{p, h, f, r} Choo Choo Look Who's Two!

I have to warn you, this is a bit of a photo dump, but my Little Man turned 2 so I had to share.

pretty

It was a beautiful but hot day for the party--hottest all summer!  I made a couple of simple decorations and then the big kids decided to help make a couple more. We had a very simple party but it was very cute!

The banner says "Choo Choo I'm Two" but it wouldn't come out in any of the pictures.

Buddy's decoration

Cowgirl's decoration

 

A train centerpiece with "snack" car.  I had planned on making three cars to hold the dry snacks (pretzels, corn chips, and popcorn) but was only able to hunt down one box.

happy

I really wanted a special outfit for Little Man.  They grow so quickly, I might as well get the cutsy thing in while I can.  I scoured Etsy for just the right thing, and came very close to finding it, but the cost was more than I could justify.  So, I took matters into my own hands.  I found a very nice romper on ebay for $18 with shipping.  Then, I created an applique out of felt to add some personalization.  It came out pretty good, but don't look too closely at my stitches.  It took until I was sewing the last wheel on to figure out that if I unsnapped the crotch, I could actually fit my hand inside comfortably to sew....sigh.

I was happy that I found an economical outfit because it gave me a little room to splurge on the cake.  I visited a local bakery.  (I should say the only local bakery for miles around, but if you are only going to have one, it helps when it's the best!) I had planned on purchasing 50 cupcakes with blue and green sprinkles, then making them into the shape of a number 2, adding licorice laces for track and placing the train I bought Little Man on the tracks.  The problem was, I couldn't find licorice laces anywhere.  The bakery was my last hope as they sell Dutch specialties, too.  I asked the cashier, after ordering my cupcakes, if they sold licorice laces because I planned on using them for track.  I told her about my vision for the cupcakes.  She told me they didn't, but she could have the baker make the cupcakes into a 2,  frost the whole thing, and pipe a track on it to boot.  I was sold.  It cost a little bit more, but with a heat index of 105 degrees, there was no way I was turning on my oven to make 50+ cupcakes, and the big kids were doing a Polar bear Swim Challenge each morning EARLY, then had afternoon swim lessons.  My time was short and I realized it.  The cake turned out even better than I could have imagined and I was so happy I left this job to the professionals, even though I normally bake all the birthday cakes myself.

funny

 

This little guy is funny, it is so hard to get a picture of him.  Nine times out of ten, i can only catch one if he is eating.  I sat him on the bench and asked him to smile so I could take his picture.  Of course, he made this crazy face that made him look half drunk.  I asked for a nice smile, and got the top picture--then I realized he wasn't wearing his birthday outfit yet.  I had wanted a nice picture to get made up for family...alas this is what I have!

real

I can't believe my little roley poley baby boy has grown so much!  Where did the time go?

 

I must learn to stop blinking, already!!!

How has your week been?  Hop over to Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.