An Elmo party

Hubby and I hosted our baby boy's second birthday party on Saturday.  It was Elmo-themed.  If I had waited two more weeks to plan the affair I would've had to change the theme to Nemo.  Kids' opinions change in the blink of an eye, I am discovering.

The bright red Elmo invitations went out to family and friends.  We are so grateful for all of our loved ones who could attend (even despite the winds and the rain from Hurricane Irene).  We missed everyone who couldn't be there!

A recent trip to IKEA in Charlotte resulted in this $20 find - a pop-up circus tent that provided hours of entertainment for all of Caleb's friends.

Elmo favor bags lined the kitchen table.  The little dancing Elmos adorning the bright yellow bags were created by a very creative friend of mine, Pam.  Thank you Pam.  Without Pam, the party would have had no decorations because I lack any talent in that area.

The Elmo cupcakes were made by my go-to baker, Jenna (cupcakes by Jenna-Marie).  These were beauties (and delicious).

The Elmo banner was the first thing Caleb saw when he awoke on his birthday party morning. He loved it!  Now his favorite activity is trying to reach up and touch the Elmo banner.

 

Yummy Elmo cupcakes.  Time to sing happy birthday.

Caleb completely forgot how to blow out the candles. I'm fairly certain that hubby stole his birthday candle thunder.  But otherwise the guests would have been waiting all afternoon.

Eating the cupcake took even more effort.  Caleb is typically suspicious of any food we try to encourage him to eat.  He believes we are tricking him into eating something nutritious.  It was no different with the cupcakes and took a lot of convincing to take that first bite.

But once the bite was in the mouth, he devoured the entire cupcake with haste.

 

 Then we opened presents.  Lots of wonderful, sweet gifts.  Caleb is a lucky boy!

 

 

Friends playing on the sun porch.

Ellie and Madeline becoming friends.  They bonded over a mutual love for frilly pink skirts.

Caleb's artwork with his new birthday paints.  So glad they are washable!

Caleb can never have enough balls to play with.  Balls are the best.

I can't express how thankful we are to have such great friends.  Hubby, Caleb and I feel so loved.