Caroline's Birthday-The Party

So, as I mentioned in my previous post, we had a little party for Caroline's 2nd birthday.  And people actually did attend.  I hope you all don't have anything else to do this afternoon because this is a long one.  Here's how the party went down:

 

I love this pic with Caroline sticking her tongue out.  She is so Steven's child.

I have that "I'm-smiling-but-talking-through-my-teeth-to-make-my-kid-smile" look on my face.  That's how most of my pictures are these days.  Note to self:  Must work on that.  I think I come by it naturally though... Check out my mom here:

 

 

Grandma Daisy and Grandpa "Bimbo" as Caroline calls him.

We were so lucky to have Caroline's grandparents here for her party.  The only one we were missing was Papa Ed :(

 

We had her birthday party a week later so that Sugar and Pops could be here for the party as well as Easter.  We were so glad they were able to make it up from Louisiana!

 

 Here is Caroline waiting for her guests to arrive.  She could not wait to get into those presents.  I made her outfit, because clearly I didn't have enough to do.  I am really not sure why I do that to myself.  Why couldn't I have just bought something?  Because it wouldn't have been EXACTLY what I wanted. Duh.  I really am my own worst enemy.

So excited!

I had a really hard time trying to keep her from tearing everything up before everyone got there.  And there I am documenting my nights of lost sleep work.

We finally gave up and let Caroline open her play-doh set from Uncle Drew, Aunt Heather, Gracyn and Hudson while we were waiting for everyone to arrive.  Some times you gotta do what you gotta do.

I love this pic.  It looks like Caroline is saying "Finally!  My people are here!"

Soon after, Caroline really got to work opening her presents:

We all know I may have a few screws loose, but now there is no question.  I bought my kid a drum.  I know.  I'm still not sure what I was thinking other than "Oh she will just love it!".  For the month leading up to her birthday, Caroline turned everything in the house into a drum.  She was (and still is) obsessed.  That is one toy that might just turn up "missing" once Baby #2 arrives....

Caroline really has the present business figured out.  And she doesn't want to sit and play with everything once she has opened it.  She is already on to the next one.  Speed is her thing.  I wonder where she gets that???

So up until this point, you're probably thinking, 'This looks like a pretty normal party'.  Well, in the Broussard house, nothing is "normal".  We are about as crazy as they come.  This is where the party gets interesting.

Back in October, Steven and I decided to have a Sesame Street theme for our Halloween costumes since Caroline was obsessed and we had lost all self-respect.  He was going to be Elmo, I was going to be Big Bird, and Caroline was going to be Abby Cadabby.  We ordered Steven an Elmo mask and I was going to come up with something for the body.  The month got away from me and we had to trash our idea.  Caroline was still Abby Cadabby, but Steven and I dressed up as Phil and Miss Kay from Duck Dynasty (and Steven was mistaken as Osama bin Laden going hunting....  No one at the party had watched Duck Dynasty... Awkward...). 

We decided to keep the Elmo mask since I had already decided to do an Elmo birthday party for Caroline.  I figured that some how between October and March I could come up with a "body" for Elmo.  But then I got pregnant and spent the next 3 months with my head in the toilet on the couch.   So, by the time the party was nearing, I still hadn't figured out what to do with Elmo.  I just wanted to scratch the idea, but that was not ok with my husband.  He had been talking about dressing up for Caroline's birthday party for months.  When I informed him that I simply did not have the time to make a body, he took matters into his own redneck resourceful hands.  And what do you do when you don't have a furry red suit to match your Elmo mask?  Why you wear red sweatpants of course.  Sweatpants are like the duck tape of apparel:  they "fix" any problem.  So, thanks to Amazon Prime, my husband lived his dream of dressing up as Elmo for his little girl's birthday party. 

On a side note:  I know most of you must be wondering how my perfectionist, Type A self can be ok with my darling husband pulling hillbilly shenanigans like this.  Well, it certainly isn't easy.  I am very certain that God put Steven in my life for a reason:  to remind me that not everything can be perfect, and some times you have to find the beauty or humor in other's imperfections.  No matter how hard I try, there will always be a few "unrefined" qualities about him.  I learned a long time ago to just let go and let my husband be his quirky self.  The day I learned to laugh at his weirdo ways, my life became a lot easier.  And more fun.  At times it can actually be amusing to live with a mix of a Duck Dynasty and Swamp People cast member.  Now that's not to say I let him get away with everything.  I still have my limits.  Like his acid wash peg-leg jeans from 1994....  Those had to go.  Any way, back to the party...

To say that Steven was pleased with himself and his "costume" was an understatement.  The best part was how proud he was of himself for improvising at the last minute and putting on a pair of red socks to really complete his look.  His plan was to go change halfway through the party while Caroline was opening presents and return as Elmo to deliver a present to the birthday girl.  Well, even the best plans don't always work out. 

Elmo came out to great his adoring fans, and this is basically what happened:

I really wish I had a picture of Caroline's face when she saw him, but she was totally unimpressed.  Her expression bordered more on disturbed.... 

Caroline:  "No, Daddy, seriously, please don't pick me up.... All of my friends are watching...  Omg I am so embarrassed."

Caroline:   "Mom save me!  I am SO humiliated to have ghetto Elmo at my party!"

Nope, sorry Steven.  She's still not having it.....

Caroline:  "Ugh Daddy I can't even look at you right now.  I'll be sending you my therapy bill in about 20 years."

I think this one might be my favorite.  This would be a great pic to play "Caption This".  Steven just couldn't take the hint that ghetto/redneck Elmo just wasn't welcome.  No birthday party is complete without a creepy photo bomber! 

But this one came in at a close second:

Me:  "Steven, seriously.  Enough.  Let it go man."

In the end, creepy Elmo made every one cry, so he finally took the hint and left.  Bless my sweet husband's heart for trying.  Part of me felt so bad for him because he had been looking forward to his big moment for months.  The other part of me was a little worried that a man in his upper 30's was that excited to dress up in an Elmo costume...  The best part was the fact that several of the guys Steven works with were there at the party (and they certainly did not take it easy on him), and yet my goofball husband completely put his manhood on the line for his little girl.  And that is why I love him.

Once Elmo made his exit, we got on with the rest of the party.  We were videoing this part, but I am so bummed that this is the only pic I have of Caroline blowing out her candle.

Cupcake time!!!

Caroline is definitely my daughter in the fact that she loves sweets, especially cupcakes.  Of course, she only eats the frosting off the top, but hey, isn't that the best part?!

I turned around and Caroline had vanished when I looked back at the table.  I couldn't figure out where she went, but when she returned, she had a spoon.  Because everyone needs a spoon to eat a cupcake right???  Such a little lady.

This is Adelai, Caroline's BFF.  We call them Thelma and Louise.  I'm not sure we have figured out which is Thelma and which is Louise, but it works.  They were born about 6 weeks apart, so it has been fun to watch them grow up together.  I love this pic of Addie because her expression says "Lady, I'm just trying to eat my cupcake.  You got a problem with that???"

Nothing better than cupcakes with friends!

After the party was over, we took Caroline out to see her present from the grandparents:

It was a really cold and nasty day, so we weren't too excited to take her to see it since we knew she would want to stay outside.  But of course, Pops, being the saint that he is, stayed outside to let her explore her new digs.

Hello!!!

All in all, we had a great time at Caroline's party (with the exception of creepy Elmo).  It was so fun to celebrate with family and friends. I know that with 2 kids I am going to have to calm down on the parties a bit, but I enjoyed doing this while I still can.  Even though it was a little hectic, it was totally worth it in the end...  Dead fish and all.