Oliver's Second Birthday Party

We celebrated Oliver's second birthday three weeks early this year because his actual birthday is so close to my due date. It gave me an excuse to host the party at the Denver Botanic Gardens Pumpkin Festival, which is held in early October every year. This year, I was delighted to see so many little kids at the party, and they all wore costumes. It was a cuteness overload, and I didn't mind one bit. Unfortunately, an hour of party festivities wore out most of the toddlers. So, even though the party was fun, most of our little guests needed naps and had to forgo the pumpkin patch and face painting.

Our guests this year included all four grandparents; our old neighbor, Shawna, with Owen; my old work buddy, Vicky, with Gissell and Maddox; one of my oldest friends, Andy, with his wife, Kristen, and their son, Logan; one of my closest and dearest friends, Aminta; Andrew's good friend, Chris C; Andrew's old work buddy, Jake, with his wife, Libby, and their daughter, Charlotte; and family friends Patti and Nicole.

Here is a recap from Oliver's party last year (how was that a year ago?), and here are the photos from this year's party:

The cake, which I finished glazing an hour before the party:

Waiting in the cold, 40 degree weather for the gates to open. It's a good thing the kids wore warm costumes!:

We gave out homemade pumpkin bread for the guests, and the kids also got pumpkin decorating kits:


Nicole came! She's so sweet, and she's always willing to watch and play with Oliver:


Charlotte (or "Charlie") came dressed as a puppy! This first shot was taken by Chris:


Owen came as a monster. At first, he was overwhelmed by the sight of everyone and started to cry. Unfortunately, I missed that photo op because it was the cutest thing, ever. Here he is after he (quickly) adjusted:


Oliver had his own mini-melt down when everyone sang, "Happy Birthday." It was quickly remedied by birthday cake. The close-up shots are courtesy of our friend, Chris:

Here's Logan! He's sporting the dragon costume sent to us by my sister, Julie. I brought it with because it's warm. I think it did the trick. The second shot is from Chris, too:


Here are our attempts at herding the toddlers together for a group photo shot:

Here are photos of Gissell (the witch) and Maddox (Darth Vader), brother and sister:


Oliver's trying to escape:


He made a break for it!


Mr. Owen, enjoying his milk:


Time for presents!


The revealing of Elmo:

Feelings were hurt when one toddler was told that Elmo was for Oliver. I can't help it; I think this is so cute:


Thankfully, Oliver was willing to share the beloved Elmo doll:

Elmo got a lot of love from Logan:


...and Oliver was on to his next gift!:

Off to the pumpkin patch:

Oliver let us know that it was time to go home and take a nap:

What a fun birthday celebration! Thanks to everyone who could join us!