Baby Hulk │Isaac's 2nd Birthday Party

Stomping in puddles: how this guy is celebrating his second birthday. Temp link to Birthday blog post in profile. #isaacistwo #simplelife #kidsandpuddles #optoutside #lifewithatoddler #isaacalexander #mohaus2017

A post shared by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Apr 18, 2017 at 10:12am PDT

On Isaac's actual birthday, he was happy to stomp in puddles and we decided to take him to our favorite local Mexican place, El Metate, for dinner. Isaac LOVES salsa.

At age two we thought he might still be a little young to be sung to at the restaurant, so we skipped the official birthday festivities there (they smash whip cream into your face). We still enjoyed our meal (and I didn't have to cook). Plus, salsa!

Celebrating Isaac's 2nd Birthday with our small group. #lifewithatoddler #isaacistwo #isaacalexander #smallgroup #mohaus2017

A post shared by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Apr 22, 2017 at 1:56pm PDT

It was probably a good thing we skipped the singing, because on Saturday we celebrated his birthday with our small group. This meant singing to him and enjoying cake with friends. He was incredibly bashful for the singing part (see above video).

We must be settling comfortably into parenting two children if Isaac's official birthday party is any indication. While we love him dearly, due to this busy season of life, there was very little planning for this party.

Instead of an invitation, there was a last minute email sent to family 10 days beforehand.

Instead of Pinterest worthy-(ish) decorations, there were window stickers from the Target $1 bins.

We continued with my family's traditional Pistachio cake, to make the party sort-of themed, I stuck Jack's Hulk figurine in the middle of the cake and added pulverized Oreos and Reese's to make it look like Hulk was smashing his way out of the cake.

Our family brought Isaac some delightful gifts – everything was a hit, especially the costumes! Isaac and Jack have been playing with all of the goodies non-stop since everyone left.

For lunch I made grilled chicken and pulled pork carnitas. My philosophy is: you can't go wrong with Tex-Mex. And it's fairly easy to pull together for a crowd.

Isaac was still a bit bashful for round two of the Happy Birthday song with family...

We are grateful for everyone that was able to make the drive (in torrential rain no less) to celebrate our youngest boy.

A look back at Jack's 2nd Birthday Party

Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Birthday Party, Jack's 2nd Birthday Party

 

Two weeks ago, our sweet little Jack turned two. In between our weekly travels and preparing our house to be sold, we had little opportunity to plan a party. 

 

We toyed with the idea of having a toddler hayride since we live in the country and also to have a toddler book exchange in lieu of presents from friends, but we just didn't seem to have the time to pull it all together.

So, on the Friday after Jack's birthday, we decided we needed to pull the trigger and make the invitations and get this party planned. And so we did.

We literally planned it in a couple of days. We knew that due to the last minute nature of our party (just over a week's notice) that it would be difficult to gather all of our friends and loved ones, so we were surprised and thankful that so many were able to show up despite the short notice.

It ended up being just family, but it was still a big turn out and we enjoyed getting to visit with everyone.

The theme of the party was Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails and I made my family's traditional Pistachio Cake in the form of cupcakes. I added googly sugar eyes to the cupcakes so they were fitting of silly little boys. 

I also made a Funfetti Sprinkle Cake (using this recipe) and used the shield and #2 from the invitation I designed as an element on the cake. It was a fun project. 

In terms of food, we went as simple as we could and ordered pizza. Daniel's family all offered to bring various items (drinks and more desserts) so we had plenty to eat. I also made a fun green punch (using this recipe) and a decadent hot chocolate (using this recipe) for the adults.

The hayride was a big hit with the kids. Living in the country has it's perks. We borrowed a trailer from one of Daniel's co-workers and picked up bales of hay from the local Home Depot. 

The kids had a blast jumping in the hay and riding around the yard behind the four wheeler. We would definitely consider doing this again if we have a big enough property once we move.

Our family was incredibly generous and got Jack some really fun gifts. He is in little boy heaven. Cars, trains, tools, stickers, clothes, and so much more.

We are so blessed that Jack is able to see so many people in our family throughout the year. Even when life is hectic, it is nice to pause and take time to be together and celebrate a birthday.

This year's party was simple and stress free. I still utilized Pinterest to come up with some ideas and will share, in more detail, some of the elements of the party. Pizza parties are definitely the way to go!