Carter's Second Birthday Party Weekend

Whew! What a whirlwind of a weekend...actually, probably just a whirlwind of the last few months leading up to it as well!  We have been so busy getting our house ready for baby # 2 that we have barely had time to breathe.  We started with a new dining table that we wanted to fix up with chalk paint that took way too many hours of labor.  Then it was a major remodel to our upstairs to get Carter a big boy room and out of the nursery.  We did tons of DIY projects in his new room and have painted the entire upstairs from ceiling to baseboard so it was no easy undertaking!  And once we got Carter man settled in, we (I) tackled the nursery which also got a fresh coat of paint and a few DIY projects so far.  We really wanted both rooms to be ready in time for all of the company we were expecting for the second birthday party, so Saturday was our deadline.  And somehow, we pulled it off!  Everything was ready by last weekend, so I was able to focus my energy on decorating, cleaning, and grocery shopping for the party in the few days leading up to it. 

Friday (my day off), Carter and I ran several errands including getting his hair cut for his big day and picking up things like balloons and last second groceries.  Then he spent the night with his Ninny & Grumps (my mom and stepdad) while Brent and I went to a Brantley Gilbert and Aaron Lewis concert.  It was definitely not the best of timing being the night before Carter's big party, but it's not like we could reschedule a concert over our kid's birthday! ;)  We were able to have a nice meal before and the concert was great.  We wanted to see Aaron Lewis the most who was technically an opener, so we were able to slip out a little early and beat the traffic out!  Since my car decided to overheat for the first time ever on the way in to the concert in standstill traffic, we thought that it was probably for the best...plus, we are just old and tired and had an hour and a half drive home ahead of us! :)  Did I take one picture to document a date night?  Of course not!

Then Saturday morning started our party prep.  We got the house and outside all nice and cleaned up.  Carter man came home for lunch and his nap while I got supper cooking.  I had chili/chili dogs and potato soup on the menu for quite some time, so when it turned out to be near 80 degrees it was a little too late to be changing it up.  But we were able to serve food both inside and out, so it was nice to spread the crowd out a bit!  

Carter woke up about 30 minutes before the party was to start and he got dressed in his fishing shirt.  I had been explaining to him all week what exactly a birthday party entailed and he was most excited about the cake! So when he saw that his Aunt Dana had brought the cake, he was pretty happy! :)  I took like zero pictures at the party because I was so busy just being a part of it, so excuse my Instagram screenshots!!

Carter's fishy cake and fishing cupcakes made by his Aunt Dana.

He was still a little tired when everyone was beginning to show up, but thankfully he was able to get going and happy when the kids started coming in.  We blessed the food and had our meal.  The kids all ended up on the swingset playing in no time!  I think they would have played for the rest of the evening if we had let them.  I love having all of the kiddos together and think it's something we need to try to do more often!  We called them all in for cake and present time.  

He was not thrilled with waiting to dig into the cake!

We were surprised with how he seemed to know what he was doing with blowing out the candles.  That's not to say he didn't slobber a little bit on the cake, but hey, it was his birthday so that makes it ok, right?!  He had a big time eating his cake and ice cream out back where he could make as big of a mess as he wanted.  Then, it was present time!  He got WAY too much, but he sure has been loving playing with all of his new toys and I was thankful for some new much-needed fall/winter clothes for him.

I could not get his attention!!

He was pretty excited at first about the present opening, but when he would open something he liked and then was told to go on and open the next thing, he was not happy at all.  

In typical 2 year old fashion, he had a total meltdown when he opened a Mickey Mouse fishing pole that he was in love with.  He was determined to only play with his new pole and forget about the other half of the unopened presents!  It was a full-on pulling mommy's hair kind of fit that required a couple of spankings to get his attention.  Not cool in front of a room full of people!  Thanks, buddy!  Finally, when I told him that he could play with the pole AFTER we finished opening the rest of the presents, he got back in the present-opening mode and things were much better.  Our living room was drowning in toys and gift bags/wrap when we were finished!  

Then little man was a happy guy, playing with his new tractors and fishing pole and several of his little buddies.  Mommy and daddy were finally able to relax and sit back and enjoy for the rest of the party.  It was nice to have all that behind us!

We spent Sunday cleaning up and resting up (well, besides Brent's hard work fixing a water leak in our yard).  We had some leftovers from the party with my parents that night and put our little man to bed as a one-year old for the last time. :(

Monday (yesterday) was his actual birthday and he got to take the rest of the cake and cupcakes to his babysitter's house.  He was pretty excited!  Last night I brought home pizza and we were able to eat on the back patio and go for a Ranger ride.  I promise he loved it, you just can't tell at all from our picture!  We finished the night by playing with his buddy next door and bath time and lots of books in bed.  

We sure love this little guy and neither of us can believe he is already two and about to be a big brother!  Now it's time to relax and enjoy his last couple of months as an only child.