On Saturday, Liam celebrated his 2nd birthday. Can you believe it? To be honest, I'm not sure I can. Wasn't it just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital??? Now, he's officially a "big boy." My heart does not like this at all. I'm trying so hard to take everything in because life is rushing by so fast.
To celebrate my big boy turning 2, we decided to throw a little party at our house. I hate that neither of our families were able to make the trip to be here to celebrate with us, although we totally understand and look forward to seeing everyone this summer and into fall. But at the same time, we are so thankful for our friends who were able to celebrate with us. It was a special day, and we had a lot of fun!
So let's see... the morning of the party, I started by setting up some things and blowing up balloons. The kids were helping, and from time to time, I'd pause to wish the birthday boy a "Happy Birthday!" The cutest part was when I'd walk away and Liam thought no one could hear him, I'd overhear him say to himself, "Birthdaaaaay? Me?????" while pointing to his little chest. Almost as though he couldn't believe it was true. That was my favorite memory of the whole day. Such a sweet boy!
If you can't tell, we decided to do a Sesame Street theme for Liam's birthday. Liam is a fan of Sesame Street (although, he likes lots of programs) and often when he wakes up in the morning the first word I hear coming through the baby monitor is none other than, "cooookieeeeee." So Sesame Street seemed fitting for our little Cookie Monster. I also wanted a theme w/bright colors since we had a lot of things saved/left over from Elizabeth's 2nd party which was circus themed--everything from plates and napkins and balloons and banners and even the piñata, so it was nice to be able to reuse what we had.
I also have to say, this theme was SO much fun to plan. If you do a quick google image search for "Sesame Street Birthday" or even a quick search on Etsy, and you will come up with so many cute ideas! In fact, it was kinda hard to stop once we got going. Elizabeth, too, had lots of ideas and was a GREAT help with the planning!
The table was fun to decorate--we even borrowed our friends' Sesame Street playhouse for the centerpiece. It was the perfect touch. And instead of conffetti for the table, we pulled out our ABC puzzle piece letters as decoration.
I did not make the cupcakes, but had lots of f un making the little toppers for that Sesame Street touch.
And perhaps my favorite idea was the themed food items, such as "Dorothy's Goldfish," "Slimy's Worms," "Mr. Noodle's Bowtie Pasta," "Zoe's Rainbow Salad" "Abbey's Twinkle Think Punch," "Big Bird's Sunnyday Sweet Tea," and even a "Cookie Monster" guessing game. The labels were EASY to make in word with a few shapes shaded green w/a yellow border and I thought they were such a cute/easy touch. We also make a "Liam's Street" sign, which was also so easy, inexpensive, and cute! It's sitting in his room as a reminder of his party.
I even found little Sesame Street juice boxes. Again, easy... inexpensive... and fit the theme. Perfect!
The day of Liam's party it was scorching hot, so they definitely came in handy!
The kids also helped me make a little banner for the garage.
Ain't he a tweetie!
La creme, de la creme... Oscar's Trash!
See, you know you've gone over board when you start decorating the trash can--lol! But this was easy, inexpensive, and a Sesame Street party just wouldn't be complete without an Oscar trash can--lol! Or at least, I didn't think so. Seriously, I had a hard time stopping with the fun ideas I saw online. But I have to admit, it made me think back to when I was a kid, and NO one had "themed" parties. Maybe your napkins matched your cake, but that was it. That was back when our moms had LIVES and didn't have time to sit around thinking about all the fun ways to decorate the trash--lol ;) WAY too much time on my hands I guess!
Chug! Chug! Chug!
Above is Liam's buddy, Anna. She is such a sweetie and such a doll. They will be in the same class for preschool this year! And her sister, Caroline, (we think) will be in Elizabeth's class. How fun! We were so glad they came! Liam's buddy Jude was also there, along with our buddies Katherine and Ava, and Savannah and Hailey.
This year we decided to donate gently used books to The Book Harvest. Such a neat program that puts books in the hands of children in need. Love that! We have yet to donate them, but when we do, I'll try to add a pic.
