Sunday, August 14, 2011

Will's 2nd Birthday Party

A few months prior to Will's second birthday, Marty and I started discussing what kinds of birthdays and birthday parties we want our children to experience and enjoy as they grow up. (You might be surprised at the wealth of discussion material this actually incites!) After making a trip to Indiana (when I was 9 months pregnant with Lucy) and inviting a bunch of people and spending *way* too much money on Will's first birthday party, we decided that we'd like to make every "odd" year more of a big deal with family and/or friends and "even" years we would spend as a family, or just Mom and Dad with the birthday boy or girl, doing something very special and intimate and memorable. We love this plan. However, since Will was only going to be turning 2 and there isn't much that he could actually request or we could actually do to give him good memories (when does memory start?), we decided to just stay at home and scale it back costwise.

And we *loved* it. Marty and my dad grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs while my mom and I made salads in the kitchen. We put up a few simple decorations and invited our neighbors and Marty's coworkers (really the only folks we know in the town where we currently live). But these sweet people came with such enthusiasm and love for our child (and us) and well, we just felt so blessed. Will had a great time and got more loot than a kid really needs, and this from a mom who has to stop herself from spoiling her babies! The party only lasted for a couple of hours and then Will spent the rest of the day and weekend playing with his new toys and his balloons and his cousin Elijah (who'd come down for the occasion with my parents). If he could, I think he'd remember his second birthday!

Here are some pictures and details from the day:
The best venue -- our living room!  Will had a "Matchbox cars"-themed party and I used bright green and orange in the party supplies and decorations.

We bought the cake from Kroger and asked the bakery to make frosting to look like roads, then added the Matchbox cars ourselves.  I called it "Traffic Jam on the Way to Will's Party."

Lovely friends and neighbors who really made our day.

My parents -- Nana and Pa-Pa to our kids.

Can you tell they're all rather sweet on each other?

"Where's my cake?  I know where you can put it!"

Icing is really just a great excuse to go off-roading.

This one refused to nap but could barely stay awake, either!
Kisses for Mama.

Love at first sight!

This is the face that you want to see on your child on his birthday.  Success!

The t-shirt.  I don't know how my mom does it, but she manages to find a tee (or outfit) to fit any theme that I or my sister can concoct for our kids' birthdays.  This time was no exception and I was thrilled with it!

Happily playing with the loot.

The next morning, playing with his Cozy Coupe from Nana and Pa-Pa. 

And that's what I call a Happy 2nd Birthday!

5 comments:

Marty said...

Hey baby! I love the birthday story you wrote for our Will-Pup! The pictures are really great too - some of them I haven't seen before. I love that one with your folks and the babies, and how Lucy is resting her head on your daddy's shoulder!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great party! Looks like Will loved every minute of it. And how adorable is he in his very own car?! Thank you for sharing with those of us who couldn't be there. I will be very, very sad when Will grows up and "cah" becomes "car." -Aunt Modey

Anonymous said...

And can I just say how beautiful my niece is?! Sheesh. Her blue eyes and almost translucently-pale skin just take my breath away! Just lovely. -Aunt Modey

Becky said...

K -- when "cah" becomes "car" and I can't fit him into car jammies anymore, just go on without me. I think I'll be done. *sniffle*

Kate said...

That's a cool transporter!! And beautiful pics of the birthday boy, surrounded by folks who love him so dearly. It's a perfect birthday party!