Let's begin with the invitations. Wait, let me back up for a sec and start with the theme. I tossed around a few ideas, including a Yo Gabba Gabba theme, but then I stopped to consider what it was that my nearly two-year-old son really loved the most in this world. And, although I'd love to think that it's his Mommy and Daddy (which it probably is, of course), I had to be honest and admit that his genuine affinity for cookies far outweighed that of any other toy/TV show/food that I could imagine. And so it was, a cookie-themed birthday party was set into motion.
Now, for the invitations, I had seen this picture on Pinterest and thought that it would make a really cute party invitation, so I asked my aforementioned sister to take an appropriate photo of Owen eating a cookie and here's the one (of several great shots!) that I liked the best.
After Jackie did some fun editing effects to it, and I added in the wording, it ended up looking like this on the front...
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It's a little hard to read the text, but it says, "OWEN: AGE 2, likes singing, Wheel of Fortune, Elmo, Yo Gabba Gabba!, tape measures, Herky ("she-she"), vacuums, spelling; but he loves..." |
...and this on the back.
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| Personal information blacked out for use on the Interwebs. |
I even mounted the invitation deets (is it catching on yet?) onto some craft paper I had on hand that mimicked the wood grain in the fence posts behind Owen in the photo (although it probably went unnoticed by everyone but me.)
Next, I was faced with exactly how to implement a cookie-themed birthday party. One thing I knew for sure was that there needed to be lots, and lots, and lots of cookies on hand. So, I started baking. I baked at least one batch of all different kinds of cookies a week for several weeks leading up to the party and kept them all in my (much too tiny) freezer. Although there were two more kinds that I would have liked to have made, namely biscotti (see this previous post) and iced molasses cookies (using this recipe), time and other factors (stay with me...) prevented that from happening. In the end, I ended up with the following:
- Chocolate chunk (using the standard Nestle Tollhouse recipe on the back of the bag of chunks.)
- Twix bar (using this recipe, which were AWESOME! I highly recommend.)
- Peanut butter (using a recipe from my personal Betty Crocker cookbook.)
- Macaroons (using a recipe from the same BC cookbook. You can also see these featured in this previous post. They're pretty delish. If you'd like the recipe, let me know and I can send it to you separately.)
- Sugar (which were not homemade at all; I used a tube of Pillsbury pre-made dough and just added sprinkles.)
And of the store-bought variety:
- Oreos (my personal favorite, although O doesn't actually care for them.)
- Pirouettes (those long, rolled, creme-filled Pepperidge Farm goodies in the canister.)
- Pizzelle (which are a thin, waffle-shaped, wafer-like cookie from Italy that I grew up eating as a kid.)
And that ended up being more than enough.
So, the party was all set for the day before O's actual birthday, Saturday, July 9. However, the Thursday night before that, at about 7:30 p.m. (just about O's bedtime), he got hit HARD with some kind of nasty flu bug and managed to whimper, "tubby huwt" once or twice before he vomited all over himself and me. I had just gotten him into his jammies so I hollered for Ryan to come help and we got him cleaned up and into fresh jammies. It's at this point that I lose track of all the specific details (wait, deets), which included one or two more clothing changes, a bath, and several more vomiting spells. Ryan and I spent the next hour or so tag teaming between consoling poor Owen who had NO idea what was happening to him and just felt awful, and cleaning up puke off the carpet, furniture, clothing, ourselves, etc. Yeah, not fun. He was running a fever (I think it made it up as high as 103 at some point) and was exhausted, but we finally got him to sleep and, much to my surprise, he slept through the night just fine. In fact, he never vomited again after that. But his fever persisted, and so the next day, after waiting and watching, I decided to just call everybody and cancel the party for Saturday.
In the meantime, I must have picked up some version of what Owen had because, although I never threw up (thankfully!), I started to run a fever too, rendering myself useless for further cookie baking (hence no molasses cookies) or housecleaning. BUT, I felt awful about not giving my son at least some semblance of a party for his birthday, and since he was doing much better by Saturday (me, not so much, but I'm pretty tough), I called everyone back and reinstated the party for the same time the following day (Sunday). Fortunately, all but a few guests were able to make it (it actually even worked out better for some people) and the party went on...
I'm getting really wordy, so I'll just finish up this post with a few sweet photos from the day and some limited commentary. Sorry for all the puke-talk above. But go ahead and feast your eyes on this!
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| The cookie buffet. |
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| Pizzelle, stacked nice and pretty. |
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| Mmmmm...macaroons! The surprise cookie favorite. |
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Twix bar cookies. Make these. You will not regret it. |
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| Take-home bags. |
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| My sweet and beautiful mom (seriously, isn't she gorgeous?) washing dishes pre-party for me. She's, literally, the BEST! |
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| Ryan enjoying some pre-party down time while Owen napped. |
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| Oh, I forgot to mention the "cake." I opted for these Cookie Monster cupcakes. (Got the idea here on Pinterest.) Aren't they adorable? |
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| Little monsters. |
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| Owen was so excited to see all his favorite people (including Grandma Peterson) in his house when he woke up from his nap. And they were all there to see HIM! |
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| Me and my beautiful sisters - Jackie (left) and Rachel (right). LOVE them! |
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| Owen enjoying a post-nap snack. |
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| Let the present-opening begin! Older cousins Grant and Luke were right there to lend their assistance. |
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| The boom box that I got him that I thought for sure he was going to LOVE! To date, he's maybe played with it once?? Shows what I know. |
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| Radio Flyer tricycle from G'parents Betts. What a big boy! |
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| Getting a little frustrated by all the "help" he was receiving. I think he just wanted to play with his new toys! |
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| Loving his Pillow Pet panda! |
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| Hmmmm...what's this one? |
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| The basketball hoop that I couldn't WAIT to give him! I think Daddy may actually like playing with it even more than Owen. Strike that, I know he does! |
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| O definitely likes to cuddle. Here he is, loving on his new zebra. Kinnick had to be sure to inspect it first to make sure it wasn't supposed to be for him. Sorry, K. Better luck next time. |
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| Two candles for the birthday boy! |
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| He dove right into the cookie "mouth" first. I told you he loved cookies! |
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| This was pretty much the extent of his cupcake eating. It was around this point that he just flung the rest of it on the floor. "What's this cake business? Give me more COOKIES!" |
First of all, thank you so much for the compliment. You are very kind. Have to give Jackie some credit for the do. She gave me some help. Always enjoy helping you in any way I can.
ReplyDeleteNow, for the party, it was so nice and appropriate. I can agree with his love for cookies. After every meal, that is what he asks for. Of course, grandma v (gobgaw/feeties)doesn't give him any unless he has eaten enough of his meal. He is totally cool with that.
You did a great job with all of your ideas. You come up with some good ones. I have to agree with you on the cookie favorites. Those were mine too. Jackie did a terrific job with the pictures and Rachel is always so good with the boys (Owen and Brody).
Glad both you and Owen were feeling better. I had a very nice time.
Thanks again. I love you all.
Everything is so cute, Mary! I would hire you to party plan for me.
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