"Climb that tree..."

If Elise had a list of her all-time Top 5 books, "Go, Dog. Go!" would be assured a spot. So when Anni was trying to figure out what kind of cake to make Elise for her 2nd birthday last weekend, "Go, Dog. Go!" was an obvious theme for the cake. (It was not a "themed" party, however. I'm just fine with stopping at a themed cake.) So Anni used the final scene from the book as the basis for Elise's cake. Gotta admit: I don't know a thing about cake decorating, but that cake looked really good.

It was a good party; thanks to all the family and the Singels for showing up. I used to wonder why people held "parties" for kids so young, but now I get it. (If nothing else, we do it to see how many relatives we can fit in one room -- peaceably!) Elise had a good time, even if she was a bit overwhelmed. After all, the girl just wanted to eat grapes, and we kept pushing presents on her. (See an upcoming blog post about The Grandparent Gifts.)

Here are some photos from the birthday party:

Elise helped Anni make frosting for the cake. 

Kid + bag of sugar  = happy kid.

Watching the magic.

So here's the cake and the picture Anni tried to replicate -- and my left hand. Not a bad cake, huh? She found little toy dogs to put on the cake.

Gift opening. I don't have a camera lens wide enough to include all 17 people who were in our living room. Yes, 17. And there were empty chairs.

One of the gifts we gave Elise were a pair of rubber rain boots for her to use in the garden this summer. She loves hanging out in there, and this is cheaper than going through several pairs of shoes over the course of the summer. Plus, even I'll admit those are some cool boots for the little lady.

Some mornings, I wish I had pull-'em-up-straps like these on my shoes.

If there was a theme to the party, it might have involved gardening. We got Elise the boots, and her cousins Randy and Jacob gave her a children's gardening kit. (Rake, shovel, seeds and, as you can see, an umbrella.) She is set for the summer.

Candle concentration.

Cute, right? Well, what if I told you what Elise usually does is offer to share food -- only to yank it away and give you a devilish "heh, heh" in return? She's discovered playful teasing. This time, though, she was all about sharing with Anni.

We like this picture. I like it because it's as close as we'll get to having Elise hold the fork and give an expression reminiscent of the painting "American Gothic."