ALL ABOARD THE PARTY TRAIN!

James' 2nd birthday party was everything we'd hoped it would be - a fun, low-key morning celebration with friends and family, followed by a quiet afternoon of naps and one-on-one play time for Mama (thanks to Cora and Daddy taking an extended nap). Of course, we wish all our friends and family could have joined us, but we know they were thinking of James, just as we were thinking of them. A huge thank you to the Vicksburg crew - we loved chillin' with cake and watching all our babes (and soon-to-be babes, and babysat babes) play together. Thank you for coming and helping us to make James' birthday extra special!

James party decorations came from Mama (the "dinosaur train" garland) and ETSY (the Dinosaur Train name banner and goodie bags). Grambot made the cake, and Mama decorated it. Again this year, we used the yummy red velvet cupcake recipe (without the red dye, of course). This time with a fun train-shaped cupcake pan.

And there were balloons, of course. Though we lost a few to the ceiling, as James was overly excited to play with them when Jay got back from the store.He was so happy with his Dinosaur Train birthday shirt (he yelled "Choo-Choo's!!" as soon as I pulled it out of the closet), even though it was 2 sizes too big (but the smallest I could find).Waiting on the guests to arrive, we attempted photos with Grandpa and Grambot. Grandpa wore his T-rex shirt in honor of the party theme!Cora was enthralled with Desi when he arrived. She was all decked out in one of her biggest bows and a pretty dress. He was definitely staring her down. We think he wanted to rip that bow off her head. What is it with boys being anti-bow?I snapped this photo right before Will walked to me. It was AWESOME! He is getting so big too...James was really good about sharing his new train table (and other toys).You know it's a toddler party when the house is filled with diaper bags (these are just 2 of 5)...The Hancocks came to party, along with their sweet little newborn Emma and her adorable hat!Cora didn't last even halfway into the excitement before passing out on her Grambot. Notice the hand tucked into Grambot's shirt sleeve. She was seriously snuggled in.The only way Jay and I could get a photo with the birthday boy facing the camera was to smoosh his face with ours...Bring on the cake! (Admiring it with thumb-in-mouth, of course.)Yummy!

"Peasants?" "Opeen?"

The "bubble club" and soccer ball, a couple of his favorites. He got a cool dino explorer vehicle too. Mama might have liked the clothes best. And the books!

James had a blast running back and forth from the kitchen window to his train table after Manu. Manu is faster though...

Then we took them out to the playroom to burn off even more energy...

After all the guests left, he napped for a mere hour, then was up wanting more "pupcakes" and his "sucka". Oh, and I had to "opeen" his train jammies from Sandy, because he insisted on wearing the shirt.

When he was on a good sugar high, we played around in the sunroom some more, then went puddle stomping until our toes got cold. Then we had a nice, bubbly bath. Good times! Great birthday party! Awesome kid!