This year I thought it would be fun to make some games. We recently bought a very inexpensive dining set at Walmart to squeeze into our little kitchen area. Anyway, the boxes were really big, and seemed perfect for a few games. I wrapped the sides in wrapping paper (using spray adhesive) and decorated the front w/paper. The first... "The Cookie Toss" (maybe not the best title--lol).
"Cookie Monster is hungry, can you help by throwing some cookies into his mouth?" Pretty simple. The kids seemed to like.
Please ignore our grass. All that beautiful green clover we planted this spring took SO well in the front, but only in patches in the back. We are going to try again this fall. Nothing grows here, especially without a sprinkler system. We tried to get the yard in decent shape for the party--although it still VERY far from perfect. Oh well. Such is life. I DO think, though, our next few birthdays might need to be "on location" (i.e. not at home) so that we don't have to stress about the cleaning/yardwork before hand. My Oscar is not a huge fan of either, and it's hard for me to get it all done (close to 2 acres) by myself.
I actually don't mind the yard work. The only problem is that where we live we have poisonous snakes crawling all over the place (even had one crawl right into the middle school where I taught--which was in a big city), so I'm very nervous when I get out in the yard. The week before his party, I actually encountered a 6-7ft black rat snake. They are totally harmless, and "supposedly" are good for keeping the copperheads away. Still, it was freaky to know I'd walked right by it. And scarier still to think, what if it hadn't been a black snake? Yikes! Anyway, since Vassil is a grouch about any sort of yard work, and I'm afraid of yard work, and we're BOTH too cheap to hire someone, it means our yard looks the way it does. C'est la vie.
But I digress....The second game was "Ernie's Duckies." Basically the kids get to scoop duckies out of the pond. If they catch the one with the star on the bottom, they win a prize. This was also easy, inexpensive, and I thought it turned out cute... it also gave them something to do while we waited for pizza to arrive.
The sign reads "Catch a ducky, It's lots of fun! If' yours has a star... then your the one!" We also had playing some Sesame Street songs for the kids to listen to. When Vassil first turned it on, Birthday Boy started dancing right away. Ernies, "Rubber Duckie" is one of our favorites and one of our tunes!
We had some really adorable ducks join the pond during the party! Aren't they the cutest! And I totally don't blame them... it was HOT!
Pin the Nose on Elmo was next. Once again... I decided to use the boxes we had and spray some wrapping paper and the poster straight to the box. We had Elmo propped up on a tree, and then when it was time for the game we pulled him out. Little Caroline was helping hold the box... she also helped me with setting out the waters, and was a big help passing out juice boxes too. She is a sweetie!!!
Elizabeth started the game... but threw a fit and ran off when she wanted to take off her blindfold... "I can't get his nose on right if I can't see!" I hope we don't have a perfectionist on our hands--lol.
The little one's stuck it on without the blindfold. Liam was busy "mowing" during most of the games, but he did pause to help pin a nose on Elmo... one hand still on the mower.
I have been saving the kids Happy Meal toys when I can since forever, and we'd saved quite the stock. I figured for this age group, they'd be perfect for prizes. They don't know any better, right? Lol! OH, and as you can see... we've obviously been the quite frequent fast food patrons (we even have a box in the garage with more)! Kinda embarrassing, really--lol!
I decided we should reuse the piñata we'd bought for Elizabeth's 2nd birthday. It's the "pull string" kind, so it can be reused again and again! I remember when I bought it for Elizabeth's birthday trying to find something generic enough that it could work for multiple parties--and you can't get more generic than a birthday cake. It was actually a regular piñata but with a little trap door and some ribbon, it was easy to convert
Where we live, the trees grow tall... like toothpicks. Not many branches... a few puny ones way up high. the only tree in our yard (surrounded by woods mind you) that had a branch we could use was also right next to the playset. But, I don't think the kids minded much.
Although, while that was going on... birthday boy decided he would rather mow. And mow he did--lol! It's funny how having other kids play with our toys suddenly makes our kids really excited about playing with the same toys (or not wanting to share said toys).
Below is Liam's buddy, Jude. He was playing with the mower for a long time, and I guess must have either stopped for a moment (the perfect opportunity for Liam to snatch it up) or knowing Liam, he may have just taken it from it. It was funny watching the boys push around the pink mower. They were content to push around some tonka trucks and mow throughout the party!
