It was so much fun this year because he was actually old enough to enjoy all the activities! It was also special in a new way because there was a full group of little kids to share in the party time! It was so fun to watch them all celebrate together!
Let me also say that if you weren't able to be there, you were there in spirit with us. We made sure to incorporate all the other family members that morning at the breakfast table telling him who all sent him special wishes for his birthday!
About a month ago Ian and I decided to throw Elijah an Elmo themed party because he LOVES that little red headed puppet! It has been a weird mystery actually. We don't know how he got into Elmo because we don't even own a TV, but sure enough, "Elmo" is one of his top 10 most commonly spoken words!
Here are some pics and video from Elijah's day:
Elijah woke up to a crib full of balloons to tip him off that this was going to be a special day!
As soon as he saw Joaquin he started begging: "Bubba, Bubba!" and pointing to the crib with him. He always wants to get Joaquin in on the fun!
Joaquin loves to rough-house. He tackles Elijah all the time! It is so precious!
After we all got up, we had a special pancake breakfast where Elijah got 2 pancakes for being 2 years old! He even attempted to blow out the 2 crazy candles. :)
Two of my very best friends drove down for the party and brought their precious kiddos. Here are Alex (Melissa's little girl) and Jackson (Sally's little boy) underneath their Elmo masques.
(The first activity we did when we got to MiMi's house for the party was a craft time. We all made Elmo masques with the help of the mommies and daddies.)
This was the most difficult picture EVER to set up!
From left to right: Adam wore his son Noah's Elmo masque, then there are Jackson, Alex, Elijah, and Joaquin. :)
We were all dying laughing while we were trying to take this picture!
Adam wins the prize for most deformed Elmo!
Mom made this AMAZING Elmo gingerbread cake from scratch! It was awesome!
Way to go MiMi!
Everyone sang a sweet happy birthday song for Elijah before he blew out the candles!
My handsome men!
Joaquin is just about to start walking. He can do about 3 steps on his own now!
The rain had let up enough for everyone to go outside for some activities!
Elijah proudly wore his birthday boy ribbon all day! (It was hard to get him out of it to put on his p.j.'s that night!)
Mom's rose arbor was in full bloom and it was gorgeous!
We had an Elmo/Sesame Street hunt outside and the kids had a blast finding all the hidden characters.
Watch out, Alex found an Ernie!
The big kids were FAST, so MiMi decided to help Elijah. But of course, the older kids were smarter than that and they figured it out that wherever MiMi went, there was going to be a hidden character, so if they could just get there first, they could get it! It was a riot!
Elijah and his treasured Elmo.
He accidentally dropped the Elmo doll in the dirt and was really upset. He tried to get Daddy to "fix it!"
Dirty Elmo = Unhappy Elijah
I think Elijah is getting to look more and more like Ian the older he gets.
Alex and John were best buddies the entire time! Alex loves birds and so John let her hold his bird, Cheeks.
Alex holding cheeks. She is so comfortable with animals.
Sally and her newest little addition, Bennett.
He is such a little happy boy!
He was all smiles the entire time!
Joaquin and Mommy
If you can't tell by his face, he was definitely ready for a nap at this point!
We moved into the parlor to open presents. Here is a pic of some of the party-goers.
Sally and Bennett, Josh, Ian and Joaquin, Mel and Carson, Bob, Deborah, and Chandra (with another little cousin inside)
Elijah loved opening his gifts this year, but he did enlist the help of his buddies and MiMi.
Carson, Mel's little man, had finally gotten up from his nap and was ready to party!
Elijah received a fire truck from Bob and Deborah and he immediately dug into it!
This impressive fireman pose was actually done by Daddy. :)
Poor guy was pooped at this point. With all the excitement he wasn't able to nap all day, but he hung in there! Even after most people left, the kids continued to play. I worried that all the rain would ruin the party plans, but it ended up being the kids favorite parts of the day!
OH.
ReplyDeleteMY.
WORD!!!!
loved this post!! Rachie, i cannot tell you how much fun we had. Jackson was in tears when we had to leave - and we were bummed too - we could've stayed all evening catching up.
Huge thanks to Mimi for letting us invade their beautiful home. :) and huge kuddos to you mama, i know what work goes into making your kiddo's bday party so special and fun, and you (as you always do!!) made his so wonderful.
When i saw the balloons in the crib, it reminded me of how good you are at celebrating people's bdays...like when we lived in THWEEEE DEEE and you posted a million bday cards to the front door. ahhh, you are so good at celebrating LIFE and bdays!!
love you - it was so fun. thanks for letting us be a part of that special bday weekend for Elijah!!!
hugs!!!
Sal
What a fun party! Y'all are so fun all the time, (seems that hasn't changed!) and it looks like the birthday boy had a great birthday! I'm very impressed with Mimi's cake-we are huge Elmo fans here...
ReplyDeleteAnd I've never seen a mother and daughter look so much alike. In my life. Y'all are both just stunning.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, perfect day! Thank you for letting me be a part of your loving family.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for 3!
The party seemed very enjoyable, all the photos are also wonderful! Tomorrow is my daughter’s first birthday and we have also organized a wonderful party for her. First birthdays are very special events so a home party wasn’t an option. We will be celebrating with many family and friends at the popular event space NYC.
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