This past weekend we celebrated my daughters 2nd birthday with family and friends. I’m pretty big on birthday puns so when trying to figure out what sort of party to throw I knew I wanted the saying to have “TWO” in it. And because this is probably my last year of being able to pick the party theme I wanted to make it a good one. So, I took to Pinterest and it soon became clear what I started gravitating towards was going to be a donut themed party with the tag line of “TWO Sweet.” I had also thought about a “Taco TWOsday” party or a rodeo themed party with the saying “This ain’t my first rodeo, it’s my second.” But after researching and trying to find decor and such the donut theme became the clear winner.
Once the theme was chosen, we had to decide on a location, date, and time. When throwing a child’s party this young you really need to account for meal times and nap times so that you don’t have a cranky birthday child on your hand. Because we are sort of in between housing locations I had thought about hosting at a park, or an indoor play area, but then figured that wouldn’t give me as much freedom. So I decided and my mother graciously allowed us to have it at her house. I’m so glad I went this route too since it ended up pouring most of the party day thanks to tropical storm Nestor. So we had the location, now the date and time were next. Since Cameron’s birthday is pretty close to Halloween I like to try to have it early enough that it doesn’t interfere with Halloween activities, so we settled on the 19th. Timing wise, I knew if we started the party at 2 that would be after nap time and Cameron would be in a fairly good mood hopefully.
All the logistics were set so we then move on to decor and food. We made the mistake of overbuying for her first birthday so I didn’t want the same issue to happen this time around. We had a sandwich platter, a veggie platter, chips and dip, and broccoli salad as mains/sides. Then for dessert we had donuts of course and then a cake that my mother made which turned out perfect! 
Decor wise, I also knew I didn’t want to go overboard, especially since it was at our house and there wasn’t a ton of people coming. We kept it pretty tight knit because of location. So I got a few banners, some balloons, and all the donut plates/napkins/cups I could find and called it a day. Amazon, party city, and Etsy were my lucky places to find everything I needed.
Now it was party time! Cameron was the only child in attendance, just due to timing and us being in between houses and all that but I don’t think she minded a bit. All the guests showed up and we all sat around talking, and hanging with Cameron as she ran around getting all the birthday attention. She was in heaven. 
Then it was time for presents. And now I understand why most of the time people wait to have the kids open gifts after the party. Cameron could have cared less about the actual opening of gifts so I ended up doing most of that. She just wanted to look at and play with the stuff as it was opened. Typical 2 year old of course. She got some great stuff, and while she hasn’t played with everything the vtech picnic basket seems to be top spot at the moment.
Lastly, it was time for cake. And donuts. We were a little scared that we would get a repeat of her first birthday where she was not ok with being sung to. Luckily, she enjoyed it a lot better this time around. Not a big fan of blowing out the candles though so maybe next year. She absolutely loved the icing though, what kid wouldn’t. 
All in all it was one fantastic party, and we are so grateful for all who came and celebrated with us!
