Well, first of all, I have a confession to make. I have never enjoyed my children's birthday parties. Really. I have not. I usually spend so much time making sure everything is "perfect" that I'm just pooped out by the time the event happens . . . and then I just get so frustrated that this or that didn't go the way I thought it would . . . or I didn't get enough pictures . . . or so-in-so didn't come . . . I mean, it's just ridiculous. So I decided that I was going to TRY not to put so much pressure on myself when it came to planning Hannah Kate's 2nd birthday party. All I really wanted was to have a little fun. And, of course, find a cute outfit to go along with the ladybug theme. And find the "perfect" invitations. And plan a really yummy menu. Well, you see where I'm going with this.I did find the "perfect" invitation. And I did find the cutest outfit! Hannah Kate wore a red and black tutu and ladybug wings. I appliqued a red shirt for her to wear and bought her a pair of black, sparkley shoes.
My plan was to let the kids play outside most of the time and then come inside for presents and cake. After all, it's not like it really gets very cold in Louisiana. I mean, I remember Christmases during the past few years that were warm enough for shorts. Besides, it NEVER snows in south Louisiana. But it decided to snow the night before the party! It barely stuck, but it was enough to make a big, fat mess, along with all of the non-stop rain we've been having. I figured out a couple of days before the party that we probably wouldn't be able to go outside like I planned. And then I REALLY started getting nervous. That meant we would be inside. What in the world would we do?!? I'd never planned party games for birthday parties in the past, and I really didn't want to go there. After all, something would happen, and it wouldn't go like it was "supposed to." Or the kids would hate it. I mean, REALLY. Where do I come up with this stuff?!? It's a party for a TWO YEAR OLD. And kids really are quite easy to please.So with the help of 30 feet of bulletin board paper and ladybug cutouts, I "transformed" MawMaw's dining room into Hannah Kate's garden. I put white paper along the bottom half of one of the walls so the children could draw their own ladybugs and flowers and trees. Or whatever else they decided to draw!
I printed some ladybug coloring pages from the internet for the children to color. I found some ladybug stickers that they could decorate their coloring pages with.
And I cut a ladybug and some spots out of posterboard for "The Ladybug Lost Her Spots" (you know, an adaptation of pin-the-tail-in-the-donkey). It really was a lot fun watching the kids play this game. Abbie tried to pin her spot to Cole's forehead! I'm not so sure the ladybug found very many of her spots either!
Instead of a cake, I decided to have cupcakes. They were topped with red icing, and I put black M&Ms on the tops of them so they looked like ladybugs all over the table.
Gavin kept going over to the table and snatching the M&Ms off the cupcakes so he could eat them!
I stuck a couple of candles in one of the cupcakes so Hannah Kate could blow them out. She knew exactly what to do and was so cute blowing out her candles. And, yes, I was very disappointed when the pictures of her blowing out her candles were fuzzy. I mean, that was one of the cutest moments of the whole thing! But . . . I need to let it go. I'm sure they have a support group or some kind of program for folks like me. Anyway. 
Another favorite of mine was the treat for the children. Usually I fill a pinata with candy, and they whack it until it breaks. Then they gather up as much candy as they can and take it home with them. I decided not to do that this time. Instead, I ordered LIVE ladybugs off the internet! I got a bag of 1,500. This is what they looked like when they came.
I divided them up into small mason jars and then wrapped the jars with ribbon. Each child took home a jar of ladybugs! You can see the jars lined up on the back of the food table in the pictures above.Hannah Kate loves everyone who came to her party, but one of her favorites is Mrs. Bonnie. Mrs. Bonnie is her Sunday School teacher, and Hannah Kate just loves her to pieces! She asks numerous times during the week to go "see Mrs. Bonnie."
And . . . what's a party without PRESENTS?!? Baby dolls and dress up clothes and high heel shoes and wands and books and puzzles and clothes and My Little Ponies and purses . . . that's what little girls' birthday presents are made of!
Just in case you're wondering . . . I'm sure you're just DYING to know . . . whether or not I had fun at Hannah Kate's party . . . well . . . I DID!
But I do have to admit I'm worried about one thing . . . how will I ever top this one?!? I have seven months to think about it. July will be here before I know it . . .