If It's Not Broken

We are not super creative or crafty around these parts.  When Josh's birthday rolled around, I was quite tempted to roll his celebration in with the group party we do for all of our playgroup friends that have fall birthdays... all 8 of 'em!  In the end, I really wanted Josh to have a party that was for HIS friends.  Granted, his friends are all the younger siblings of our playgroup, but it was fun to plan a party that would be just for

Now, I've done one 2-year old party before, and it was a great success, so rather that break out a new set of tricks, we did a full repeat of this party from July 2009. The kids decorated their own t-shirts, played with every toy in our house, and then stuffed cupcakes with sprinkles.  To customize the party for Josh, we did dog-themed plates and cupcakes, but it was a wonderfully simple party.

 

The most amazing party of the party was how QUIET it felt.  Two years ago, nine 2-year olds felt like total chaos around my house. This year, eight 2-year olds weren't quite sure what to do without their older siblings creating chaos.  They decorated, played, shared, and snacked without any incident and barely any noise.  Without the older siblings running the show, it was serene, almost zen-like... until we broke out the sugar. =)

Josh's Friends: Gavin, Zoe, Pilar, Calvin, Jet, Miles, Ian
Love those cupcake faces!

On a separate note: Why does my 4 year old refuse to take a normal picture? I know this is a standard phase, but it sure would be nice to have a smiling face on record one of these days.