Alexander's 2nd Birthday

For Alexander's 2nd Birthday, we decided to go with a Cars theme. Just before we moved to our new house, Alexander gained a love for the movie Cars. Luckily it was one of the movies I left unpacked, because it was the only thing he wanted to watch for at least a month. As his birthday got closer, we decided that it would be fun to try taking him to the new movie "Planes." We took him to a movie a few weeks before his birthday, to see how he would do in the theater. He absolutely loved it! He sat in the chair like a big boy eating his popcorn and smiling at the screen. After this experience we knew his birthday would be a Cars/Planes party. I had an absolute blast planning every detail, from the cake, to the decorations, to even party games. So let's get to it! I'd love for you to spend just a moment reliving how I was able to spoil my little man on his second birthday!

Okay, so the first main thing we did to spoil him was to come up with some fun decorations for the day. I have to say that living in Utah has given me a greater appreciation for Walmart. I remember as a child that my parents always shopped at Walmart, but I never really understood why. Now that I am a parent, and living in Utah where they seem to be everywhere, I absolutely love the deals I can get there! We got almost all our decorations at Walmart, as well as a few from the Dollar Store. We only went to a party store as a last resort for a game and some balloons. Anyway, Scott thinks I went a little crazy on the decorations, but I sure did have fun. We had cute hanging decorations, a "Happy Birthday" banner, and even a plastic table cloth with coordinating plates. We actually decorated the whole house while Alexander was sleeping, and then the morning of, he woke up to see Cars stuff all over the house. It was super fun watching him get excited to see it all. When he walked into the living room the morning of he said, "Wheel! Car! Queen (for Lightening McQueen)!" It was adorable!

The morning of his birthday, I ended up spending most of the day making his cake. I baked the cake the night before, and then decorated it that morning. I have to say that the cake was the thing I was most excited about. On my mission, my companions, Sister Ransom and Sister Axtell, helped me make a cake for a little boy in our ward, Evan Childers. When we had asked his mother if there was anything we could do for the family, she said we could make his cake. So we went to the library and found a cute design for a racetrack cake. I had so much fun making it with them, that I had to make it for Alexander! Of course I had more time and more money, so I got these little cars from the Cars movie, and even added a last minute hill for a plane from the movie Planes. Overall, I think the cake turned out perfect, and Alexander loved it!

Okay, so after the boys naps is when all the fun started! Russ, Diane, and Amy came over to spend a few minutes with Alexander before the movie. It turned out that Russ and Diane had to go see a play in Logan after the movie, so they couldn't stay for cake and presents. We were sad to not have them at the party, but grateful to have them for a few minutes before the movie and during the movie. Since they had to leave after the movie, they gave Alexander one of his gifts then. He got a tricycle! He wasn't too sure about it at first. Grandma and Mommy even tried to show him how to use they tricycle, in hopes that he would try. Eventually he did and he loved it. Below are a few pictures of our time with them before the movie:

After all of the tricycle fun, we headed off to the movie theater to see Planes. To prepare Alexander for the event of his birthday, I started talking about how we were going to see "Planes" on his birthday. I talked about it so much, that I would say, "Alexander where are we going on your birthday?" And he would respond, "Plaaaaaaane!" Now, I have to say that I am a huge planner (if you can't already tell by the decorations and such). I like things to go according to the plan, and when they don't I get really stressed out. Well, unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan. I preordered the tickets because I wanted to be sure we could all sit together. When we went to pick up the tickets at the theater, my card wasn't working. So I asked an employee for help and she printed our tickets. While I was figuring it all out, the family helped Alexander play a car racing game, which he LOVED! At least he is easy at adjusting plans. Well, when we got in, we noticed someone was in our seats. So we just sat in another spot. As the theater started to fill, we kept getting kicked out of our spots. Finally, I said, "We will just have to ask those people to move." Then the lady told me that they were sitting in their assigned seats. So I decided to go talk to a worker. This was after all my little boy's birthday and I wanted it to be perfect. I went to talk to the person who takes your ticket, and the lady sitting in our seats came out to talk to her too. I walked to the worker and said, "I really don't know what to do. It is my little boy's birthday and we bought tickets early, but someone else was assigned to our seats too." When I pulled out my ticket to show them our seats, the worker pointed out that my tickets were for the day before. Apparently, I had reserved them for the wrong day! I was so bummed. They said they could give us guest passes to come back, but realizing it was my fault, I told them it was fine, and I headed back to the show. Then, the manager stopped me and offered us guest tickets for next time anyway. It was really sweet of the manager, especially since it was my fault. We ended up having to split up to be able to watch the movie, but it still worked out just fine. Alexander had fun going back and forth between sitting next to us, and Scott's parents. Grandma even bought him a plane and let him open it and play with it during the movie. He had a great time! As soon as the show ended the manager was there with six guest passes for next time. I shook his hand and thanked him for the passes and for dealing with a worried mom trying to make her boy's birthday perfect. I was so glad that I wasn't a super rude to them, especially since it ended up being my fault. It was still a great time though.

