Very Hungry Caterpillar

We celebrated Marshall's birthday in style. With a Very Hungry Caterpillar party! It's a beloved book around here, and I love the illustrations. Our big boy bedroom even has Very Hungry Caterpillar curtains. So, with a baby that eats anything that doesn't eat him first....well, we knew that we had the perfect theme.

This sign helped set the mood. It's hard to see in the picture, but each of the circles that make up the caterpillar spell out "Happy birthday to you". I had lots and lots of help in coloring the sign, as everyone got ready for Marshall's birthday.

Will and Mac helped me early in the week by making these cool butterfly table decorations.

Our fabulous birthday boy. So happy to turn one!

For the food, I kept it simple, but still stuff that I knew Marshall liked. Starting with watermelon.

Special drinks. We kept it simple with tea, lemonade, and seltzer.

What does a one year old love most? Why, hot dogs of course! (they were such a hit that they were requested for the 3 year old's birthday, too....and I'm betting that they will show up on the 5 year old's birthday in September)

This was our first occasion that the big boys got to have a separate kids' table, which they loved.

A Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcake cake, of course!

A rare picture of all three, all looking happy at the same time. Yay!

Enjoying cake

And presents!

Happy birthday, little man! This year has flown by so very fast, and we've enjoyed every minute. The verse for your birth and addition to our family has proven so very true.

From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16

You are a fabulous blessing, and we are very thankful for you!

My birthday!

My birthday was in the middle of VBS this year (and actually on Friday, when everyone was exhausted from having so. much. fun. all week), so it was very low key. Which worked fine for me.

Because...it meant that I got to extend the celebration! We celebrated that night with a fancy dessert (well, good; not so sure about fancy) that the family ate so fast there is no picture evidence.

And, then, a week later, I got to celebrate AGAIN with my mom. One of my favorite Athens restaurants (love me some Taco Stand. Even at its worst, it's very, very good), and cupcakes from this neat little cupcake store. Look at those cupcakes! They were HUGE and sweet. It took Will three days to eat his. He'd work on it a while, then put it back in the fridge. Too funny.

And we had fun at Honey's house playing dress-up, too. I can't wait to put this one in the senior yearbook!

Mac's birthday

My sweet Mac turned two last week! He doesn't talk much, but he can say "yes" and "no", so we quizzed him on what he'd like to do for his special day. All sorts of stuff was mentioned--the fountains, the zoo, Honey's house, and the park (all favorites). But, he picked a surprising one--the pet store. So, that morning, off to the pet store we went. We browsed and looked at every animal they had.

On Saturdays, this store hosts a foster/rescue pet society, so there are lots of cats and dogs around. Mac was in heaven. He's definitely my animal lover.

We headed home that afternoon to have Mac's choice for supper. The little boys got these fun blue drinks, the adults got party cups, and my boys helped make everything festive with Cars stickers.

Cupcakes decorated with Cars, and the plate decorated with construction vehicles.

Mac's very favorite food is fruit, so I made a big fruit salad.

And we had a very kid friendly meal--sloppy joes, chips, and fruit salad. He loved it.

Not sure what to think about candles just for him.

But, he quickly figured out the icing part. Last year, we couldn't get him to take even one bite until all our guests had gone home. This year, he's a big boy, and he knows all about treats.

This is the reason Mac knows all about treats. Will has taken it on as his job to educate Mac, and treats have been at the top of that list. "But, Mac, it's goooood!"

Baby Marshall a little unsure about the whole shebang.

I think all three are already dreaming of the next cupcake event.

Cupcakes!

A certain beloved 3 year old wanted nothing more than "pink cupcakes pwease" for his birthday this year. Trust me, we tried to talk him out of it. Pink? For a mud loving, car obsessed little boy? Really? But, then... we had told him that I'd make whatever he wanted. And, if that's what he wanted, then that's what he'd get.

So, I set out to make pink cupcakes. I had intended on adding strawberries to white cake, but the, um, well, the strawberries lingered a bit too long in the fridge. Whoops. So, I found a lemon cake mix in the pantry, added some food coloring, and I dubbed them pink lemonade cupcakes. They were a HUGE hit!

My boys have birthdays about 6 weeks apart, and we'd just had a big party for the one year old a few weeks earlier. This year, we decided to have a family dinner, a day all about Will (and he actually got two days, because his Honey came over the next day), and cupcakes in celebration of his birthday. Simple, but he still felt special.

For more cupcake stories, check out Hoosier Homemade for Cupcake Tuesday.