Jack's 2nd birthday

Yesterday was Jack's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he has been here for two years. I know it's cliche, but time really does fly.

Ben and I were able to take Jack to "Pump it up" on Friday while my Mom watched Anna Scott. It was nice for us to spend some time with Jack. They have "free play" a couple hours a day at just $5 per child. However, we told them it was Jack's 2nd birthday and they let him in for free :) Yay! I love free. He was a little apprehensive at first, but we were eventually able to get him down a slide. We couldn't keep him off of them after that!

Today was his birthday party. Our families were able to come for the celebration and Jack had a good time. No major (only minor) meltdowns. Jack didn't get an obscene amount of things, but what he did get where all big. Therefore, we have no where to keep them. I'll be spending the next week figuring out the best place for each one.

One of Jack's favorites is the Little Tykes Cozy Cottage Playcenter. He carried his blanket in there tonight and I was afraid he wanted to sleep in it. Thankfully, he's asleep in his own bed right now :) (FYI- If you choose to buy this for your child, it's worth the $10 to buy an extra pack of 100 balls from Walmart. The cottage comes with 50 but that really is not enough.)

Another favorite is the Little Tikes Ride & Rescue Cozy Coupe car. We really don't have enough room for this one because our driveway is not conducive to ride-toys. But Jack loves it and I really wanted him to have one. I guess he'll be riding it in the house.

The only other kids at the party were my sister's kids, Kennedy, Lawson and Allie. Allie is almost 11 and spent most of her time in my room watching TV :) Kennedy (2) and Lawson (1) had a great time playing in the kiddie-pool with Jack. They also played with a beachball sprinkler and on the swing.

For those who are interested, I had a make-your-own pizza party. I used the canned Pillsbury pizza dough, unrolled them and cut them into 4 squares each. I put Ragu pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese on each and provided toppings such as pepperoni, peppers, onions, garlic, olives, and mushrooms. It was a big hit!

My Mom also showed me how to make my own icecream cake. It was so easy and super cheap (under $10). First, bake the box cake mix of your choosing into 2 rounds. Place these in the freezer. Then, let your icecream soften a bit, cut your cake rounds in half length-wise, and place icecream between the layers. So, that's 3 layers of icecream and 4 layers of cake. I placed it back in the freezer to harden and then took it out to fill in any icecream gaps with the leftover icecream. (You do this to try to achieve a smooth surface on the outside of the cake.) Again, place in freezer to harden. I then whipped heavy whipping cream and used as icing. Too easy! It was yummy, too.