Two?! Already?!

Nate's party was, in a word, awesome. And he completely owned it! Check out how happy he is, with his little pink cheeks. He spent the first half hour or so dashing around.














We used Frank's old picnic table for dining. Did I mention that we catered the party? That's right, Dan and I were actually able to enjoy ourselves! I would also highly recommend the Mexican restaurant that we got to cater the party, if you were interested...














I love this picture, it's like Nate's having an adult conversation with Ashley.
She asks "so, Nate, are you enjoying your party?"
And he says "why yes, Ashley, I am having quite the time."














Ball pit = raging success! We were completely blessed with gorgeous weather, which was bookended by rain on both sides. Lucky were we.














Nate decimated the sticky decals I got for the windows, and he looks almost guilty doing it. I'm still finding mushy bits in the dining room. If I haven't mentioned it, the theme of the party was Balls, mostly basketball. I kind of overused the phrase 'have a ball', so I'll refrain from any further ball jokes. Count yourself lucky.
















Since we had the party catered, I could spend my preparation time on what really mattered: the cupcakes. I made baseballs, tennis balls, basketballs and soccer balls. While the soccerballs looked like spiders (you'll see no pictures of them here), the rest turned out well, nestled in among the fake turf that I made. For a much better picture, though, check out Ashley's blog (link to the right). She's a pro with her camera!! Thanks Ash :)















Nate's cupcake was actually an egg-free muffin. After he licked off the frosting, he gave me the muffin back, disappointed that it was the same old muffin he had had for breakfast. Sorry buddy.














Each kid got a hacky-sack ball, a sport whistle and a ball tattoo. The tattoos were the big hit, even Aunt Annie got in on the action! And some of the kids got creative- Lucy requested hers on her belly :)




















As I had made 75 cupcakes, we had enough to send Nate with to school on his actual birthday. Here Nate is with his buddies enjoying some frosting. The little girl on the right, Sophie, has an electric green chin from the tennis ball. I like to think that her mom was perplexed about the new color of her shirt.
















I'm so amazed by the process of growing up, watching Nate turn 2. My son's a funny, engaging and spirited boy. He loves to laugh, play trains and shoot baskets. His favorite meal is licking cream cheese off of bread, he takes off his socks as target practice (tossing them in the hamper as we retrieve them until he's successful), he patiently opens his mouth for me when I brush his teeth, every evening he says night night to anyone and everyone he's ever met, he has a penchant for Maya and Miguel on PBS Kids, his smile for cameras is more of a wince, and his new saying is a casual 'yeah' when you ask him a question. He's a kid, he's a boy, he's not a baby. I love this age. Happy birthday Nate