Birthday Party!

A barnyard cake, made from a tutorial found on Pinterest. Let me tell you...the crumb coating WORKS and definitely keeps those crumbs from showing through in the frosting! Also, it was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, so everyone loved it. You can see G's smash cake in the upper right hand corner, with the "G" spelled out in Cheerios

As I explained before, the theme was “Old MacDonald’s Farm” (not to be confused with “Animal Farm”, which could have strange literary connotations).

The Party Stats:

Guests: Gregory, Jesse, Kelly, Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Poppa and Aunt Emily, Aunt Brooke and Cousin Rachel, Great Aunt Bridget and Great Uncle Larry, Cousin Philip, Aunt Tess, Heather and her daughter Adrianna (our new friends from church).

Food: BBQ chicken wings, Pigs in a Blanket, Deviled Eggs, Baked Beans, Chicken Feed (granola), Garden Veggies, Caramel Apples, Sweet Potato “Hay” (Fries), Corn on the Cob (G’s new fav food), Lemonade and Milk, and, of course, carrot cake!!! Everything was home-made, other than the beans and granola. Everything was as organic/cage free as possible on a tight budget 🙂

Gifts: A soft stuffed doggie and book, along with a generous college savings fund from Nana and Poppa, an ADORABLE “fox” kid’s tent and camping chair from Aunt Brooke and Cousin Rachel, a Tonka Truck from Heather and Adrianna, an activity/learning cube and some 12 month onesies from Grandma and Grandpa, and a “Whacky Ball” game from Tess (think, Whack-a-mole, but with more colors, and a long ramp in front of a mirror….kinda hard to explain).

Cost of decorations: Under $30

Cost of food: Under $70 (for 16 people, not bad?)

The banner over the food table

Decorations on the food table-- clustered gourds with pics of G

Close up

Starbucks Frap bottles saved and re-used as old-fashioned milk bottles

Table centerpieces

The Garden Tray, with a "Gregory's Approval" sign next to it

Deviled Eggs, on a "sheep" plate (my inner Kindergarten teacher!)

More food

Birthday Banner

Yummy Party Favors

Closeup of party favors

Once it got dark, we lit cool candles everywhere.

When it came time for the smash cake, G literally devoured/inhaled his in under a minute. It was IMPRESSIVE…we all sat in awe/horror, wondering if he was going to choke!

Right after we gave it to him and he dove right in

Adrianna watching in jealousy. She'd been asking Heather for a cupcake once every 10 minutes for the entire night! She couldn't wait!

Less than a minute later-- all gone

After cake, we went straight to presents. Let me tell you, I’ve never seen a kid who actually unwrapped/opened his presents, not for the paper, but for the present. G did just that– tossed aside the paper eagerly and grabbed for what was inside! TOTALLY MY KID!!!

Immediately upon pulling the stuffed animal out, he said, "Doggie!" Smart kiddo!

He couldn't stop stroking the eyes and biting the nose!

Let me say: he was NOT a fan of this. But he got to chew on it a few minutes later, so all was well

Tess also gave him 2 boxes of cheerios in his present. His reaction was priceless. His eyes got big as saucers and his jaw dropped open. He looked at the boxes, looked at me, then back at the boxes and said, "mmm! MMM!" and opened/closed his hand over and over again, like he does when he wants food. It was hilarious!

Of course I gave him some 🙂

He got very excited when he opened the activity cube. He's so tactile (always has been), and so I've noticed that he's fascinated by beaded mazes. I purposefully wanted this one because it has ABC's on the side. Luckily, my parents felt the same way :).

Wow, I look super preggo in this one...

...and then the sugar coma hit....