Gabby didn't officially have a birthday party as most people would imagine it, but it was a day of celebrating her. All of her grandparents went with us to the aquarium (thanks to my friend Natalie's suggestion) and we did all of main attractions. Gabby adores fish, if you recall she begged us to go to Bass Pro Shop three days in a row because they had an aquarium of various bass fish.
We started Gabby's Day off by riding the train, which was really neat, there were sharks sleeping above us and the sharks swimming all around us in their aquarium, and finally at the end of the train ride we were scared by a shark popping up at the end of the ride, which we all admittedly jumped, but Gabby didn’t even cry.
Next we went into the large aquarium which was hundreds of thousands of gallons of water with amazing varieties of fish. Michael was highly amused that he pointed out "Dory" to Gabby and then he realized every mom there was saying the same thing to their child. It's funny how different your life is with a little one. Gabby and Michael especially really seemed to like all of the various aquariums.
When we finally got to the sting rays that you could pet, Gabby was highly afraid of them and refused to put her hand in that water for anything. There was also a glass bubble under the tank where you could your pop your head in, which Gabby was unsure about. So Mommy to the rescue… I crawled under the tank and Michael coaxed her down there with me. She wasn’t impressed and was still unsure whether she thought it was a safe place so she crawled out after less than a minute of watching the stingrays swim by.
Our final stop through the labyrinth of aquariums, was what I was most excited about seeing, the white tigers or should I say tiger. It was disappointing one white tiger sleeping in this elaborate cage. Apparently white tigers do not come together unless they are mating. There was a fake white tiger in attack mode that was life size. When Gabby saw it she was not interested in going near it, she hid from it actually. I am proud that she has natural instincts for danger.
Our next stop was a moment of rest. We made it just in time for our 11:30 reservations at the Aquarium’s restaurant. We were one of the first seated and were lucky enough to get a half booth which means Gabby was well behaved the entire time we sat and ate our extremely expensive lunches while watching thousands of salt water fish swim by. This birthday could have been very cheap because we used buy one get one free to all of the activities at the aquarium. So for 17 dollars the three of us could have played and then went home. I highly recommend this place for 2 year olds! Seriously she loved everything and it's very reasonably priced if you don't eat here (we did because it's a very special occasion when Gabby's grandparents come in from Dallas).
Now that we were all stuffed Grandma (McIlroy) wanted to get a cartoon of Gabby drawn. While we waited our turn Gabby and Daddy rode the carousel. After her precious picture was complete we waited in line for the “round and round,” better known to you and I as a Ferris wheel. Well, everyone else waited in line while Gabby jumped in a bouncy house. Once we were all on the Ferris wheel Gabby enjoyed looking from the side with Grandma and Grandpa (which made Michael and I very nervous). It may not sound like a lot but it was a very busy and exciting trip for everyone. Once we finished everything it was 2:00 and we headed home for nap time.
While Gabby napped, Michael and I went to the store and bought very brightly colored balloons and daisies for Gabby to wake up to. I decorated her birthday table and once the yellow brick road was laid out and dinner was started Gabby was awake. Gabby was not happy about the suggestion of dinner before cake. So we all ate while she jumped in her birthday gift, a bouncy house, and then finally the moment she was waiting for….cake! I know her cake is nothing to brag about but she was very excited, so excited that she couldn’t wait for us to sing and cut the cake before she decided to dig in. We sang “Happy Birthday” and then she ate a few bites of cake and was over it. She loved opening gifts and would show each one off. Gabby’s 2nd birthday was so fun for her. I think not having a party was the best idea for this 2 year old!
A special thanks to Grandma Montie for making the Dorothy dress and to Grandma and Grandpa McIlroy for making the long trip to be a part of her special day!
Happy 2nd Birthday to our beautiful smart baby girl; we love you forever and always!
Gabby answering how old she is. In case you didn't know 5 comes after 2 when you are mature for you age.
Next we went into the large aquarium which was hundreds of thousands of gallons of water with amazing varieties of fish. Michael was highly amused that he pointed out "Dory" to Gabby and then he realized every mom there was saying the same thing to their child. It's funny how different your life is with a little one. Gabby and Michael especially really seemed to like all of the various aquariums.
When we finally got to the sting rays that you could pet, Gabby was highly afraid of them and refused to put her hand in that water for anything. There was also a glass bubble under the tank where you could your pop your head in, which Gabby was unsure about. So Mommy to the rescue… I crawled under the tank and Michael coaxed her down there with me. She wasn’t impressed and was still unsure whether she thought it was a safe place so she crawled out after less than a minute of watching the stingrays swim by.
Our final stop through the labyrinth of aquariums, was what I was most excited about seeing, the white tigers or should I say tiger. It was disappointing one white tiger sleeping in this elaborate cage. Apparently white tigers do not come together unless they are mating. There was a fake white tiger in attack mode that was life size. When Gabby saw it she was not interested in going near it, she hid from it actually. I am proud that she has natural instincts for danger.
Our next stop was a moment of rest. We made it just in time for our 11:30 reservations at the Aquarium’s restaurant. We were one of the first seated and were lucky enough to get a half booth which means Gabby was well behaved the entire time we sat and ate our extremely expensive lunches while watching thousands of salt water fish swim by. This birthday could have been very cheap because we used buy one get one free to all of the activities at the aquarium. So for 17 dollars the three of us could have played and then went home. I highly recommend this place for 2 year olds! Seriously she loved everything and it's very reasonably priced if you don't eat here (we did because it's a very special occasion when Gabby's grandparents come in from Dallas).
Now that we were all stuffed Grandma (McIlroy) wanted to get a cartoon of Gabby drawn. While we waited our turn Gabby and Daddy rode the carousel. After her precious picture was complete we waited in line for the “round and round,” better known to you and I as a Ferris wheel. Well, everyone else waited in line while Gabby jumped in a bouncy house. Once we were all on the Ferris wheel Gabby enjoyed looking from the side with Grandma and Grandpa (which made Michael and I very nervous). It may not sound like a lot but it was a very busy and exciting trip for everyone. Once we finished everything it was 2:00 and we headed home for nap time.
While Gabby napped, Michael and I went to the store and bought very brightly colored balloons and daisies for Gabby to wake up to. I decorated her birthday table and once the yellow brick road was laid out and dinner was started Gabby was awake. Gabby was not happy about the suggestion of dinner before cake. So we all ate while she jumped in her birthday gift, a bouncy house, and then finally the moment she was waiting for….cake! I know her cake is nothing to brag about but she was very excited, so excited that she couldn’t wait for us to sing and cut the cake before she decided to dig in. We sang “Happy Birthday” and then she ate a few bites of cake and was over it. She loved opening gifts and would show each one off. Gabby’s 2nd birthday was so fun for her. I think not having a party was the best idea for this 2 year old!
A special thanks to Grandma Montie for making the Dorothy dress and to Grandma and Grandpa McIlroy for making the long trip to be a part of her special day!
Happy 2nd Birthday to our beautiful smart baby girl; we love you forever and always!
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