Birthday Party!

After Finn's first birthday, my plan for this year was a little family gathering at home.  And somehow that turned into a party with 23 people thrown together at the last minute.  We had such a good time, I decided I needed to document it here, even if it is a week late.

I have always wanted to have a birthday party at a ranch that's not too far from our house - they have all sorts of animals - lots of cattle, emu, zebra, llamas, pigs, water buffalo, and even a rhino.  It's one of those places that you can drive your car through or, if you're not crazy, you can take a wagon ride. Since I'll hopefully be moving or already moved this time next year, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and have the party this year, while it's still so close to us.  Because I waited so late to plan we had to take the only time available, so our wagon ride left at 10:15, one of the first wagons of the day.  It turned out to be the perfect time as all the animals were still hungry, the sun wasn't too hot, and it poured down rain later in the afternoon.

Our party took up the entire wagon - two of my partners at work, my assistant and her kids, my sister and her family, Nanny M, my friends Lisa, Liz, LB and their families.  We had buckets full of feef for the animals, and were instructed by the driver on the proper feeding techniques. Some would take food right from your hands, while others were fed by pouring feed into their mouths, or putting food under the seat and letting them eat from the bottom of the wagon.  Finn's preferred method was either food under the seat (he got so excited when "llama llama red pajama" and goats ate food from the bottom of the wagon) or throwing food at the animals, which was also my nephew Ollie's favorite way to feed them. The ride was over an hour, and full of laughs and squeal and giggles - and some slobbery hands.  It was such a joy watching Finn watch the animals.  He did not want to get too close to them, but he he loved watching them, and he loved watching other people feed them (when he wasn't busy throwing food at them himself).

My sister ready to feed the goats

Finn

Zebras were hungry, but we were warned they like to bite!

Ollie hadn't met Gabs before, but he insisted on holding her hand - so cute! 

Finn and Nanny M 

Finn and Nanny M and Giraffe 

Look at that tongue! 

One of Lisa's daughters had the brilliant idea to serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the shape of Mickey heads for lunch after the ride, and since the party started so early, one of my partners came to my house early to help make the sandwiches while her husband entertained Finn.  Then Lisa and her crew showed up to help load everything into the car, so what could have been a long, crazy and stressful morning of prep work was fun and easy and took less than an hour.  Everyone also helped get the table set and everyone served after the wagon ride - it couldn't have been an easier party.  I am so lucky to have such good friends!

Mickey Head sandwiches

I had our local supermarket make his cake, and asked them to decorate with balloons, while leaving a spot for the cute Mickey plane I found online. It's not the fanciest cake ever, but it sure was cute.  And delicious.

I was looking for a 2nd birthday shirt online and found his adorable shirt on Etsy.  Again, this was all last minute, so the weekend before his party I emailed the woman who makes these to see if she could get me one in time for his party.  And she did!  Here store is here if you want to check it out.  I noticed that her store has recently been reopened after being closed for the birth of quadruplets - makes me even happier I found her store.

I haven't tested Finn to see if he's still allergic to eggs, so he had birthday ice cream instead of cake, but there was lots of chocolate sauce and sprinkles to go along with the ice cream, so he didn't even notice he wasn't eating cake.  He would have licked the bowl if I'd let him!

I just love this picture of the two of us

After food was over, the kids went with a few adults to play on the playground, while the rest of us cleaned up and visited.  By the time the party was over, Finn was worn out.  He fell asleep on the way home, and slept for over two hours.  We opened presents after his nap, and then more the next morning, on his actual birthday.  He got some great toys and some much needed clothes, as well as a few really cute cards (including one from Tiara and Elena -it was even signed by Elena herself!) - he really got way more than he needed, but it was all very appreciated!  He loved opening the gifts, and every single gift he got has been a big hit.  When does that ever happen with a two year old?

Next year I swear - cake and dinner at home with just a few people.