After the movie, the real fun began! We had decided to invite our neighbors to the party since Alexander plays at their house a lot, and since they have a few kids. A few days before the party, one of the kids asked if we would play games. He got me thinking that we should. So I searched for ideas online. The first "game" we did, was that we had built a car wash out of balloons and streamers hung in our hallway. As soon as the kids came over, they each got to pick out a car and take it through the car wash. The car wash was so fun to make and the kids seemed to love it. Scott and I put it up the night before the party, along with the rest of the decorations. Alexander was so excited when he woke up that morning and saw balloons hanging in the hallway. Well, actually, I think it scared him at first, but he loved it as the day went on.

As the kids got settled into the party, I made up some spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner (with Scott's help of course). I know what you're thinking: Didn't you have spaghetti last year? Well, in a whole year, it is still one of the few dinner items Alexander will eat. So we made what would make our little man happy. Plus it is super easy! Especially since I made the sauce from scratch earlier. Anyway, we all enjoyed some spaghetti. I also had made some yummy punch and the kids went crazy over it. I remembered that my Mom used to always make punch for my birthday parties, so I called her up a few days before to get her "recipe." It was yummy and super easy too! Just ginger ale and rainbow sherbet. 

After dinner, we all went outside to play another game. This game was by far the cheapest and easiest game to set up. It was also the biggest hit. I saw the idea online to do a bean bag toss and use your spare tire as the goal. So we got some bean bags and the kids enjoyed the toss. Then the adults jumped in and got all competitive. I think it was because Scott's friend, Andy Wilde was there. He is super competitive and had fun trying to make shots in funny ways (like behind his back). It was so fun seeing the kids and the adults having a good time. 

Though the games were a big hit, I was super excited about the cake. Alexander has been watching this "Numbers" video where the number 2 blows out two candles. I kept telling him that he would get to do that on his birthday. He performed quite well. I didn't get any pictures of him blowing out the candles, because I wanted to video it, but he did indeed blow the candles out. It was adorable. He absolutely loved the cake too. He immediately pulled off the airplane, and then started eating the candies and pulling off all the cars. I am not sure he even ate the cake though. He mainly just chowed down on the candies. Silly picky boy! The other kids liked the cake too. It was an adorable sight to watch.

Once we finished the cake, it was time to open presents! Alexander got spoiled with lots of fun things. His Aunt Amy got him a cute plate and silverware set that has the silverware as different construction vehicles. He plays with them more than uses them how they are intended, but he still loves them. The McKinneys (our neighbors), bought him a cute wood shape building set that is in a sort of mini wagon. He loved that one. We mainly got him stuff to transform his room into a Cars themed room. So he got a bedding set, stickers for the wall, and a hamper. Whenever I helped him open his gifts I would say, "Look Alexander! It's just what you always wanted, sheets (or whatever the item was)!" Scott was cracking up that I was so excited about them all. We also got Alexander a Cars boxed book set which he loves, and a set of Cars toys from the Disney Store (purchased the night before on our Date Night). Anyway, it was cute watching him open the presents and the kids trying to help him. Below are some fun pictures of the present opening: 

We let the kids just play in the yard for awhile, and as the party started to die down, we played one last game: Pin the Headlight on Tow Mater. It was a hit. The kids loved it. The game used stickers instead of actual pins (cue the Brian Reegan skit about blind folding kids, spinning them around and letting them go loose with a sharp object in their hands), which was nice. The younger kids just got to walk up and stick a sticker on, but everyone liked it. Even Xander played. He did such a good job that Daddy gave him a high five. The next day, I had fun decorating his Cars room and we even hung the game up so he could have it as a poster on his wall. Below are a few pictures of when Xander played the game:

I had so much fun planning the party, that I made sure the kids had prizes and goody bags. They got cars when they walked in the door, motorcycles after the tire toss and planes after the Mater game. As they left we handed them cute Cars/Planes goody bags. It really was such a fun day, and we were so grateful that the neighbors could come celebrate with us. It was also great having Amy, Andy and Marybeth there. The party was a hit. At the end of the day, I could call his birthday a success. He even looked exhausted from all the fun. He was covered in spaghetti and candy from his cake, so of course we gave him a nice bath, and he slept like a rock that night.

The next day was his actual birthday and a Sunday. So we went to Russ and Diane's for dinner and I brought the left over cake for desert. It was fun visiting with them. They showered Alexander with lots more gifts too. Nana and Papa got him the "Toy Story" movie, which is still growing on him. Grandma and Grandpa got him clothes and a Cars race track set. He enjoyed opening more presents that day. And later in the week, he got an airplane from Alliyah for his birthday. Below are some fun pictures at Russ and Diane's:

 Well, that about covers the birthday fun! It was a blast and he is definitely getting so big! I am amazed more and more every day as I think of how much he is learning. It seems like he learns a new word every day. My little man is growing up so fast, and I am so grateful to be here to see every moment of it. Well, that's all for now. Tune in next time for Amazing August :)