Joseph’s 2nd Birthday!
It’s been two whole years since I was laying in the hospital in labor, waiting oh-so-impatiently to meet our little baby who had been nestled in my belly for the previous nine months. The anticipation was so gripping, and I think I actually held my breath until we heard those first frantic wails, and then fell totally and completely in love. This journey has been so much more fulfilling and so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined.
TWO WHOLE YEARS. How?!
In the blink of an eye, I’ve gone from having a newborn to a cooing infant, a little toddler, and now it seems I’m on the brink of having an actual little boy.
This past Saturday, we threw Joseph’s 2nd birthday party and I wanted to share some pictures with you!
The Decorations
Right before Christmas, Joseph started actually sitting down and watching Sesame Street when we would put it on (it had never held his interest before), so settling on a Sesame Street theme was easy. We kept things fairly minimal, with a birthday banner across the windows in our breakfast nook, Elmo (his favorite!) balloons, and Cookie Monster napkins. All of the decorations were from Party City, but they were totally sold out of the Sesame Street paper plates, bummer!
The Food
We decided to have the party at 2pm so that Joseph could (hopefully, ha!) get in a little bit of a nap and not crash and burn during his party. Since it was a mid-afternoon party, I decided to skip planning a meal and instead focused on heavy appetizers and finger foods. We also got a tray of fried chicken for something a little heartier. This is what our menu looked like:
Fried chicken
Reuben rolls with thousand island dressing for dipping
Crescent-wrapped mini hot dogs
Pepperoni bread
Spinach dip with veggies
Cheese plate
Potato chips
Pretzels
The Cake
I knew as soon as we decided on a Sesame Street theme that I wanted to make Joseph an Elmo cake. I found a couple of cute ideas on Pinterest, bought some fondant, and voila! Elmo!
[recipes: yellow cake / vanilla buttercream frosting]
While we were on the Sesame Street theme, and since the main cake was vanilla, I decided to make Cookie Monster cupcakes for a chocolate option. These were a HUGE hit! No one could stop talking about them, and then they kind of blew up on Instagram Saturday night! They were incredibly easy to make; I used the tutorial on I Am Baker and didn’t have any issues whatsoever.
[recipes: chocolate cupcakes (no ganache filling) / thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies / vanilla buttercream frosting]
The Fun
Some more pictures of the birthday boy enjoying his special day! I was so bummed that I didn’t get anyone to take photos while he was opening his presents! The first one he opened was a miniature tool belt (with tool set) from my brother-in-law. As soon as he saw it, he brought it over to my husband to open and he wore the tool belt the entire rest of the day :)
Extras
I ordered these invitations from the DolceMeeyaDesigns Etsy shop, but I didn’t have enough time to get them printed and mailed, so I texted them to everyone. I just adored them!
You may have noticed in some of the pictures above that Joseph has on a customized birthday t-shirt with his name and the number “2”. I bought it from FashionistaStylez Etsy shop and was thrilled with it! The shirt is so soft and the fit is true to size, plus Joseph LOVED that Elmo was on his shirt!
I’m off to shower this sweet boy with tons of hugs and kisses today; now IÂ totally understand why my mom always made a bigger deal out of my birthday than I ever cared to. It’s such a special day for parents; remembering and reliving all of those moments leading up to and after his birth are such treasured memories.
I am so, so blessed to be Joseph’s mom and couldn’t enjoy it more.
Can please have the recipe for the Elmo cake. Â
He looks so grown up. Time does fly by. Your cake looks professional. Good job. You are ingenious with all your ideas.
That cake & those cupcakes look AMAZING!!!
What a sweet little boy! Congratulations on becoming two years old. Love your site, thank you for your great ideals showing how easy and in a loving way to celebrate a birthday.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Joseph????
Happy Birthday Joseph! He and I share a birth date, so it’s an easy one for me to remember ;)
You did an amazing job on the cake! The cupcakes are adorable.
