. 

 

Before the night was over, Morgan needed to capture her memories in a drawing (below). I understand the firework sticker and light sticks. But I'm not sure there are actually dolphins in Alexander's Lake. 

On Thursday, Ariella and Andy took Morgan to see her first movie in a theater -- Disney's Brave. In the past, Morgan has gotten very emotional during the intense moments in movies (yes, even Princess movies). But that day, Morgan confidently gobbled up her bag of popcorn and soaked in every second of the movie on the big screen. At the end of the movie (spoiler alert: there was a happy ending), she turned to Ariella and said, "I didn't even cry!"

Back at the house, Morgan practiced jumping off the dock. After nearly a week of being timid around the water, Gwen finally decided she was brave enough to trying jumping, too.

We spent the rest of the week lounging and swimming. Morgan (who is starting to read short words) loved spelling all the kids names with the giant letters Andy's Mom cut out. Then she wrote her name and squished her handprint into a cement decoration. (She always writes her "g" backwards -- that's kind of her thing.)

Before we left on Saturday, we snapped our annual "Dock Shot" of the four cousins. Every year, we're amazed at how much the kids have changed. This year, Gwen and Henry got the award for "Changed Most Since 12 Months Ago". Compare for yourself -- here are the shots from 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008.