Is she really TWO already?

My how the time flew. My baby girl is now officially a two year old. I have watched her grow, watched her become ever more independent as each day passes. And she's just a delight to behold.

She has the strongest will and wants to be capable beyond her capabilities which frustrates her sometimes but eventually, if she is unable to do what she is attempting, she will accept defeat and ask "Mommy, hep?" (hep would be help in toddler talk).

We had a birthday party for her at my ex husbands house with my ex mother in law there. Sounds like a volatile situation, but contrary to popular assumption, we actually all get along rather well now that the stress of the marriage is gone.

So I picked up a cake that I had ordered over the phone with no idea what it was going to look like when I got there (the signs of a busy mom). I just requested a "cake with Elmo on it". It was so adorable! There was a little 3" Elmo character on the top with a hacky sack that looked like a beach ball and Elmo was plunked down on a sandy shore with waves about to tickle his feet.

Elektra did not ingest a single bit of said cake. She did eat a very small portion of frosting and she also smashed her piece joyfully before shaking her frosting-laden hand ferociously at her grandmother in adamant protest of the awful stickiness!

I bought her some of those Crayola magic markers and paper where the markers won't mark on anything but the special paper. Of course, if/when she runs out of the 40 sheets I got her, the markers will be useless so I'll have to purchase more "magic" paper.

Excellent profiteering idea from someone in the board room at Crayola! But hey, what price to pay to keep my what used to be a white couch the now dingy greyish no longer so much of a white color instead of Crayola colors. Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe it would look better if I bought her some fabric paint and let her go to town on my not so white couch?

Necessity was the mother of invention until the invention negated necessity and bore a different invnention, hence came along father.

Don't ask. I did, but I wasn't able to answer myself satisfactorily.

Back to my lovely Elektra and her gifts which her torn from their packaging with glee. Her favorite of all her new toys? A Happy Birthday Elmo from her dad's new roommate who has known her for all of 2.25 weeks. Now why didn't I think of that? Oh well.

Hey, bright side... The roommate is pretty cool and Elektra likes him. Which of course gets him big points in my book. My daughter has to live with him 1/2 the time so the fact that she likes him is really rather awesome.

I can't wait to get her into the dress that her grandma bought for her. It is a beautiful antique white dress made by hand in a town near where grandma lives.

Daddy got her two different floor puzzles, one Lego Cookie Monster puzzle and a toy with 4 balls and a hammer. I just hope she doesn't decide to use the hammer on her big brother.

She is rather feisty. Wonder where she got that from?