Joseph’s 3rd Birthday Party!
Can you believe it has been THREE YEARS since Joseph was born?! I truly cannot (and I really can’t believe I still haven’t finished that rainbow blanket I began when I was pregnant with him! Maybe during this next “maternity leave”??!). This little boy continues to bless us with his sweet smile, his mad-scientist-cackle, and his smart and witty ways. He is so much fun to be around and I truly find it hard to even remember what life was like before he transformed us from just the two of us to a family.
He officially turned three on Friday and we had a fun day with swim class, a special lunch and birthday presents (he adores his new Hot Wheels track builder set!), and we had a birthday party for him at home on Saturday for our families; of course I wanted to share photos with you!
The Decorations
He’s been into a lot of different stuff lately, but he really got into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse a couple of months ago, so I went with a Mickey Mouse theme for his party!
I never go over the top with tons of crazy decorations; usually one trip to Party City is all I need! I got coordinating plates, napkins and cups, a set of Mickey Mouse balloons, a big blue number three balloon, and a birthday banner.
The Food
We’ve been super happy with the food we get from a little market near my mom’s house for previous birthday parties and baptisms, so we went with our usual order of fried chicken, meat lasagna, oven roasted potatoes, and dinner rolls. Everyone loves the food, and it’s great having leftovers for a couple of days, too!
In addition to the main food, we had some snacky food as well, for munching throughout the day:
- Harry & David dip (huge favorite around here!)
- Pepperoni bread
- Veggie tray
The Cake
This was an easy choice once we decided on a Mickey Mouse theme for the party! I scoured Pinterest for some ideas, and since we only needed one round cake and not a tiered cake, I kept the design simple and did a Mickey face and then did Joseph’s name in the iconic Disney font on the front of the cake. Around the sides I did white Mickey ears, and that was that!
It took me about 3 hours, start to finish, which wasn’t too bad! The cake itself was a simple vanilla cake with vanilla frosting for the filling.
[recipes: yellow cake / vanilla buttercream frosting]
Birthday Fun!
This was the first year that Joseph really understood that it was his birthday, he got to have a party, there was cake, and he was going to open presents. It really made it SO much fun! Seeing him light up at the sight of his cake, and while opening his presents, was just a pure joy to watch.
He really, truly enjoyed his special day.
Last year was the first time I ordered Joseph a special personalized birthday t-shirt and I loved it, so I did the same thing for Dominic’s birthday, and again for this one! Joseph got such a kick out of having a “special birthday shirt” and I think it’s just the cutest!
[source: FashionistaStylez Etsy shop]
Becoming a mom has been the most wonderful, most rewarding, hardest, and most fulfilling thing I have EVER done and I am so, so blessed to get to spend my days with this little boy.
The little market, is it Labriolas? I am looking for ideas on where to order food from for my girls 1st birthday and I love the few things I’ve bought from there for quick dinners.
Hi Rachael, Labriola’s is AMAZING, but the one we got the food from is the Starr Road Mushroom Market in West Deer.
Good
MANY HAPPY AND BLESSED RETURNS OF YOUR SPECIAL BIRTHDAY, LITTLE JOPSEPH!
MOMMY MADE A FANTASTICALLY GORGEOUS CAKE FOR YOU AND I’M SURE YOU HJAD LOADS OF FUN WITH YOUR LITTLE BROTHER, MOMMY, DADDY AND FRIENDS,,,
STAY BLESSED!!!
Thank you, Marie! :)
Happy birthday to Joseph! It is so hard to believe – I remember when you announced you were pregnant with him and then followed you until he was born.
You are an awesome Mother – your babies are so lucky to have you!
Thank you for sharing your life along with your recipes!
Thank you so much for the incredibly kind compliments, xo
Happy birthday Joseph!!!
Thank you brown eyed baker for the most wonderful recipes!!! I made your 3 leches today!!!
The best tres leches recipe ever!!! I made several recipes in the past and they never tasted this good!!!
Thank you!!!!!
Thank you! Ahh I’m so glad you enjoyed the tres leches, one of my very favorites!
Happy Birthday, Joseph!! What a sweet little boy! The pictures are so adorable and it’s so much fun watching Joseph and Dominic as the grow!! :)
Thank you Deb! So hard to believe he’s a little boy now, no longer a baby!
great post, cute kids. adorable eating their cake! cute cake too…
Thank you Karl!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSEPH! Sounds like a fun party…you did a wonderful job on the cake! So enjoyed the pictures you shared! Such a cute idea with the birthday shirt! Thanks for sharing this special time with us!
You’re welcome, Char! Glad you enjoyed the pictures :)
The cake is amazing!
Wow-I am so impressed!
You should show us how to do that type of thing….
Thank you Rena! I will add it to the list :)
I absolutely LOVE the cake …but what I love as well is that gorgeous tree hanging above your mantel. May I ask where that came from and how I would get one too? I absolutely LOVE it.
And your boys are hyper-adorable! Love the pic of Dominic “inspecting” the frosting/cake on his hand!
Thanks Kelly! My mother-in-law actually got that metal tree for us, she said she got it at Ross!
So lovely…thank you for sharing. Your boys are so cute. I love the one of you, Joseph and the cake.
Aw, thank you Laura!
Happy Birthday Joseph! The cake turned out awesome! I saw it on Instagram as you were making it and just had the black silhouette of Mickey done. Looks like he and your family had a good time!
Thank you Shanae! Everyone had a blast, for sure!
You did a great job on his Mickey cake. Love the tradition of birthday shirts!
Thanks Martha! The shirts were a last-minute thing last year, and I love them now!
Sweet pictures of both boys. So happy.
Thank you Linda!
Love the photo of you and Joseph with his cake! So sweet ❤️
Thank you so much Amy ❤️️
Hard to believe he is three already. He is an adorable little boy. Happy Birthday Joseph.
I know, I can’t believe it either! Thank you!
Happy Birthday Joseph!! What a beautiful little man he is , can’t believe he’s three already. Love the Mickey Mouse decorations, so classic, and I’m in awe looking at your cake. You’re pregnant. With two little guys and made a cake this awesome. You’re a great Mom, and this is stuff your children will remember forever.
Thank you Annie, I so appreciate the very sweet words :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSEPH!!! I absolutely love those faces: Joseph and Dominic. They light up my day and my heart each time I read your wonderful posts and recipes and ideas. Savor all the moments,
Aww thank you Marion :)
What a fun birthday party!!!! The boys are adorable!!! Great job on the cake too!!!
Thank you so much Donna!