Peyton's Birthday Party

Warning: Lots of pictures!

On Saturday, we had Peyton's 2nd birthday party. The theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which Peyton is really into right now. We had been pumping Peyton up for his party all week. If you asked him about it, he would say that he was having a "Mickey Mouse party!" He also knows that he's turning 2. He tries to hold up two fingers, but can't quite manage it, so it's pretty cute. We had about 25 people over for the party. Grandma M. even came in from Michigan for the party.

Peyton before the party

It is difficult to tell, but Peyton's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse shirt says "Happy Birthday! Peyton is 2!"

I spent Friday evening and Saturday morning preparing food for the party. I made these mouse cupcakes and I think they turned out really well.

Here's Peyton's cake. It took forever, but I finally found the one that matched his theme. The gears on the cake topper really work too, so Mickey and Goofy spin around if you turned the hand crank. Pretty cool.

We had lots of decorations around the house. Kyle and Linda did a great job blowing up all of the balloons.

I made this special banner for Peyton. It's hard to tell from the picture, but each triangle says "Isn't this party wonderful" and has a picture of Mickey Mouse on it.

Here is the main food table. We had "Hot Dog Dance Hot Dogs," "Mickey's Meatballs," "Minnie's Macaroni Salad," "Pluto's Pasta Salad," potato salad, two 3-foot subs, and Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets.

Here are the appetizers. We had chips, pretzels, "Goofy's Garden Veggies," "Donald's Cheese and Qwakers," and "Daisy's Deviled Eggs." I made all of the little name tags for the food. (I have a lot of free time on my hands at work sometimes!)

Peyton and I made goody bags for him to give out to the kids that came to his party. They included candy and some small toys and Noah got a rattle.

The party started at 3:00 and people started arriving a little before that. Kate, Dave, and Noah were here first, followed closely by Jeremy, Jill, Grandmom, and Pop-Pop. Also in attendance were Aunt Bev, Nadean, Vester, Austin, Kim, Bo, Dougie, Mom-Mom, Pop-Pop, Aunt Donna, Uncle Tom, Aunt Marie, Uncle Donald, and Grandma.

After everyone ate, we sang Happy Birthday to Peyton. He was adorable because he sang the song to himself too. He blew out the candle when we were finished singing.

Peyton enjoyed a mouse cupcake. He waited patiently all day to eat one of them. I think he just ate the cookies, M&Ms, and icing, but that's ok. In addition to the cake and cupcakes, we had death by chocolate and ambrosia.

After cake, Peyton opened his presents. He started out with the gifts from Mommy and Daddy.

We got him the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and two additional figurines that go with that toy. We had three more presents for him (tickets to Disney on Ice, a Sesame Street CD with his favorite songs on it, and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book called "Whose Birthday is It?") but he got bored with our gifts and moved on. We're going to save those to give to him on his actual birthday tomorrow.

Here are some more pictures of Peyton opening his gifts. Jill was the official photographer and she *only* took about 100 pictures of him opening presents. Thanks Jill.

Some other things that Peyton received were Elmo Tickle Hands, an art desk, an easel, a sit and spin, some GeoTrax, a few movies, some books, lots of clothes, and some money. Peyton did very well and thanked each person after he opened their gift.

Peyton, of course, had to spend some time playing with Noah. Peyton wanted to hold him. It was hilarious because they are almost the same size!

The party wrapped up and people started to leave. Thanks to all three grandparents for helping us clean up after the party. I did a much better job of estimating the amount of food that we would need, so we didn't have many leftovers this year.

Peyton couldn't wait to play with some of his new toys. He immediately fell in love with his art desk. He made several beautiful pictures.

He also really liked his sit and spin. He played with that for a while. Already this morning, he's opened up his Elmo hands and seems to love them as well.

I think the party was a success. Peyton seemed to have a good time, and that's all that matters.