Sam's Second Birthday

The day started bright and early with a bang...a huge pile of presents waiting for the boy as soon as he woke up. We wanted him to know that it was a special day from the beginning, so we started it with presents from Mommy and Daddy, Gammy and Papa, Nana and Papa, Aunt Becky and Mommy's Becky. You can see from the size of the pile that this child is loved. It took us about an hour and a half to get through everything because you have to stop and play with everything as it comes out of the package! And we did stop for pancakes when the birthday boy declared, "EAT!"



The next real excitement came after nap when Sam's friends came over for his Thomas the Train party. I tried my hardest to go with the theme this year, from the decor and food to the craft and activities. The result wasn't quite as dramatic as some of the things you might find if you do some googling, but I was still pleased.



Mostly, I was pleased with the cake. A friend of mine in our community group told me it was a "bold move" to bake my own cake after the amazinglyDelicious one I bought for the party last year. Then the group prayed for my cake making skills. In all things, seek the Lord in prayer, right?! Most of my Friday was spent making the cake and watching the royal wedding. Again, not as fancy as some you might find on theinternet , but for my first attempt at making my own birthday cake (ever!), I was a little proud of myself. I liked this cake plan because of all the candy - you see, Sam doesn't actually like cake. He gets really excited when you talk about it, asks for it, and then doesn't even taste it. Every time. Weird. So this way he got to look at the cake and eat the candy off the top. He was happy about all the jelly beans!

Sam cried through the first half hour of the party. I think it was caused by several things, but mostly he was overwhelmed. Once he calmed down, everyone seemed to have a nice time snacking, playing trains, decorating their own train cars, and climbing on the new fort that Chris built for Sam. And I think there were only two time-outs given out during the party...not terrible considering the presence of 8 toddlers!

After all our friends had gone home we took the birthday boy for chicken fingers and fries at a local place where we could eat outside on the patio. He opted for the regular chair instead of the high chair...so big. He even mostly obeyed when Daddy told him not to touch the water.

After all that he was too tuckered out to attack the presents from the party guests, so we didn't officially celebrating until after dinner on Sunday! He seemed a little disappointed that there were no more to open, silly boy. All in all, I think it was a great weekend for our boy. Now to see what the next year will bring his way...