The Kiddo Turns TWO

So last weekend the little man turned 2! And here it is a week later and we have finally cleaned up the last of the smeared frosting, put away the ice buckets and chairs and taken down the lights. However, with Christmas only a mere 60 days away, I was tempted to tell the hubs to keep the overhead canopy of twinkle lights in tact.

Initially, it may sound like a bit much for a 2 year old party. Believe me, I got an earful of it sitting across the table from the daycare crowd at girls night. Snickering comments about the size of our guest list and dismissing the idea of actually making my son's cake myself when Costco makes a perfectly good one. Which they do. I've had my share of Costco birthday cakes. But I love baking my son's cakes and the supporting lineup of cupcakes. So I endure the stained hands from coloring fondant and the extra 2 pounds I gain from "testing" the product.

As for the guest list. Well, it was supposed to be smaller this year, but the hubs has a hard time not inviting every single person he knows in the world. And then after all the invites have gone out - he somehow comes up with at least 5 new people to invite. So, 50 adults and 20 kids later, its a bit bigger than that "small" party we had originally agreed on. But when all is said and done. Why not? Why not have a big party for as long as you can? The kiddo had a blast!

This years "theme" was similar to last years as there wasn't a theme per se. We were headed down the path of the typical Dr. Seuss theme (which I would have LOVED to do - there are sooo many fun things we could have done!) or maybe Yo Gabba Gabba, but the kiddo isn't really "into" anything except balls. And bouncing. So We threw out all "themes" and just went with exactly that. Balls and bouncing.

I chose turquoise, black and white with a little sprinkle of red here and there for the decor.

To incorporate my sons love of balls and bouncing, I purchased about 30 big rubber red balls and threw them in the yard. The kids went nuts over these! Who would have ever known this would have been such a hit? The kiddos spent hours kicking, throwing and playing on these huge red balls. 

And of course, all the kiddos loved the treat table that I filled with every "turquoise" color candy I could find!

The cake this year was similar to last years as I did circles again. But when the theme is "balls", you kind of have to go that direction. The awesome company Ticings (which I highly recommend you check out)created these fantastic custom edible icing circles for me that matched the "logo" on the invitation and the shirts that the hubs and kiddo were wearing. I placed them on cut-out fondant circles on the cupcakes and cake. Oh and yes, that is a wedding photo in the background.



 Photo credit: Studio Skye Photography

And of course, we HAD to have a bounce house. Which he still thinks is going to be outside when he wakes up every morning. This is where my son spent about 98% of his party. The only lure out was cake.

The one thing I can say that I learned from last years toddler extravaganza, is to put someone in charge of pictures! I was running around so much last year, I don't think I took one single picture. This year I hired a photographer.

All in all, it was a great party. And we'll probably end up doing it again next year. Big guest list and all.