the almost eight year old

so miss elinor is turning two in a little over a month. the whole thing makes me feel numb. our little peanut is not at all a baby anymore. and i can't believe that she has been here for two years. it is cliche but it seems like she has been here all along...and yet, it doesn't seem possible that it has been that long. it is enough to make the mind swirl and swirl. like i said, numbing.

plus, this year. wow, this year. is it just me or has it gone by at record speed? how are we on the cusp of october? good golly. don't get me wrong, i am thrilled about it. this is the bestest season. but 2014 is pretty much 2015. and we have an almost two year old. what are we, adults or something?

well, thanks for indulging that mild freak-out of mine. back to the whole point of this post...elinor's second birthday. i really haven't been focusing on her birthday as much as i should. months and months ago, i tossed around the idea of doing another round of giveaways in honor of the anniversary of her birth. don't get too excited. not sure i can swing it at this point because i have been a total slacker. i blame it on motherly denial. i am completely denying the fact that i have an almost two year old child. no way. not possible. she's still an itty-bitty, right? brand spanking new.

and when about three days ago i suddenly realized how incredibly close the day is, i jumped on it. wish lists and party ideas and all that jazz. and of course, i started getting elinor all excited. first things, first...helping her understand how old she is. but every time i ask her, "elinor, how old are you (going to be)?"  she responds, "eight". it is her favorite number and there is no changing her mind on the matter. at this point, it might be the only number that matters to her. quirky little thing. as you can imagine, it makes for some rather interesting counting practice. and it is pretty hilarious to hear our tiny lady (who i still view as eight months old) proclaim that she is turning eight. what am i going to do when she actually turns eight? yikes.

where was i? are you sick of reading my ramblings? probably.

so, elinor's birthday. the fun thing about celebrating a two-year-old's birthday is that they kind of get it. last year, it was more about the ceremony and photo-opp of it all. but this year, elinor understands that she is going to have her own little party with loved ones and that we are going to mark the occasion with decorations and food and presents. in fact, when i asked our soon-to-be-eight-year-old what she wants for her birthday, she immediately replied, "shoes". good choice. see, she gets it.

and so, shoes are en route. these cuties, to be exact.

and seeing that french frou-frou is kind of our thing, those beauties on the left are perfection for our little mademoiselle. they are the newest release in the fall line from freshly picked and they are called, merci. well, merci, freshly picked! the ultimate fancy-schmancy birthday mocc. aaaaand, we got some stay golden suede ones too because i wanted some suede ones for fall and this new color is rich and dreamy. pumpkin spice, don't ya know.

if someone stages a moccasin intervention for me, i wouldn't blame you one bit. i have a major FP problem.

and while we are talking fashion, we also did some damage at crewcuts. you know, now that i have a two year old who is out of babywear and into children's stuff. which i am thrilled about because i have been waiting a long time to buy some mini-me outfits from j.crew. eeeep! oh. my. cardigans. elinor is going to be all kinds of chic. here are a few of my favorite pieces from elinor's birthday collection, as i will henceforth refer to it.

so, to balance out all this superficial stuff, we have ordered some new, beautiful, and more interactive books for elinor. tap the magic tree and lines that wiggle and mix it up! (the new one by herve tullet). and flora the flamingo got in on the party too because it is a must. i am so excited to get into these with E. such darling books for this stage of her life.

and to round it all out, a gourmet play kitchen.  i can't decide if i want to put it in our kitchen so E can play along while we prepare dinner...high hopes that it would keep her from "helping" by taking mixing bowls out and dumping stuff in them...or if we should erect it elsewhere. decisions, decisions.

that should just about do it. she should be all set for her two-year-old-ness! i mean, she will still require some kitchen essentials like this and this and this and this and this and this and this and this of course, this. aaaaaand a girl needs to learn how to roll sushi and properly prepare a crêpe, right? oui oui. total musts. they may not be kitchen "essentials" for some but they are often prepared in our kitchen and enjoyed at our table and therefore, necessary playthings.

oh, and a girl's gotta know how to use this too. yes indeed.

kid birthdays are way fun. i hope elinor enjoys it as much as her mama and papa...

and mum's the word. we wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for the little miss.