Elijah's Super Hero Birthday

ANd  so it begins.

BOys.
boYS.
BOYS!!!!!

I feel like initiation into the world of being a "Mom of Boys" does not officially begin until your child begins their descent into the all-encompassing, all-consuming, never-ending retina-bleeding world of Super Heroes!!! (Does the Super Hero phase ever end?)

(These pics are not Justin, but taken from dad's from alllll over)

ANYWHO, Elijah asked for a SUPER hero birthday, and being that my husband is the comic-book nerd that he is (or was before he married me, whoops), we went all. out.

I made capes for the kids who came

AND masks! (sparkled-red spiderman for the 2 little girls who came)
(here's the link for the mask template FYI)

Meanwhile, my husband planned the ultimate three-stage obstacle course for the children
(They had to complete all three "Levels" of "Super Hero Training" in order to earn their capes (they earned after Level One), Masks (they earned after completing Level Two) and Medallion (after Level Three)
First Level of Super Hero school:

Second Level: (we had a stuffed cat tied to a rope like a pinata, the kids had to "rescue" the cat by jumping on the trampoline and 'catching'/saving the cat) then go through the cardboard box tunnel

Then the kids had to go "through" the spiderweb maze (string Justin strung up between two cars)

And they had to get to the Spiderman pinata through a couple obstacles and hit the "impostor" spiderman a few times. 

Both our sons loved it.
(My youngest son in the red cape in the front, Elijah dressed as Batman)

And we hope we passed our own initiation into the world of Raising Boys.
Cheers to the next 14plus years of Boyhood.

Elijah's Pirate Birthday

Age 3 was the year Elijah could really and genuinely decide what "kind" of bday party he wanted.
To be honest, I have kindof loved that he has been obsessed with pirates. Pirates have somehow, for some reason become "cute"

 But let's be honest, historically if we are being honest with our kids, pirates were

Luckily, no one in my family has asked for a historically accurate explanation of who or what pirates are, so Pirate Party it is.

We did easy "rainbow" fruit spears (strawberry, melon, pinapple, grapes and blueberries), easy bannana breads with whipped cream, blue jello (with pirate boat toothpicks) & I tried my best at a "skittle cake" which was requested.

 (This "kid" cake kindof felt like one of those "Pinterest Fail" memes you see...I'm  not quite the baker)

But we had fun!
Everyone was given a mustache and encouraged to come dressed

That creepy man would happen to be my husband. My spouse. The One I Chose. 

The man never broke character. He called it his "Daniel Day Louis" performance, and used a pirate accent the entire party....it wasn't until the end Elijah realized the pirate was his own father ;)

(my life shall never be boring! if you're single, #marryafunnyman , it pays off in the end;) )

We did a Pirate Scavenger Hunt, where the kids had to find the coins in the yard, and were given a toy "treasure chest" with little pirate-themed toys as they completed their hunt. (They had to "walk the plank" to their scavenger hunt)

 All in a day's fun!!

Thanks to all who came!

Easy Breazy Beautiful Second Birthday; Trucks n' Ducks

So.....no offense to love of my life, my youngest child Kai. But...with my husbands busy workload and adjusting to coming back from vacations---trying to find a free weekend to celebrate my soon-to-be 2 year old's birthday was getting stressful.

And then you have planning food.

And cleaning.

And baking.

Then cleaning.

And party favors, decor, staying within the budget (Because, I'm just going to level with you people. Birthdays were a big deal in my house growing up. I wish I could just not make a big fuss, but I can't. It's not in my blood).

That being said....this year, I was just NOT physically able to throw a big party for Kai's Second Bday. So what did we do?

On a Wednesday.
I asked my girlfriends, and Kai's best friend, Jamie ((OKAY so Jamie's his ONLY friend #momguilt)) To come over for a playdate. No pressure. Come if You Can. Just Snacks. And Cake.

Purchased at Target.

