Jayna's Second Birthday

Although Jayna's birthday is still 2 weeks away, we have to celebrate it in advance because our natal days fall on the same week and I'm not keen to celebrate them together. So yesterday, we started off with my little princess' big day. She is still not as fond of the crowd as Joash which is why it is best we hold off the big party celebration again. Thankfully, she is now more adventurous than before regarding playgrounds so we brought her to Go-go Bambini this year. (We went to Fidgets last year)

Jayna loves all things pink and girly. That was precisely the theme of the day with everyone dressed in her favourite colour and getting her presents, accessories and party things in the same shade too.

Here's her outfit for the day.

Since Joshua had to work for an hour in the morning, we decided to wait for him at his workplace and set off to our destination right after that. To occupy the kids, I bought them helium balloons. Jayna's was, of course, a pink Hello Kitty heart-shaped one while I had to choose the Mickey Mouse in a red car for Joash as they ran out of Thomas the train balloons.

They were very pleased with their balloons.

Joash: "Look, mine's bigger than yours."

*Heh heh...*

*All smiles*
Jayna: "But mine's way prettier!"

If you look carefully at the above pictures, you would realise that I'd tied their balloons to bangles at their wrists so as to prevent accidental loss. However, after playing for half an hour, Joash insisted on taking the bangle off. Despite my warnings, he was adamant about having his own way. In the end, I told him that if he were to lose the balloon, I would not replace it for him and he readily agreed.

Alas! My prediction was spot on. Within a few minutes, Joash got so distracted by Grandma who was taking out Jayna's presents to show her that he let go of the balloon in his hands! The treasured possession floated up to the ceiling which was three-storeys high!

I tried to get it down by throwing things at it to push it to somewhere I could reach but it was too high for me to even hit it. Then, I prayed with the children for wind to blow in the right direction. As God would have it, the wind did blow... in the opposite direction! It got caught in the trees instead. Disappointed, I explained to Joash that it seemed like God wanted him to learn his lesson regarding trust and obedience. He needs to believe that my instructions to him are for very good reasons, just as we need to trust that God's decrees in His Word are for our benefit.

Seeing Joash's dejected look as he gazed longingly at his lost balloon, Jayna actually went and offered her balloon to him! Praise God for Jayna's growth! I'm so glad that she is finally learning the ability to empathise with others. So proud of her... *grin*

The poor balloon was caught in the trees.

Jayna was delighted with the pink
purse Grandma got for her.

Jayna: "This little dog is so cute!"

(Since my mum-in-law included a pink Hello Kitty
handphone accessory as one of the presents,
we decided to buy her a matching toy handphone
to go with it.)

After all that drama, we headed down to the indoor playground. Joshua and I took turns to eat our lunch and keep the kids company. It was really tough for me to tag along in the 3-levels maze while I'm nearly 6 months pregnant. Joash kept telling me to keep up with him! *faint*

At least, what gladdened my heart was that as long as I made sure we stayed away from the more boisterous kids, Jayna could enjoy herself much better than a year ago.

Jayna: "Look Mummy, I can spin around this pole!"

Jayna: "Woah... It's a long way down."

Carefully walking along the balancing beam...

Joash: "Peek-a-boo!"

Joash, as usual, thoroughly enjoyed himself. There was only one exception. He was afraid to try the super tall spiral slide despite staring enviously at the other kids coming down from the long tunnel. Thankfully, we managed to coax him by having Joshua accompany him and me shouting encouragement at the end of the slide. He successfully made the first trip down and the rest was history. Jayna, on the other hand, was not as impressed and remained by my side while her brother took the slide countless times before we headed off for dinner.

While waiting for the birthday cake.

Jayna: "Expelliarmus!"

Jayna: "Ehh? Why didn't it work?"

*slam table*
Jayna: "How can you still be holding onto it?"

Joash: "Haha... Meimei is so funny!"

Jayna: "Yeah! I finally got the mini maracas!"

The strawberry birthday cake.

*Waaaah...*

Grandma feeding our princess.

Pink mustache!!!

The day ended well even though Joash threw a tantrum during bath time due to overtiredness. (He didn't take a nap at all! Far too excited, I guess...) Jayna really likes her pink toy handphone which she loves to keep in the new pink furry purse. May the Lord continue to mature my lovely daughter and I pray that one day, she'll be as gracious as her given name!

Here's a video of some fun we had together: