Day 17 - Jackson turns TWO!

Day 17 of the photo challenge fell on Jackson's birthday, so while many of the photos are mine, some are not.  

What a true labor of love.  My husband was not really 'into' throwing a party for a 2nd birthday.  In his culture, you have a large party for the first birthday...and that's it.  But he knew I was excited to plan this party, and so once on board, he threw himself right in.  He searched high and low for all of the crazy things I asked him to find for me.  He helped me haul all of the supplies I ordered from Amazon and Target.  He even joined in on the decorating...adding Minion balloons to the festivities!

The Theme: Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar book.  Jackson really took to this book.  Some of his first words were egg, moon, and watermelon.  (which did not sound like watermelon...but was adorable when he said it!)  My favorite colors are red and green, so it was an easy decision.

The birthday boy...just waking up.

Hubby frying the samosas

Samosas!  

(Not on the Hungry Caterpillar menu, but a big hit at the party...

in this place with so few choices for spicy foods)

We really lucked out, and Jackson took a nice nap before the party started.  He was well rested and able to enjoy his party.

What type of tree is this blooming in the background?  So pretty.

See anything fishy with the photo above?

While decorating, Ramesh moved the Happy Birthday sign, and transposed the words in the move!  No one at the party noticed!!  LOL!!

We had birthday cake, homemade cherry pie, apple cardamom muffins (recipe from my time in New Zealand), and ice cream from the Williams Sonoma mix.  

 Kuvertira Bakery in Butel created the cake for us. It was a challenge to find them, but they did a great job creating the cake I wanted - even though they had never heard of the Very Hungry Caterpillar!  They also provided great service.  They originally delivered the cake the night before the party, but it tipped a bit in the car and messed up the icing.  They tried to repair it here, but the damage was too extensive.  They took the cake back and delivered a repaired cake at noon the next day.  I couldn't be happier.
http://www.kuvertira.com.mk/index.php?lang=en

So thankful for everyone who stopped in to celebrate Jackson's birthday with us.  We are new in town and have no family here, so it was a super nice feeling to have new friends shower us with their love.

I ordered the crayons from Target.  One pack arrived with only 3 crayons in it!!  Target shipped out a replacement box immediately.  Great Customer Service!

Thank you for coming!

 Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson!!