Police Party (+ Small Adoption Update!)

One great thing about this birthday party, is that it was a HUGE distraction from the LIST.  You know...the super-long, moving ever-so-slowly, girl's waitlist for the adoption.  I've been mildly obsessed with checking out yahoo boards lately.  So this party came at the perfect time - a MUCH needed distraction.  I was a tad bit sad, however, knowing people would be asking for an update and not having much to give.  Friday night....checking the listserv....the family in the #3 spot on the girl's list got a referral for their 6 week old beauty.  Since the families in the #1 and the #2 spots aren't on the listserv....we were all ANXIOUSLY awaiting some news (and that's an understatement).  So since the #3 family got their referral, that means we have jumped THREE spots on the list, putting us UNofficially at #23!!!  Wow...burst of hope here???  Sad, but true.  That's what three simple numbers can do to you in the adoption world folks!  Needless to say, it was VERY exciting to share with everyone that burst through our doors on Saturday!!!  {UPDATE: Monday there was another referral putting as at #22!}

On to the party!!!!

I think I spent 3 days getting ready for a party that lasted 3 hours....but it was SO worth it!  (Yes, even the HOURS on the cake.) 

But JUST in case you think I thought of EVERYTHING....think again ;)



My dad reading stories to the kids - so sweet!

We had a smaller turnout than we expected, but it was actually perfect!  Not so many that it was overwhelming, but not too small either.  We had a few friends from church, the grandparents (who brought a few cousins) and some friends we've collected from our various places of work over the years.  It was SUCH a fun day (my husband is telling me that as I type this again)!





Our menu included pome granate - blueberry punch, "Cops in a Blanket", a fruit and veggie tray, potato salad, pasta salad, VeggieCrisps, "Siren Pops", "Cop Candy" and "Criminal Candy".  Not to mention the CAKE!!!  Hello! =)  It was a GREAT spread (and thank you to my moms who helped with food...makes my life easier).

We had a couple of games set up for the munchkins

- the pinata, of course!  Which was a HUGE hit!  No serious fights over who's turn it was (but this was two year olds and a LOT of parents were monitering).  Then, inspired by our church's "Bob-a-palooza" we had the "Feed Me Doughnuts" game, where the kids got to through doughnuts-shaped sponges into a police officer's mouth (not a REAL officer, mind you).  That was a real hit too!

Present time was a little over whelming.  The first two presents Lil Man opened were cars, which got him SO excited he didn't care about the rest of the gifts!  Not to mention we had a circle of like seven kids who wanted to HELP open the gifts, but hey!  So is the life with a toddler!  He got so many adorable gifts, thank you everyone for celebrating with us.



The Strider I was telling you about!



Sand from one set of grandparents, a slide from the other....yay! =)

How many men does it take to open a child's toy?

The CAKE!  Monkey was SUPER excited about this (like.. ..tried to climb onto the piano to eat it on Friday excited =)

He climbed on the table and let us get a few pics and sing "Happy Birthday" but he was super excited to dig in....or so we thought.

He just got mad at daddy for breaking his car and cried and then just wanted to go back to playing.  Oh well...can't expect the perfect party of your dreams with a two-year-old.  (He DID enjoy some cake after dinner that night though).  Everyone else loved it though!  My seven hours (estimated) of work paid off!  (And YES I am a perfectionist).  This was my first experience with fondant, so NO it is not pefect by any means, but it fulfilled the overall vision I had for his cake which made me VERY happy.  And it was DELICIOUS!!!  I used my mom's Wacky Cake recipe (which you can now find in the WIPHAN cookbook HERE).  It is super light and airy (and eggless for my allergic nephews) but really chocolatey.  My husband doesn't like chocolate cake but he likes this....so its what we've been sticking too....not an overwhelming flavor.  Then I used my friend Annika's AMAZING frosting recipe (which she'll give proper credit to some cookbook, but I prefer family recipes so I'm sayin' its HERS).  The bed of the cake is covered in coconut, which again...not a huge fan of....but it completed my vision and ACTUALLY....the chocolate, frosting, and coconut all complimented each other really well (in MY opinion ;) so I was excited about it (obviously, since the majority of my blog has been about the cake ;). 

It was truly a wonderful day and we are SO thankful for those who came out to celebrate with us!  We know it was a wierd time (for some) and a busy weekend (for most) so we REALLY appreciate you taking the time out to be here for our Lil Man!  He had SUCH a great time with everyone!!!

These two almost-four-year-olds had never met, but became best of friends!

After everyone left, Monkey went down for naptime and snoozed for almost THREE HOURS!  Phew!  Daddy and I vegged.  Played a little Mario Cart on the Wii and watched some Spiderman 3...it was great.  Then after Monkey we woke up, we took him outside to try out his new bike!  He's still a little unsure about it, but I'm sure with some time he'll get the hang of it.  (Plus, his girlfriend Elise has a pink one, so I'm sure a Strider Playdate will be just the motivation he needs!)

Now we're just chillin' out at home (for once) and getting a kick at him playing with his new toys.  He plays with one for about 5 minutes and then switches to the next for a couple....I still think he just can't believe their all his!  =)