Connor's 2 Year Party

Connor had a great birthday party this year! I worked really hard on everything so I'm glad it was so fun! I bought a package of little boy's undershirts and printable iron on to make them T shirts!

For the game, I painted an ugly Totoro poster bean bag toss. haha! I painted around a print off of his face but didn't get it in the right place. It was almost midnight the night before the party so I decided it was fine. The 2 year olds didn't care. They threw in the little soot sprites made out of black balloons and lentils. 

I sewed up these awesome favor bags! I think they turned out so cute!

For food I did a fruit platter, cheese sticks, olives, chips and then I tried my hand at gluten free baking. My goal was to make it so that Connor could have all the food at his party! I cheated a little and used the gluten free boxed versions of cupcakes and cookies and then just had to replace the eggs. I think they turned out amazing! I made the cupcakes with chia seed replacer and got some of the best cupcakes I've ever made! It is hard to get the perfect dome on a regular cupcake but I did it with gluten/egg free ones (the angle in the picture don't do them justice)! The were nice and moist and extra good because I put salted caramel in the ones for the adults. The other mom's said I should think about selling them and Logan said they were the best cupcakes he has ever had! The cookies had applesauce in them and honestly if gluten cookies were sitting next to them you couldn't tell the difference! Really! I almost didn't want to give Connor one because they worried me because they didn't "taste" gluten free at all. 

The kids got cute little straw Totoro cups and I found these water bottle wraps for free online. They had QR codes (square scan label) that was a ad for a phone or something so I replaced it with one I made and linked it to the Totoro movie I uploaded to my google drive so they could go home and watch the movie later!! I thought that was pretty fun!

Here is a close up on the banner. I cut all the leaves out by hand over 2 evenings while watching Downton Abby. I bout 2 sheets of this natural paper fiber in the gift wrap section of the 100 yen store and it made all of these. Then I used crocheting floss and a big needle to string them up. 

I made the soot sprites from the movie out of tissue paper pom poms. 

Logan was so great and took an early lunch so he come come to the party too!! The craft store didn't open until 10 (same time the party started) so I couldn't get balloons but Logan came to the rescue and brought some home with him! Connor LOVES balloons!

So the 2 little boys we invited ended up not being able to make it so it was all girls at his party! Good thing Logan stopped by to help in the boy department. haha

I wasn't really sure how well the bean bag game would go but the kids all took turns and loved it! I was glad they could all figure it out and we just let them stand wherever they felt comfortable throwing even if it was right in front. Even durning the party the kids at random times would go back and lift up the bottom, pull some bags out and throw them back in.

Abby, Connor and Ely are all about a month or two apart in age and Olivia on the end is the older sister of Abby and she is 3. Getting pictures of all the little ones is hard! Of course Connor was the one jumping off the couch the most. 

All of them in the matching shirts!! I love it!

Best one!

I didn't do a fancy food table this time but made it super kid friendly! All the kids loved the simple fruit and snacks. I think I've never seen kids eat so well at a party so I was really glad my food was a hit with them too! 

I was surprised how well the kiddos did eating at Connor's little table while they watched the movie. Although Connor did steal everyone of the other kid's olives off of their plates. I guess it was his party so he could get away with it.

After eating all the yummy good food we did cupcakes and cookies. This was the first time Connor has had either. He liked them both but his favorite part was the frosting. Typical kid!

 

Present time! Connor got cars, bubbles and a ball! Perfect!

The last activity was bubbles! 

All the kids got along and had fun and I was so glad the party turned out so great!! 

Connor is 2!

 My baby is 2 years old! It is crazy how fast this last year seems to have gone! I have to say I really like year two better than one. Year one was HARD! Connor was not a happy baby and then once we figured out it was food allergies it turned into a different kind of hard. But now we have a good handle on things and it is all learning, exploring and fun! Honestly, Connor is pretty good and easily distracted so even frequent tantrums are not that big of a deal.

If I had to sum Connor up in one photo this one below would be it! He is so strong, fearless, loves being outside and his little happy face is just the cutest!

On his birthday I measured him to be 28.4 pounds, 35 inches tall and 19 inches in head circumference. When I looked it up that puts him in about 50th percentile for height and weight and then a little under for head size. His 2 year check up is next week so we will see where they put him.

A few months ago he grew like crazy moving up in a clothes size early and skipping a shoe size entirely. He wears size 2T clothes and 3T PJs and a 6/7 in shoes. Right now he has been putting on a ton of weight and is no longer super skinny but a nice little kid size.

Connor says lots of animal sounds and some words. He is still a bit delayed on language and comprehension but he uses more words now and more accurately so I usually know what he wants. Hint: He usually wants to go outside. My favorite animal sound he does right now is a wolf because he stretches his neck up and howls at the sky!

These are the words he uses the most:
(Pl)ease

Yes

Shoes 

(Out)side 

Sauce (=park)

No

Lizard 

Fish

Dog

Slide
Da (daddy)

 He loves the park, rocks, shoes, dogs, airplanes, balloons, being outside, his fruit snacks, olives, blankies, his pacifiers, being chased, trampolines/jumping, the iPad/TV, lizards, running, water, and things with wheels. 

Water in all forms is the best!! His favorite drink is water! He will down a whole one one of his water bottles if I let him (and then pee out of his diaper the next few hours). Puddles must be splashed in with both feet and hands - then he usually tries to drink out of them. Washing hands is so exciting and he loves getting a drink out of the faucet. The hose in the backyard leaks a little and that is perfect for washing hands. The bath tub is a blast! And don't even get us started at the beach where there is water and rocks!

Connor has the best smile ever! His laugh is adorable too! He is the most ticklish around his neck. I also love his excitement for life! At the park I have been told several times that Connor looks so happy because he just gets so much more excited about little things then the other kids do. 

Things Connor doesn't like: When he can't run around or go outside (sacrament is interesting). Having his shirt off or not down all the way - if it is up he will pull it back down to cover his tummy. He doesn't like having his diaper changed unless he has something in his hands or to watch - again this is a restriction of his movement. I have to work on rotating his food frequently - the first time he loves a new food but then after a day he won't eat it again until it is "new" again.

As far as I know, Connor doesn't have anything he is afraid of. He will sometimes hold onto my leg if he isn't sure about something but thunder, large barking dogs, fireworks, and hanging from the monkey bars up high don't phase him like they do with other kids. Sometimes thats nice, other times when he is trying to walk into a bonfire or jump off the 5 ft tall playground platforms it is scary because he doesn't have enough fear to keep himself from getting hurt.

Here is the link to all the photos from his photo shoot (no account required). Sorry They are big files and it takes forever to download them to the blog - this was easier.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10157525287330026.1073741850.534280025&type=1&l=cf55fb2ef0

Birthday boy after his party and nap. He was so happy with his blankie, pacifier, a car in one hand and balloon in the other while I let him watch a little TV. That is pretty much a perfect moment for him. Then he found some bonus olives under the couch from his party and that was great too!

Birthday dinner. Not that exciting but he did get another cupcake!!


Opening mom and dad's present! I scooter and helmet!



He had to wait to open the rest of the presents because we wanted him to get to try the scooter out before it got too dark. We took him to the park and taught him how to push with one foot. It took a little bit but he got it after a while!

Then he got to play on the playground! Alway a favorite of his!

Rest of his presents!

Modeling his new clothes (kinda) haha

Enjoying some light reading.

His other present from us was the bubble machine we used at his party so we got it out one more time! Happy boy!

Happy birthday Connor!