Our Two-Year-Old!

Well, yesterday's birthday party here at the house was a major success. I will honestly tell you that I was exhausted by the time it was all said and done...and it really was an easy and casual kind of party!

Bear Cub had 5 friends come over -- the oldest being 3 and the youngest, about 10 months. I was so very proud of him and how well he did with sharing his toys with his friends. The only time he got upset was when I tried to put his presents inside the house because it wasn't time to open them yet. Well, he just didn't understand that, so I let him open one gift and that seemed to satisfy his need for ripping paper. :)

The kids got here at 10 a.m. and they were asked to come directly around the house to the back porch. Thank goodness we have a large covered porch, so we could all sit and play comfortably (well, minus the heat and humidity!) out back. The festivities began with some easy finger food snacks and then it was on to finger painting...with colored pudding!! I got this idea from one of my parenting magazines and it really did work out great! The kids had a blast smearing the pudding around and then of course, licking their fingers, and plates, as you'll see in one of the photos. But, when you're working with toddlers, activities don't last too long, so it was quickly onto the next thing...outside water fun!

I bought a cool sprinkler/hopscotch game mat that hooks up to the hose and then I filled up the frog pool that Mimi bought for Bear Cub. The kids were pretty tentative around the sprinkler set-up, but really got into the frog pool. We just kept the porch door open, so they went in and out as they pleased, which was also nice. It's good for toddlers to have a little freedom! Soon my watering cans were discovered...and you'd think they'd struck gold by how excited they were to play with those! Wow...wish I would have bought each of them a watering can...I could have put them all to work watering our plants and flowers around the house!

So by this point, the food-colored pudding had nicely washed off most of them, so the moms brought them back on the porch for cupcakes and presents. Boy, some of the kids gobbled their cupcakes down, but BC just stuck his finger into the frosting a few times, licked it, and then was off to play again.

Our boy knows how to open presents, that's for sure! He did great opening his gifts and I was so proud that he said "Thanks" (of course, when prompted by me...but hey, he said it!) and even gave hugs to his friends. If you had only seen how he was around other kids his age and younger about 10 months ago, you'd be just as impressed by all this hugging, sharing, and smiling that was done. :) He's grown so much and in so many wonderful ways.

The whole party lasted about an hour and a half and then Little Miss and Aunt J hung out with us and helped clean up the porch. Thanks again for that, Juls!!! :)

It didn't take long for BC to fall asleep --- it was quite an exciting and busy morning for him. He loves all of his new toys and it's wonderful to have new things to play with!

I was pooped...my body literally ached from all the "doings"...but I felt like a real Mama Bear. I threw my first birthday party and it was a hit! I told Daddy Bear last night that the party was homemade and heartfelt. And I think my little Bear Cub appreciated it all and loved every minute of it. His smile and joy are always gifts for this Mama Bear. Enjoy the pictures!

Our porch...decorated for his fire truck - themed party

The party hat didn't last long for BC...I'm lucky I even got this shot! No hats of any kind for this guy!

Riding a fire truck and drinking from his fire truck cup! Want to know how I made him smile? By repeating one of my favorite German phrases, "Bitte hunde on die leine!" Yeah...I'll do anything for a smile. And what does that mean? "Please keep your dogs on the leash." Love it!

Let the finger painting fun begin!

Why lick your fingers when you can just put your face directly into the plate of pudding? Hey, it worked for Bear Cub!

And this is what he looked like after the face plant!

I told BC to stand next to his little friend here...it was too funny because he backed up for about 5 steps before he finally got to her. So here he is...in reverse. :) The big man on campus here...the one and only 3-year-old. Cool dude!

This little guy LOVED the pudding!

The pudding lover hit the frog pool shortly after his painting session.

The birthday boy...trying out the sprinklers!

A gathering at the frog pool....Little Miss in bikini bottoms there! What a cutie pie.

The two lovely ladies that attended -- looks like some sort of discussion going on here...

"I'll meet ya in the middle!"

Flexing some two-year-old muscles here! Woo-hoo!

Getting a little help opening a card...

Wow...do you think these two liked that fire engine??

Here is BC's "What's that noise??" face. Too funny! One of his new fire trucks had just gone off - I can't believe I caught the look on camera!

Giving Little Miss one of his famous "head hugs" where he just sort of leans into someone. She's used to those hugs from him!

What a happy, happy birthday it was! And great news...all of that bright red/pink food coloring did indeed come out of Bear Cub's white shirt...and even better...MY ENTIRE OUTFIT that I had on yesterday. Yippee for that! :)