March 29, 2023

birthday magic

This week found me waxing nostalgic about my son's 2nd birthday, along with frantically preparing for it, including a last-minute front door birthday decoration.
Like most parents, I'm amazed about how quickly he's growing up and how much he's changed, even in just a year. I must admit that I'm liking 2 much better than 1 right now, despite the beginnings of tantrums and sometimes challenging independent behavior. But he's also SO very sweet too--I just love his little voice saying "hi Mommy!" in the morning.
We threw a small party this weekend with some friends and their children, 8 kids in all, and it was really fun.
We spent much of SoJo's nap time cleaning and finishing up the cooking for the party. I had decorated the night before with some banners made from scrapbook paper that I had saved from his last birthday.
The paper lanterns were decorations from our wedding nearly 10 years ago. I pulled them out of the attic and thought they'd look great hung beneath our behemoth ceiling fan. I also rehung the banner I made last year.
The party theme was cars and vehicles and the center piece were the cupcakes.
I wasn't too happy with how they came out. I used Amy Sedaris' recipe for Tattletale's Vanilla Cupcakes (Tattletale being her houserabbit) that I got from her hilarious book I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. The cupcakes were a little dense, kind of shortbread-like, even though these cupcakes were voted 2nd best in New York by New York Magazine.
Mr. Geek liked them though, and the matcha green tea/cream cheese frosting was the icing on the cake (pardon the silly pun).
I used some of the Wilton cupcake decorations on them, along with my mother-in-law's trusty cupcake tower which I decorated with crepe paper and black ribbon.

As for the menu, I made some homemade mac and cheese, hummus and veggies, some veggie hot dogs and pizza. Typical kids' favorites. Along with chips, cheese and crackers, and a fruit salad lovingly made by one of my friends.
As for the favors I had been sewing all week, here they are
I made some car cozies to go with the theme, based on a tutorial I found over at My Little Gems.
It's essentially a fabric roll for matchbox cars to slide inside. There's also a road for kids to drive the cars on.
It's nice to take along with you in the car or when you'll be waiting in a doctor's office and need something quiet to entertain your child.I filled the pockets with a few matchbox cars, some treats, bubbles, car stickers and tied them together with a Richard Scarry car book. I had a lot of leftover Christmas cards with his photo on them, so I cut them up and tied them onto the favors as tags. They looked very cute!

The birthday boy got lots of nice presents, including books, some great games, and toys. He also got a play kitchen from mom and dad, and a barnyard from his grandparents.
And one last shot of the crown I felted for him. I love how his hair is sticking out all akimbo.
Happy birthday my sweet boy! You are my little darlin', my best teacher, and my greatest joy.

21 comments:

  1. You did a great job on the party. Everything looked so good! Happy birthday to the little man! :)

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  2. Everything looks fantastic! I love how the favors turned out. Happy birthday to Soren! He has changed so much in such a short time, it's amazing.

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  3. BTW...gave you an award on my blog today! :)

    Heather
    The Gift Closet
    www.thegiftcloset.blogspot.com

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  4. Happy Birthday Sojo!!!!
    I love his name by the way. You did an awesome job on that party mommy!

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  5. What a sweet boy! Great party, too! Love the crown and the car cozy. If you need a good cupcake recipe, I've got one! My daughter's first grade teacher took a bite and said she didn't know when she last had a cupcake that good. Made me blush a bit.

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  6. My son turned two in February and we did the same theme. I wish I had remembered your Matchbox rolls!

    Everyone walked in on a road we made out of black wrapping paper. We served food out of my son's vehicles--his dumptruck was perfect for salad. For favors we had snacks and cds with my son's favorite car songs...old stuff that his great grandma turned him on to like "Beep Beep" by the Playmates. You should check it out, it's great for a running around the house activity.

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  7. It looks like a great time was had by all! Gorgeous and fun little boy's birthday party, amazing. SoJo looks totally adorable. Love his tee!

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  8. So much fun!!!! I loved the parties when my girls were little, all the favors and cake decorations were always so whimsical. You did such an amazing job & those favors are so creative (going to check out that link, too.)

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  9. This is SUCH an adorable party!!! You are seriously amazing!!!

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  10. You did a brilliant job decorating! Those cupcakes look delicious! My favourite photos are the ones where Soren is wearing his Birthday crown. @ years old already, wow!

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  11. What a fun party! Great job mama!

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  12. What a great job on the party... Happy birthday Sojo. Hope you all had a great time.

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  13. Happy Birthday to your little boy! You did a great job working on the party details. It must be tiring but I am sure it is worth it.

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  14. Looks like such a great party!!!

    That car cozie is such a cute idea!

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  15. Oh, it all looks so wonderful!!! Happy birthday to that cutie!!!

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  16. I also liked the cupcakes! And I think they were like pound cake, which I've been craving as of late. Perfect!

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  17. Wow, what a lot of work! Happy Birthday, Soren! I can't believe he's two already!

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  18. Wow! Gorgeousness! I love the car cozies, too! What a cool idea. Where is that Etsy shop of yours?

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  19. Happy Birthday, Soren! I saw your car caddies just before writing my own post about homemade birthday gifts. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed two photos-- I linked to your blog, of course. WONDERFUL job, I love everything about his party!

    Here's the link:
    http://makinglemonadeblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/stork-report-crafty-gift-ideas-for-baby.html

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  20. You did a great job with the decorations and I especially like the car party favors. What a great and original idea. Happy birthday to your guy. Seems like he had a wonderful one.

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