Birthday Celebration

La, La, La, La, Natalie's Birthday ... had a slight Elmo theme and was tons of fun!

We partied in the backyard, and I kept the decorations to a minimum: Happy Birthday banner strung between two trees with silver ribbon (Natalie loved seeing "yetters" in the trees), a bouquet of balloons, colorful placemats, SOLO brand Sesame Street plates (thanks to Laurie), and simple gift bags. I served a really simple menu: pizza, salad, and apple sauce but not much was eaten because of the Chex Mix, grapes, and juice boxes that were consumed before the pizza was ready.

Gift Bag Details:

• The bags were brown with a handle - bought in bulk from Target for like $2.
• I bought alphabet letter stickers in the dollar section and "stuck" each child's name to the front of the bag.
• While in the dollar section, I also picked up a book (Colors, Numbers, Animals) for each kiddo.
• To stick to the theme, I printed off Sesame Street coloring pages - free online.
• And each child got an Elmo Take-And-Toss Sippy Cup ... but we didn't use them at the party because the Hansen Juice Boxes were such a big hit!
• I also tossed in a tiny container of Play-Doh (Natalie's new favorite play thing.)
• To up the sugar ante, I included a package of fruit snacks and yogurt bites
• And the real crowd-pleaser ... those annoying noise-makers with the paper attached that blows out.
• My goal was to spend $10 on 5 bags ... I was over budget by $5, but I really loved the final product :)
• I don't know who started this birthday "tradition" ... I think it started with weddings, right? But I must admit that I do love to put together a little bag o' fun ... it's a challenge but I enjoy it!

Like I said, we partied in the backyard, so the slide, sandbox, bikes, baby stroller, and shopping cart, and rocks provided all the fun we needed. We even managed to get a photo of all five kiddos together! Oh, and the noise-makers; the boys, especially, LOVED those!

The two girls, Natalie and her best friend Sahara (aka See-See) were so excited to see each other. I just couldn't stop snapping pictures of them and their reaction to each other. It was so genuine and sweet ... smiles, hugs, and kisses!

And what birthday celebration is complete without CAKE? I made yellow cupcakes and iced them with chocolate ... because I was feeling a little adventuresome. On top of each, I put an adorable Elmo candy - I do not like the taste of those hard frosting thingies but the kids gobbled up. Faces were covered in chocolate and energy levels sky-rocketed! And boy was I glad I remembered to grab Natalie's big ... her little white tank top didn't stand a chance against her enthusiastic cupcake eating!

Yes, my baby girl is officially two years old ... whether I like it or not. Her celebration was simple and basically easy and so much fun. Thank you to our sweet friends for making Natalie's birthday truly special :)