Jake's Birthday Express No. 2

"It's a train-a!" 

Jake loves trains.  Or "train-a's" as he calls them.  No, seriously... it's L-O-V-E.  Almost to an unhealthy level.  As in, his Thomas and Percy engines are in his hands 99% of the time.  They are on the table at meal time, in the tub at bath time, in the car when we're going places, and in his bed at night.  Obsessed?  Maybe.  So with this in mind, we made birthday party #2 all about trains!  For starters, my super-talented sister, Mindy, made the invitations once again this year.  I'm referring to the cute invitations that look like old-fashioned train tickets that she so lovingly designed for me.  What?  You didn't get yours?  Oh that's right... I literally forgot to mail them.  Or hand them out.  Yeah, having two children in two years has officially destroyed my brain cells, so here is what you missed:

Next up?  The cake of course!  My mom made all of our cakes growing up, so I was bound and determined to do the same as soon as Jake came along.  And apparently I can't just buy a pan and decorate a pre-made design.  Nope, that would be too easy.  I of course have to come up with my own original concept and design and make it far more complicated than it probably should be... but also so much more fun!  So using the same concept that my (same... again, very talented) sister and I used to make her son's firetruck cake (seen here), I set out to make my very own Thomas the Train cake.  Midway through construction, I admit I had my doubts:

But... I think in the end we pulled it off!  My other sister, Angie, was kind enough to help my tired hands out by adding icing about half of it.  And both of them helped me make all of the green-themed food since the party fell on St. Patty's Day this year.  Here's the final product and the spread... my favorite were the fruit skewers (behind the cake):

The party was originally supposed to be at the park, but with a forecast calling for rain, we decided the night before just to have it here at the house.  Knowing that there would be a lot of kids of all ages, Josh looked into the possibility of getting a bounce house.  I knew as soon as he picked up the phone that we would end up with one.  What I did not know is that it would be huge!  So yes, we are officially "that" family.  I think my favorite part of the day though was right after it was delivered.  We were all still in our pajamas and Mindy and Jake's cousin Adam had spent the night.  Our families got our own private bounce time... it was priceless:

I have to admit, that purchase was the best decision of the day.  Our living room is pretty small and this kept the chaos outdoors.  So while the kids did this:

(By the way... a bubble machine = the best present EVER for a 2-year-old!

 The rest of us hung out and, well, admired Lilly mostly.  That child never gets tired of an audience:

Oh yeah, somewhere in the mix we had cake, ice cream, and presents, too, of course!

All in all, I think that Jake's second birthday party was pretty much as good as it gets for a toddler!  And even better, the adults had fun, too!  Even though I still can't quite believe he's another year older, I love making birthdays special... it's how they should be.  And my little Jakie is about as special as they come!

Happy birthday, little man!  

We love you more and more with every passing day!

Oh, and in case you're wondering... Jake's (and Adam's) shirts were made once again by my friend Jenny.  You can check out her blog here!