Super Bowl

This year, we had Nana, Papa, Brad, Denise, and Kenny over to watch the Super Bowl with us.

About the time the game started, Ben asked to watch "Mickey." Guessing everyone didn't come over to see Mickey's Choo Choo Express, I decided to let Ben watch his movie on the portable DVD player in his playroom. He and I dug into the beef sandwiches Dada made while we watched. Ben LOVED this. I'm not sure if the beef or Mickey was a bigger hit. I'll call it a tie.

After we ate and finished watching Mickey, Ben decided to pass the time trying on Nana's shoes. (Ben loves to wear other people's shoes around; he's always had a shoe/foot fetish, so this is no surprise.)

Brad and Denise were very impressed with his flair for fashion.

He finally traded in the shoes to play "Jump, Jump" in the family room -- a game he and Lily started at Christmas.

The Super Bowl was not interesting to him, but the Puppy Bowl got his attention.

Eventually Ben tired out. His pillow pile went from a fun jumping game to a cozy spot to rest. Dee got in on that action.

Until she was used for a pillow.

You didn't think this post was actually going to have anything to do with the Super Bowl, did you?

Happy Birthday to Ben

My baby is two! I am not sure how this happened, but I was sure I needed to have a party to celebrate. Ben is obsessed with Mickey Mouse these days, hence a theme was born. But all the Mickey party decor was...tacky. So I went for polka dots with Mickey touches.

I started by heading to Pinterest (of course) for some DIY decorating ideas. I had big plans, but was short on time and energy, so I only tackled a few.

First, a photo 2 on display. I couldn't get a good picture. Sorry. Nothing really to do with the Mickey theme, but cute for displaying my favorite moments from the last year.

Next, the favor bags. I went with red, aqua and black for the color scheme, so I just found tissue paper and gift bags to coordinate. I made the name tags using scrapbook paper, Mickey cutouts and glue. A little ribbon on top finished them off.

I also put out Mickey Mouse ears for the kids (and adults) to wear, along with some Mickey Mouse Oreos I made.

Here is a close up. It looks a little strange because it is actually two. One on top of the other. So just ignore what looks like ears on the bottom.

Mom, Jenn and I got a picture before all the craziness began.

Nana (Mike's mom) brought Ben a giant Mickey balloon. He loved it. He ran up to it and gave it a hug. He didn't want to let go.

Tucker was a big fan too and joined in on the hugging.

Here's Mom enjoying a drink before the party. As you can see, I also got some balloon bouquets for the party. (Perhaps a few too many, according to Mike, who had to drive them home. You can also see the new dining room paint color here. It is still a little too blue, so we might be repainting...again. Poor Nana.)

Ben was hot and cold with the Mickey ears. He kept putting them on then taking them off.

Tucker liked them though.

And Jenn!

And of course Mama wore the ears.

Gammy and Gampy even got in on the fun!

Papa (Mike's dad) and Uncle Dan enjoying the Portillos dinner.

The birthday boy (in his ears now) never grows tired of this slide.

To make space in the dining room, we put the dining table that Mom brought me and is fixing up in the playroom and used it to pile the gifts. Ben and his friends (here he is with Lesli's daughter Adelaide) thought it was hilarious to hide underneath it.

Ben with his best buddy Scarlett and her Dad, Ed.

We ordered the cake from The Cakery again, and it was tasty. I asked for something simple, with Mickey and red and aqua dots. I think they did a great job.

Baskin Robbins ice cream helped it taste even better.

Tucker was ready for cake and ice cream!

My favorite part of the night was singing Happy Birthday to Ben. He LOVED it. They have been singing it in school as kids turn 2, and he was so excited that now it was his turn. He had the cutest expression on his face the entire time.

(Mom, while I thank you for snapping some shots for me, it is interesting how in every picture it looks like the light fixture is resting on Ben's head. I think Mike and Mom took the same photography class.)

Side note: For the first hour or so of the party, Ben clung to me. I had to carry him around while trying to play hostess. It was a pain. Finally Lesli lured him away by asking him to show her and Adelaide his room. Genius! After that, Ben was a social butterfly and Lesli was a new favorite.

Jenn volunteered to feed the birthday boy cake and ice cream.

The ice cream was a big hit. At one point Jenn tried to spoon herself a bite and Ben grabbed at the spoon and told her "my spoon!" Like I always say, Mr. Manners, this one. But the kid loves his mint chip.

The cake was a different story.

So not a fan. He didn't even want it on his fingers.

Here he is giving Nana kisses!

I was going to skip opening presents until after the party, but a few people, including Ben, asked to open presents. How can I resist the birthday boy!

Luckily I had good helpers because there were a lot of gifts!

Ben got a lot of cool things, but I am trying to open them slowly rather than overwhelm him with 50 new toys. He insisted on opening three things that day though: a bag of balls from Brad and Denise (you can see them scattered on the floor in the picture above), a dump truck from Aunt Brenda, and a tunnel to attach to his tent from Mama and Dada. All were big hits!

The next morning everyone was exhausted...except the kids. No rest for the weary!