super hero birthday bash!

Somehow my sweet little baby boy has managed to grow up and turn three.  I'm in shock.  Wasn't he just a tiny, squishy newborn that took forever and a day (or four days) to arrive?

And didn't we just celebrate his first birthday, after which he quickly learned to walk... and fall.  I distinctly remember our first ER visit a week into the walking adventure.  In E vs. toy drum, toy drum won.

And, I swear, it was just yesterday that he turned two and started impressing us so much with his growing vocabulary, gentle nature and silly personality.

But somehow, at the end of July, he turned three.  Holy moly.  I am so blessed to call this little boy my son.  He makes me laugh daily, knows how to give the best hugs and kisses, brightens any room and is just a joy to be around.  I am so lucky to be his mama.

 

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated this little guy Super Hero style with a big group of family and friends.  It was such a perfect day - lots of people who love our little guy, fantastic weather and an overall fun party.

I love parties -- especially the pre-party planning and crafting.  But this was the first kid-focused party I'd thrown and I was a little nervous about how the details would come together.  I'm relieved to say, however, that everything seemed to work out pretty well.  We had fifteen kiddos under the age of seven and I think the only tears were related to a wayward elbow while everyone was scrambling to grab candy out of the pinata.  That's a success in my book!

The big bash started at 11 am (I look forward to the day we're not planning around naps!) and I had the kids start by making super heroes at our kitchen table.  It was a nice way to keep everyone occupied as the guests trickled in.  We had also set out some toys in the play room/office/junk room and the kids migrated in there as well.  Always fun to play with someone else's toys!

After everyone arrived and we'd wrapped up free play and craft time, we dug into the lunch spread.  The hubby and I went super simple this year and made sub sandwiches ("Hero" sandwiches - har, har) and veggie shooters - served alongside cut-up fresh fruit, bags of chips and a pasta salad (thanks, Mom).  It was so nice to have the prep work done the day before and I loved how simple it made serving food on the actual party day.  No rushing around at the grill, cleaning up the kitchen the morning of or accidentally forgetting an important ingredient, requiring a last minute dash to the store.

Following lunch, we headed out on a Super Hero Adventure!  The kiddos were given silly string and instructed to use their "spider web shooters" to spray Batman if he popped up.  Hubby and my brother in laws had hidden two Batman posters along the way to the park and the kids freaked out when they came across them.  Screams of pure joy and happiness.  So fun!

Just before we got to the park, we stopped to explain the next adventure - the kiddos were each to rescue a stuffed animal that had somehow gotten captured or trapped at the playground.  They took off running, rescued their victims within minutes and then proceeded to play for a bit.  Eventually, we made it back to the house for the final mission -- free the candy from the pinata!

The party wouldn't have been complete without cake and ice cream.  A super talented gal that I work with made the cake based upon some Pinterest inspiration photos and she did an amazing job.  We received so many compliments!  I also got an idea for serving ice cream off of Pinterest - dish scoops into cupcake liners ahead of time and don't worry about the mess at the party.  So handy!

We wrapped up the day by opening presents and our little guy was beyond spoiled.  We certainly have a very generous group of friends and family.  Too generous in fact.  I'm always humbled by all who love our little family; we are beyond blessed.

As a small token of appreciation, we put together goody bags for the kids.  I included a pack of crayons, a super hero coloring sheet, some super hero stickers, a felt mask (thanks Target Dollar Spot!) and a homemade Super E cookie (they turned out so much better than I'd anticipated, especially for my first attempt at royal icing sugar cookies!).  We also told our guests to disassemble the centerpieces to take home (super hero Tootsie Pops!) and will be sending personalized Super Hero photos with our thank you notes.  The photo backdrop was so much fun and I can't wait to share the shots I grabbed of the kids.  Their personalities shined through in the photos and I got the biggest kick out of watching them pose.

Besides crafting the centerpieces and photo backdrop, we also made a comic book pennant and decorated the mantle with framed Super Hero headshots.  Simple but festive!

Overall, we had a really fun day and it was so great to be able to welcome everyone into our home to celebrate.  It's the first big bash we've hosted at our new house and I loved having the space to entertain everyone.  Thanks again to all of our family and friends who made time to celebrate our little guy with us.  We love you!