Birthday Recap

So the big birthday bash was last weekend and I have been meaning to post about how happy I was with the way it all turned out.

We have had his first two birthday at a local park.  Which while fun- have also been pretty stressful and the weather a bit unpredictable.  This year we had the party at the big chain indoor bounce place and I was VERY leery of the whole shebang. Luckily the party could NOT have gone better.  The kids had a BLAST and the adults seemed to enjoy themselves as well.

a rundown:

• The strict schedule (2 hours total) kept the kids from turning into monsters and kept the party from dragging on too long
  
• the employees were AWESOME really taking charge of the event and totally running the show.
• i didn't have to do ANYTHING- from writing down who gave what gift to washing E's face after he ate cake- they did it ALL
• which meant i got to take LOTS  of pictures and actually enjoy myself
• the inflatables were fun for ALL ages- infants, toddlers, preschoolers, grade schoolers, and grown ups ALL had smiles on their faces.
• the limits on what I could bring kept me from overspending- the only thing I could bring in was the cake.  I could've bought pizza from them but i chose not to and nobody knew the difference.
• the employees went the extra mile with all the kids- from band aids and pep talks to a 3 year old with a boo boo, to paying close attention to the quiet kid who was feeling slightly left out.  I couldn't have asked for anything more.
• E had the time of his life (and was completely worn out)

Even though we went the big chain route- I did try to add a little DIY to the bash.

I made E's cupcakes which turned out AWESOME.  I modified Omnimocon's Rainbow cake instructions into cupcakes which were a big hit.

I topped the cupcakes with some sprinkles and custom toppers made by Bug & Boo.  Shelley did a FANTASTIC job creating exactly what I asked for.  I couldn't gush enough about what a great experience it was buying from her- and I think they turned out perfectly.  Shelly also created little custom treat bags for me which i filled with bulk candy.  ADORABLE.