Ainsley's Birthday Party Fun

Ainsley's 2nd birthday celebration stretched over an entire weekend. Nana & Grandad Wills came over to celebrate one evening, and Grandma & Papa Molnar, along with Uncle Brian & Aunt Jenn came over another day. And all the fun wrapped up with Ainsley's 2nd birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

Nana Wills & Ainsley try on some new jewelry

Princess Ainsley!

Nana & Ainsley were very busy opening packages

The only kid who gets excited about the card

Ainsley & Daddy at a tea party

Papa Molnar & Ainsley drawing pretty pictures

Uncle Brian is silly!

Elmo says, "Ainsley is 2!"

Ainsley had to immediately try on each new skirt, pair of shorts or pair of pants she received. She'd stop everything, sit down and pull on the pants. Every time.

Ainsley loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so her birthday party had a Mickey Mouse theme.

For me?

My own lawn mower?!

Silly girl!

This is big!  What could it be?

A new wagon, from Nana & Grandad Wills!

All this, and cake, too?!

Happy birthday to you....

Make a wish!

Ainsley wasted no time at all digging into the frosting,
before Daddy even cut the cake!
At least she used a fork this year.

Yummy!

The weather was perfect for Ainsley's party, so we had a lot of fun playing outside.

Great Uncle Larry, official swing pusher

Ainsley showed Grandma Molnar how to use
her new bubble lawn mower

New water table

Papa Molnar pulling Ainsley in her new wagon

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ainsley!

Mommy & Daddy took the day off from work on June 21 to celebrate Ainsley's 2nd birthday together. It was a day all about Ainsley, where she chose the activities. So it's no surprise that the first stop (after donuts at Presti's Bakery in Little Italy) was the park.

Ainsley LOVES the swings

After the park, we went to Edgewater to swim.

Squinting into the sun

Popcorn for lunch...hey, it's her birthday!

Afternoon and evening fun to round out a happy birthday!

Looking fancy, with birthday necklaces
and a Minnie Mouse bow in her hair

After dinner, we went out for frozen yogurt

Parade the Circle 2012

We've been quite busy over the past few weeks, making the most of the beautiful summer weather. At the beginning of June, we went to Parade the Circle at University Circle, which kicks off the season of events at Wade Park. It's presented by the Cleveland Museum of Art, and this year's theme was Branches Become Roots; Cycles: Coming Back/Going Forward. They estimate that over 70,000 people attend. It's exciting to have such a wonderful cultural event taking place so close to home.

Ainsley was very patient waiting for the parade to start. Next year, we'll need to get there a bit earlier to get a seat closer to the beginning of the parade route. It took over an hour for the parade to get to us!

The parade entries are so creative and fun to see. Here are just a few of the very colorful parade "participants".

Ainsley's Two-Year Pictures

We got Ainsley's picture taken for her second birthday. I can't believe what a big girl she has become!

I'm going to be 2!

Silly face!

Another silly face!

Say cheese!

Our family

Memorial Day Weekend

Here at Chez Wills East, we're kicking off the summer with a bang! Memorial Day weekend was jam-packed, and if we didn't have to stop for naps, we probably would have kept going. Here are a few highlights of the first unofficial weekend of summer.

We went to the St. Anselm Festival on Saturday night. Ainsley picked a few ducks out of the duck pond at her first carnival game. She kept asking Daddy & Mommy to pick the ducks, but we talked her into picking them out herself.

Then Ainsley went on her very first carnival ride - the carousel! Daddy said she was a little apprehensive at first, but then she enjoyed the ride.

Mommy saw this little truck/train ride that would be perfect for Ainsley, but Daddy thought she was too little for it. Ainsley disagreed with Daddy, because when she saw the ride, she pointed and screamed. Daddy asked if Ainsley wanted to ride it, and she responded with an emphatic nod, "Yes!"

Daddy strapped her in the pink truck while Mommy asked the operator what he would do if Ainsley freaked out. He responded, "She won't," and he was right! Ainsley was such a big girl, riding all by herself and waving each time she went around the circle. She turned the steering wheel and beeped the horn as she "drove" by. Ainsley had a ton of fun at the festival!

On Sunday, we went to Nathan's cousin Brad's birthday party, and Ainsley had a lot of fun playing with the kids.

With her cousins, Lukas & Elise

On a big kid bike!

Monday morning, we watched South Euclid's Memorial Day parade.

Waiting for the parade to start

Waving her flag high

Gathering all the candy is a big job

A police officer let Ainsley sit on his motorcycle!

And the summer kick-off wouldn't be complete without the first dip in the pool.

Looking forward to an awesome summer!