"Mawn-Mow" envy--lol.
I LOVED the Big Bird balloon. This was probably the single biggest expense for the party. He was $12 (with free shipping). I also got a Cookie Monster one that had been reduced to $3. Kinda a lot to pay for two balloons... yes. But I just couldn't resist. We thought about taking the kids to see Sesame Street live. This was a tradition when I was a little girl. But the tickets were just too much, especially knowing that with Liam's attention span we might not even be able to stay for the whole thing. Maybe next year.
Since we didn't go this year, we thought Big Bird balloon was a good substitute. Plus, I'm thinking I might also be able to resale it on Craigslist, since Mylar balloons are refillable.
Anyway, at some point during the party we took a break for snacks... later pizza came, and we ate that as well. And then it was time for cake.
How cute are these two sweeties?
Sissy was a GREAT help for the party! She will be a little party planner one day... she was always coming up to me with ideas. She's also decided she wants a "Minnie, Princess, Lighting McQueen, Tinkerbell, girl party!" for her 4th birthday. Oh, and only girls allowed! Not sure how I'm going to pull that off... we'll see!
Since it's been a tradition that I bake/decorate the kids birthday cakes, I wanted to continue the tradition... but I also wanted something easy. I thought this geometric interpretation of cookie monster was really cute, and also really easy.
Since it's been a tradition that I bake/decorate the kids birthday cakes, I wanted to continue the tradition... but I also wanted something easy. I thought this geometric interpretation of cookie monster was really cute, and also really easy.
It was definitely easy. Only a few shades of frosting needed. And the hair tip is very forgiving. What I forgot was the mess! Blue mess, to be precise! Also, the hair tip, for some reason, was hard to squeeze, so my hand was killing me by the time I finished. But it was worth it for my birthday boy!
When it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" can you guess which mischievous older sister decided to blow out his candles... not once... but TWICE?! Oh yes, you guessed correct! Finally, at the third try he was able to blow out his candles with a little bit of assistance.
It was cute too because when we sang the song, he immediately buried his face in his hands. Oh the embarrassment! lol! I will upload video soon.
Apparently Cookie Monster also likes... Cake! :)
Here was the aftermath. Lol!
Here's our little family shot. Oscar, Cookie Monster, Big Bird x2, and Elmo... I think they all suited our personalities. Yes, even Oscar. That was kinda a little inside joke. Vassil gets SO grumpy whenever we have to do some chores before having people over. He doesn't like to build or cut things down or plant things... even though those were all reasons he wanted to move to the country. Sigh.
Before the guests left, we made sure they got their goodie bags. I'm usually not a fan of goodie bags. In the past, I've tried to think of something small the kids can take home, without it being a bag of useless junk.
But then I saw this idea for the crayons... and oh, they just HAD to be made! Same with the goodie bags... I spotted them on Etsy, and decided we just HAD to make our own! I think they turned out pretty cute. And yes, I realize I'm nuts.
After guests left, we let Liam open his presents. This one was from Sissy.
He LOVED it! And didn't even want to open any more after that... lol! Next year, I have a feeling that will change. The 2nd birthday really is the most fun. They "get" that it's for them... but they aren't to the spoiled-rotten-where's-my-presents phase.
His shaving kit from mommy and daddy was another HUGE hit. He LOVED it!
He's a big boy now... time to learn how to shave!
He loved it!
But took another short break to shave--lol.
Once it was assembled... he played for a good hour with the hoop. He was very focused and it took a lot of determination to get the ball into the net, which is just a tad tall for him right now--so he really has to work for it! So cute to watch! He's SO proud of himself when he scores!
Here he is working on his moves. Bill Self will be calling soon!
The next day, we decided we'd share some of the homemade chocolate chip cookies great grandma had mailed to us, with Liam's class. They were YUMMY!
We also brought our little bubble machine for the kids to play with as sort of a fun, birthday activity.
After all that activity, the kids were pretty conked out. 
Yep... after such a fun, exciting birthday like that... it was time for a good NAP!
For all of us!
Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy! I can't believe how fast you are growing and all the new things you are doing and saying every day. God blessed me beyond measure in allowing me the privilege to be your mama. I can't wait to see what this coming year holds!
