Choo Choo! Isaac is Two!

We celebrated Isaac's birthday with friends today. Because, for the better part of the last year, Isaac has been crazy about trains, of course we had a train-themed party! All morning before the party he ran around the house yelling, "Birfday cupcakes, woo hoo!" He was beyond excited for his party. He proudly strutted around in his special birthday shirt and engineer hat, flashing cheesy grins and singing his signature birthday song to himself. His excitement made the party so worth it.

I really enjoy party planning when I have the time and energy, and this year I had a lot of fun with the decorations. I think they turned out really cute!

I made train engine sugar cookies the night before the party. This is actually the second batch. If you look carefully in the photos from my last post, you'll see a bunch of chocolate chips in some cookie dough. That would be the birthday boy's contribution to the first batch of sugar cookie dough. Sigh.

Easy peasy streamers as the backdrop for the food table. T-W-O cardboard letters painted by yours truly. Food: cheese and crackers, veggies, pretzels and hummus, veggie straws, fruit salad, cookies, trail mix, salad and hot beef sandwiches. 

I used Isaac's wooden train set for a lot of the decor. He has plenty, which made it convenient. 

I also purchased a birthday package from this Etsy seller. I couldn't resist the adorable banner, invitations and favors. Plus, as much as I would like to be, I am not a very artistic person. I was so happy with Diane's work--much happier than I could ever be with my own! I did make some cute train cupcake liners that I ended up using with the cups of trail mix. I ordered the cupcakes at the last minute from Costco and they were gargantuan. The liners wouldn't work for them. 

Railroad crossing fruit kabobs.

An (incomplete) list of things Isaac loves at two.

Isaac's daddy created the train track set-up. By the end of the party, every single section of track was pulled apart so the entire thing was in pieces. At least someone took pleasure in dismantling it!

The birthday banner. (Please ignore the shoddy work on the painted #2 on the mantle. A clear example of my artistic abilities.)

Favors included the train cookies in the engine favor boxes and these engineer hats.

The cheesy-grinned birthday boy! (Awesome shirt from this Etsy seller.)

And finally, the birthday celebration!

Huge cupcake, little man.

The gift opening turned into a major to-do for all the kids. Tesla started things off by opening Isaac's first present with him. He was interested in checking out each new gift, but the rest of the kids were anxious to see what all the other packages held, so they carried on without him. Eventually, all the kids were opening Isaac's gift and handing them to him. He didn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight. 

Thank you cards should be interesting considering we have no clue who gifted what!

I ended up purchasing a lot of the party decor because, while I was excited to run away with the train theme, I also wanted to balance my time preparing for the party with spending time with our birthday boy. After all, he only turns two once! Making more of the decorations and food would have meant a lot of my time on Isaac's actual birthday (the day before the party) would have been spent prepping. Instead, I spent a really quality day with him on his birthday and Isaac had a great time at his party. And his happiness is what really matters in the end!

Happy, happy birthday, Isaac!