Isabelle Turns TWO!

(For those of you who didn't see the post a few days ago, we are playing catch up all the way back from the Spring)

 

Isabelle turned TWO on May 15!!

We started that Saturday morning with a big breakfast & presents ... like Christmas! Isabelle didn't need or even ask for anything but we thought we'd spoil her just a tiny bit since we had access to Target! Okay, so our access to Target was a 75 mile drive, but it was access nonetheless. We didn't get her much but it was still fun shopping for her because we knew what she would like. (For the next 4 years of birthdays, we've had to buy ahead & just hope that she'll like what we've already bought her!)

We knew she'd like a computer even though she doesn't know how to work it yet. She played with one at her cousins' house for hours back in January & we thought it'd come in handy on our long road trips. It was a hit!



This was "winner, winner Chicken dinner"!! They had a similar tea set at the missions house in Bowling Green & Isabelle loved it. After our trip to the museum in Lexington, she really started loving to "pretend play" having tea. She still loves to play with it today & I'd be lying if I said she didn't play with it everyday!



You are probably wondering ... "Sesame Street socks, seriously?" But, let me tell you, she loves these things! Who knew? She likes to wear one blue Cookie Monster sock & one red Elmo sock to bed at nights ... even in Niger! She looks like such a nerd walking around the house in her pajamas & mismatched socks. Mark picked up a few things from the $1-spot at Target so she could have more presents to open without us spending a ton. This was one & the other was foam swords ... which she loved & played with so much, they finally broke in half!



The other big hit was this fancy stroller ... for a whopping $10! She cruised around my parents house everyday pushing this thing with my old baby doll in it. When we started packing to come back to Niger, we put most of her toys & books on the crate because they wouldn't all fit in our suitcases. When we started packing our suitcases, we realized we had forgot to put the stroller on the crate. Luckily it was just long enough to fit in our suitcases! It's a good thing because that stroller has seen every side of our house & every room of our house about a hundred times since we've been here!



And this is what Luke thought about the birthday festivities!



What 2 year birthday isn't complete without a pink cowgirl hat?! This is what GB got Isabelle for her birthday &, as you can tell from the picture, she loved it!



After opening presents we headed to Sioux Falls, SD (a 2 1/2 hour drive). Mark had to speak at a church there on Sunday & we thought we'd just make a weekend of it by getting a hotel room, swimming & going to Chuck E. Cheese's. Since I knew I'd be making a cake for her birthday party the following weekend, we just went easy-peasy & bought cupcakes at the store. Obviously, Izzy was pretty upset about this!



Blowing out her birthday candle for the first time! She couldn't quite do this at her 1st birthday!



Who needs a fork? Just dig right in!



Delicious!



This child loves to swim and jump off the sides. I would've posted pictures of her jumping but they all involved me with my face shaped awkwardly as I was bracing myself for impact! Trust me, no one wants to see those!