Uncle Rick and Aunt Cara arrived on time around 1:30 (Thanks, guys). You may not know how remarkable that is, but they are my family - not Rob's. My family NEVER arrives on time. Example: My mom* arrived around 2:30 as did my grandma. The party started at 1:30. Rob's family was there on time.
A good time was had by all. Anya loved her cake icing. (Yum, Walmart cake is delicious) We let her dig in and she made a large satisfying mess. She even managed to get her foot on top of the table into her plate a couple times. (I was such a mean mom. I didn't even give Ally cake for her first birthday. Anyway...) We got her all cleaned upand changed clothes. She ran around visiting everyone. We just left the door to the back deck open and she ran in and out and laughed the whole time.
She was running around with her little bitty blanket and chewing on it. Rick asked her for it and she ran over with her arm outstretched to give it to him until the last minute when she whirled around and ran away laughing her head off. He "chased" her and she ran into Grandma's arms for safety. 30 seconds later, when he asked about her blanket again, she started the game over. They were cracking us all up. She had a giant smile on her face.
We opened presents and I am happy to report that the general level of junk in our house didn't go up very much. She got some toys, but mostly clothes and some money for her piggy bank. The toys she did get, she was thrilled with. Rob's dad got her a ball (and other things) She loves balls above everything! Darra got a Little Poeple castle that she sat and played with for quite a while. She doesn't usually sit that long. We got a little learning thingy from rick and Cara. Plus, lots of clothes. I got her a couple of soft cars, because I've seen her driving things at day care. Ally never really did that, so we didn't have any to hand down to Anya.
Ally played outside for the greater portion of the day. Most of the time, she and her cousins were all in the massive sandbox playing together. They ran around with balls and bubbles just like kids should in the springtime. She came in and helped with the present opening and didnt' et very possessive. She called Anya "birthday girl" and loved on her. She did good.
Anya's afternoon nap was greatly delayed, and she finally fell asleep around 5:30 or so. I was worried about her sleep, but she didn't sleep too long and was still tired for bedtime. All in all, it was a great day.
Sunday couldn't get better, but it sure wasn't worse...
*to be fair, she did tell me that she wouldn't be there way ahead of time.