Happy Birthday, Maggie!

My little monkey turned 2 yesterday! We had a fun party for her on Saturday at our house.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and unseasonably warm which meant we could move the party outside after the cake and gifts.  Maggie requested monkeys on her cake and of course Nana was up for the challenge.  She used the fabric from the girls' dresses to create a cute and, more importantly, delicious cake.  

Monkey cake!

I printed monkey masks on card stock and glued them to popsicle sticks as part of the goody bags.  I baked banana bread, served banana chips, and a tropical selection of fruit and dip.  

Is it a Maggie or a monkey?

After Lila got her pup for her birthday last month, Cam and I both felt like Maggie was feeling a little left out of the "big girl" feeling of having a living thing all her own.  So, we decided to get her some ducklings.  She got to pick them out at the feed store and has proudly claimed them "my duck-lings!" since then.


She also got quite a few outdoor toys and games which were really fun to try out in the beautiful weather.  We replaced the "baby" swing with a cool "Tire" swing that's really molded plastic.  But, I liked that both girls could ride together.  It was a big hit.

Don't know if you can tell or not, but the girls have matching dresses.  I scoured local stores for a cute monkey outfit for Mags and didn't find any I liked.  So, I made some.  I bought a plain t-shirt at Old Navy and cut it off for the bodice.  I had a pattern for the skirt part and followed that.  The length on both dresses was a little too short.  I put Mags in leggings and added a red tier to Lila's under the monkey fabric.  They looked cute and were both quite pleased with their matchy dresses. 

It doesn't seem like two years ago that we called our doula, midwife, grandparents and sister to say that Mags was on her way.  I look back on that day with very fond memories.  The two years since then has been full of challenges (who knew two kids could feel like twelve?), and joys ("I luv oo, Lila!").  But, we love our Maggie Moo and wouldn't trade her for the world. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

*On a side note... all photos were taken by my awesome sister (in-law), Renata.