The years fly by. I have all boys, ages 10 (11 next month!), 8 and 3. It seems like my oldest was Joseph’s age just a couple years ago. Obviously you know this, but just soak in every single day.
So obviously everything is adorable (that cake! that shirt!) but I love, love, LOVE those Cookie Monster cupcakes!!!! Oh my goodness! I know the piping tip, I know the technique, but I never would have thought to make a Cookie Monster!!! I hope my little one likes Sesame Street at some point so I can make these. Or do you think I could just make them just ‘cuz? It wouldn’t be weird to make Cookie Monster cupcakes for a bunch of adults, right? Take them in to work one day? Nah…totally normal…
Love all the party decorations but the cake and cupcakes are awesome! You are so talented, Michelle and a super Mom!
Adorable–cake and cupcakes look amazing. What a perfect menu too—yum.
Everything looks incredible. And he’s definitely a happy boy ? Those cupcakes are ahh-mazing!!
These are fantastic pictures – you did a great job with Joseph’s party and it looks like he had a really great time!
Your cake and cupcakes look amazing! So much talent!
I l<3ved the cupcakes (with cookies!) on Instagram and the cake was absolutely adorable! So colorful and fun! What a fantastic way to celebrate your boy!
What a great job you did with everything. The cake and cupcakes so cute. Think Joseph will enjoy looking at these years from now and they do go by in a hurry.
Happy 2nd birthday Joseph! He is one handsome little boy. Looks like he had a ton of fun at his party, and the cake and cupcakes, you did an amazing job on! Treasure this time, it goes by fast!
Happy birthday dear Joseph and thank you for sharing such lovely pictures.Â
Love all the pictures! Doubt if I will ever have any grandchildren so watching your grow gives me great pleasure!
Michelle… Total adodrableness! What a blessed, blessed family, and you are an incredibly talented and creative Mom!! Thanks for sharing your joy and all the loving details with us!
Thanks for sharing your family’s special day. Joseph is adorable!!
So sweet! My son is now 10 but 2 seems like it was just yesterday! Enjoy these precious years! They go by entirely too fast!
Happy Birthday Joseph!
It’s been wonderful watching Joseph grow so fast over the past two years. Â Thank you for sharing his birthday pictures!Â
Looks like a fabulous day! Your cake and cupcakes are adorable. My boy is 10 and I get so excited for his birthday, not my own! I love to reminisce on how the day unfolded with him. And he is still interested so far! ? I too have ordered the number shirts every year  from Etsy. Everyone loves them! Happy birthday Joseph!Â
What a fun and oh so cute birthday party!!!!! The cupcakes are adorable and so is Joseph!!!!! Great memories!!!!!!
Happy birthday Joseph! The cake and cupcakes are adorable. Thanks for sharing your fun day!
Happy Birthday Joseph! Can’t believe he’s 2 already! I absolutely love the theme and hope our little one loves Sesame Street as much as I did growing up ;) The invite made me smile and the Cookie Monster cupcakes and the Elmo cake so cute! He looks like he really enjoyed his party too!
It’s my first son’s birthday today too! My baby is 32. It goes so fast. He also had a sesame street heme for his second birthday. It really is a timeless show. Happy Birthday Joseph !
Happy 2nd Birthday to your little guy! The pictures are amazing and Joseph looks so happy. The cake is phenomenal! Your words near the end about birthdays were beautiful!!
I can’t believe he is already 2!! Your cake looked amazing! I love those cupcakes, too. It makes me wish I had a toddler again! It looks like you guys had a wonderful day. Thank you so much for sharing not only your amazing recipes, but also your beautiful family. ?
All the blessings to him as he moves up the ladder.
Wow! Everything looks so lovely! The cake! but I adore the monster cookies…
Oh you’ve outdone yourself with that cake and those cookie monster cupcakes. The look of joy on Joseph’s face says it all. Awesome!