Will work for cupcakes.

We went to a birthday party today. It was for a 2 year old, so Dani was among her kind. They all took turns crying. Well, Dani didn't really cry, she was busy making kids cry by trying to play with them. Seriously--there was one kid who did cry alot...probably because she kept walking up to Dani with toys, and Dani kept helping herself to them.

The birthday girl's mom had cupcakes for all the little kids. I'm amazed to say that my little kiddo (who was channeling Jackie O with her faux fur neckline and cuffs) ate rather daintily while sitting in a big girl chair.
Really, she did. I knew that the hostess was planning the kiddie cupcake fest, and I brought a change of clothes because I figured Dani would be caked in frosting. Turns out, she prefers her cake with a fork.
Once she tired of the cupcake, she played with various toys, and then walked up to adults and stuck her finger into the frosting on their cake. It was well received. I had Tori on my lap, so could only offer the lamest of Dora references to Dani, "Dani, no swiping." I failed.

Lesson two for today was that kids whose parents buy them new toys have WAY better toys. Little Dani is perfectly happy in our second-hand toyland, but the birthday girl had a Mickey Mouse kitchen and Dora backpack and so many awesome toys that Dani never knew existed. I told her that her birthday was coming up and she would have a party soon, and she sang "Happy Birthday to Dani" all the way home.

In perhaps the best example of the fact that all our stuff is used or hand-me-downs, I had this sweet dress for Dani to wear. No black leggings or tights to go with it, so she wore grey leggings, grey socks and blue crocs, because that's what we had. Seriously every other kid there had shoes that matched their outfits and looked so cute. My kid just needed a sharpie-drawn cardboard sign saying "will work for cupcakes". I was really worried she's start opening presents or gift bags, because at home it's a free-for-all, but she just played very nicely near them, and when I told her not to touch, she didn't.

Tori, on the other hand, was adored by all. She was the only baby at the party. She happily sat on laps and had many a stranger pinch and stroke her chubby cheeks. My chubby mcdubbs was a big hit with the elders today.

It was great to see Dani and Tori interact with a decent crowd, because with the holidays and Dani's birthday coming up, this is a good indicator of what to expect.