Kate's 2nd Birthday Pawty

My baby girl turned 2 on the 18th! We celebrated with a party combining her favorite things-dogs, friends, & the outside! We had her friends over from 2-4, and then we had the family at 5. Last year, we combined everyone b/c we didnt have that many babies. I knew our little home would be overflowing if we tried that this year. I am really glad we split the parties, but did them back to back. A little chaotic, but a wonderful day!
I made the invitations and did two variations...One looked like this, and the other was a flat card with the picture and words on the front and the magnet on the back.
The pink poodle hat is from one of my Halloween costumes in college. Poor Luke. While all the other girls were nurses and cowgirls, his girlfriend chose a pink poodle.

I just bought pink notecards and a paw print cutter outer.

And this was the inside. I also added a note below the (free!) magnet that asked everyone to bring something for the puppies at the shelter something instead of Kate a gift. More on that later!

Here is Kate's amazing cake! I showed my friend Stefanie a picture,  and it was way more amazing than I could have imagined! And so delicious too!! Also, you can see Kate's party hat in this pic.

Meg painted this canvas for the occasion. Adorable.

Cant believe we are the parents to this little joy!

Here are the table decorations. I got the plates, napkins, and cups from birthdayexpress.com. The napkins and cups were on super clearance for like 48 cents a package or something ridiculous! Loved the pink poodles!

Of course!

I saw this server on amazon, and just had a fit over it. It didnt exactly fit into our budget (it wasnt that expensive, just a ridiculous purchase), so it was part of my Valentine's Day gift from my sweet hubby! He knows the way to my heart is through cute servers!

The supercheap cups fancied up a bit!

Dog bone treat cookies compliments of KK

I set up some of Kate's puppy friends on the front porch. Dont forget to wipe your paws!

Although you can't tell really well in this pic there were puppy prints on the sidewalk leading up to the house.

On our dining room table, we had puppy ears set up (instead of party hats), and people could drop off their donations for the animal shelter.

The boys got these adorable dog bones with 6 dog bone shaped crayons inside!

The girls got these poodle "hat boxes" with a pink poodle necklace inside!

Some of the cute puppies:

The coffee table with kid friendly treats!

The sweet twins getting ready to sing!

Can you tell Kate is thinking, "Seriously, Mom?"

And now for a costume change:

All the Bousson great grandkids!

Kate's 1st 1st cousin, Audrie

These cousins came all the way from Texas to celebrate Kate's special day!

And brought this awesome table.

We had lots of fun with our new swingset ( I got a giftcard to csn.com from this awesome blog, and Pawpaw and KK did the rest)

Who doesn't love bubbles?

Glorious Chaos

Playing in the new playhouse from PopPop and Grammy. Notice a trend of Kate telling people where to sit in these next few pics. Haha!

Play table from Papa Q and Ninabelle.

And then the sun went down, and things got crazy!

Here is Kate sitting among the goodies for the shelter. We have such generous friends!

We had such a wonderful day celebrating our sweet girl. Several times during the day, I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Do you know that everyone is here for you?" And she would reply with her usual, "Yea!" I really want her to know how loved she is by so many.

Dearest Kate,

You are truly more and more of a blessing everyday. I love you so much more than I ever thought possible. At two, you are trying sometimes, but you are so funny! You love to make people laugh, and you have the best sense of humor. You are also so clever. Sometimes when you should be in trouble, your Daddy and I have to stifle a giggle. Speaking of your Daddy, I pray that you always love him and look up to him like you do now. Yall have the best bond and I hope you treasure your relationship with him forever. You are so sweet with your Bubba too. I love watching yall interact, and you can never kiss him enough. If he is ever fussing, you come and get me. I also love that when I ask, "Who is your best friend?" You yell, "Mommy!" I hope that I am always someone you can confide in, run to when you are hurt, and always feel completely safe with. I pray that you bury your heart in Jesus, and look to him for acceptance, not this world. I just want to shelter it all from you, but I know this isn't the best way. I pray your heart stays tender, and that you dont become hardened to evil and unfairness. Oh, baby girl, I love you so much! On your birthday, I got to rock you until you drifted off the sleep (after your daddy had already done the same thing, you stinker), and I remembered sitting in the hospital room that first night with you. I didnt want to go to sleep, because I didnt want that day to end. Now, I would love to go back to that room, just you, me, and Daddy, and smell your baby hair, and kiss your baby cheeks. You arent a baby anymore, but a precious little girl that I am so proud of.

I love you,

Mommy, your best friend.