Elyse is 2!

It's been almost a week since I've posted and I know I'm promised a few birthday pictures so we will start with those. 

The small, but simple details I still like to capture:

 Shirt:  $1.75, Tutu:  $6.99......seeing Elyse play in rain puddles while wearing them.....priceless.  I really wish I had grabbed my camera.  A muddy tutu butt is pretty cute.

 Opening presents.  She is getting more and more into it with each passing celebration.  She was equally as excited about clothes as well as toys which I found comical.

 She loved her new dresses.....

 and shoes which had to be displayed immediately.

 I found this Disney Princess tunnel and tent on clearance over 6 months ago, normally $30 for $7.  It's big and tacky but oh so much fun for $7!  This is Elyse and Matt inside the tent with me peeking into the tunnel.  Notice her baby doll in the carrier to the right of the picture, who just absolutely had to be in the tent as well.

I barely believe the number 2 on that candle.  She's making the transition from baby/toddler to child.  It's a privilege to witness and bittersweet to reach this milestone.  There are days that just don't go by fast enough that I struggle to get through but at the same time, I blinked and her first 2 years are behind us.  Surviving while savoring these early, tender, challenging years is something I'm still trying to balance how to do.

Apparently Matt got rather tuckered out from the festivities so my younger sister and I couldn't resist to crown him princess.

It was a good day.