And the Theme was "Trucks and Ducks"...because they are his two favorite things IN THE WORLD.

It ended up being one of my favorite parties to throw, because I didn't have to do ANYthing!! (except make moms coffee!) And it was a blast!

I made blue jello (back-breaking), bought the cake and snacks from target (doing anything at target kindof like free therapy ((or not so free...)), Filled the back sand box with water and put rubber duckies we had laying around in it.  Then had all the kids try to scoop out a duck with a butterfly net as the "Party Game". 

Easy. Breazy.

But still special.

Elijah's Cookie Monster 2nd Birthday

Of course I love birthdays. Growing up, birthdays were a big deal. As in, from the minute you wake up until you go to bed, it is YOUR day. Maybe that's why I love doing Ebear's birthdays so much? For his second birthday, I wanted it to be about him and all the things he loves.

Last year, we did more of a 'big deal' birthday. There were hamburgers, homemade sides, desserts, 45 of our best friends and family. We decided this year (though we still had about 40people) we were doing more low key. I wanted this year to be all about my big kid:) His favorite song is the "Cookie Monster" song (C is for cookie...he does a cute little monster voice impersonation when he sings it) and okay I can't lie....the way he says "Cookie-mos-ster?" is my favorite...so I kind of encouraged the Cookie Monster theme just so I could hear him say it over and over.

Plus...cookies......
So despite Cookie Monster's recent expulsion by the HealthNut community (which I'm usually a part of), I simply could not deny this face

But before the party started (since I wanted him to have fun alllll day long) Daddy took birthday boy to the firehouse for a tour

Believe me. It rocked. His. Whole. World.

For the party, I sent out "Cookie Monster" invites so the kids could have a little fun opening mail. (super easy, and for the inside I just made cardstock invites with half-eaten cut-out cookies glued around the words)

I  ended up using mostly decor I had made for last year (but adding "cookie monster" eyes and mouths) and since it was after all, a cookie monster party, mostly desserts were served which--I'm not going to lie--made me preeettty happy

(I always hang up pictures of my boo-bear around the house for his birthday...as a reminder to me of all I have to be grateful for---his birthday is, after all a celebration for me (not of me) too)

The infamous birthday wreath! Is there anyone who hasn't made this wreath this year? Haha. I've loved seeing it on pintrest so much regardless, so I wanted to have one we could reuse for the boys' birthdays.

Favors (took 4 seconds to hot-glue googly eyes, $1 visors from Hobby Lobby)

The food--be still my heart

homemade brown sugar cookies

A simple sugar cookie (cut toddler-sized) with blue-sprinkled frosting (a big hit)

Home made chocolate chip cookies, with the broken ones designated for dunking:) (waste not)

Next to the cookies I got to use this pinterest idea I've been dying to use, only I filled mine with whole milk so guests could dunk their cookies in their glasses

My sad little picture of the cupcakes. Isn't it pathetic folks.  I forgot to take pictures during the party and of course we we didn't have leftovers. I made strawberry cupcakes (with fresh strawberry chunks), topped them with blue icing, dipped them in blue coconut (just used blue dye), and used vanilla chips and oreo for the face. Easy peasy.

Cheesecake pudding with 'Cookie Crisp' cereal.

(blue jello with gummy bears@the bottom, had to include a little 'bear' theme somewhere)

We also just made some simple turkey dogs with chilli, then my MIL's famous mac&cheese, salad, and chips with dip options. (also some different breads with whipped cream, because again, selfishly I wanted the leftovers)

The highlight for us was perhaps the creepily-large Cookie Monster Pinata (bigger, than the birthday boy I might add)

However, our lack of pinata-expertise quickly manifested as time continued to pass...and the thing wouldn't rip

Apparently, nowadays pinatas are made with metal wiring inside. What the what? Designed for children? I guess not. Someone didn't mind though.

All in a day's work for dad.

Thanks to all who came and made the day so special for us!

We had a lot of fun!

(all of us)