Matteo's Birthday DAY =)

The birthday boy slept a bit later than usual (6:45...yay...) and snuggled and nursed in bed with Mami. I kept telling him that he was the birthday boy today and he'd just laugh. He was very excited to wear this birthday boy shirt with a balloon and candle on it.

We had a low key day at home mostly playing, going outside, a quick visit from Lita and hanging out. We made some big messes with play-doh and cookies (not together!) and I let him eat all the blueberries he wanted. And he got to play in the the clean laundry pile - always a hit.

Of course, big brother wanted in on the laundry fun too.

Smiling brothers.

Love the look in Matteo's eye here...

One of Matteo's many messes of the day. We made birthday cookies earlier and I had left the sprinkles out on the counter. Well, he promptly got the stool to the right location and climbed up to help himself. I was dealing with a melt-down from Sebastian at the moment and walked into the kitchen to find him happily shaking sprinkles all over the counter and floor. Oiiii....

It was a great mail day because by chance, we got Mickey mail! It's just junk mail to subscribe to a Disney movie club, but they always include stickers which the kids LOVE. He was very excited.

Once Daddy came home, we headed to the backyard to enjoy the nice evening and open presents. This is his box of bugs that he got from Sebastian.

Daddy had the idea to give him Backpack (from Dora) and a little Swiper the Fox. He loves that show right now and always dances and says Backpack when it comes on. And he is constantly saying, "oh, man!" just like Swiper the Fox. It's hilarious. This look is priceless though - he was so excited to find Swiper in Backpack. =)

Wearing Backpack. It's now a day later as I write this and he is still wearing it all over the house and out everywhere we go. Big hit!

We took him to Chick-fil-a, his favorite, for dinner and they played at the play place for a bit.

Then we headed home to sing Happy Birthday yet again, but this time with Mickey cookies that we made and decorated earlier in the day.

He loved all the M&Ms. What a treat!

Swiper wanted in on the action and tried to get his cookie.

Then Matteo made Swiper try to eat his M&Ms.

Daddy bought him special bubbles for his bath that night.

Yay for fun bath bubbles!

Our family, two years after Matteo was born. Happy birthday, my sweet boy! And below, for tradition's sake is my birthday note for Matteo....

My Matteo,

Happy birthday, birthday boy! You are so FUNNY! You make me laugh all the time and I can always count on you for the best squeezes. You are starting to say so many words, put them together and really know exactly what you want. Today you went through three different color cups before you found the right one! You have been such a trooper during the past year - enduring a cold winter in Massachusetts, moving to a new house in Florida, adapting to your brother starting school, starting Gymboree and getting ready to be a big brother. I am already so impressed with how you love to take care of your babies and always share your "achay" (Mami milk) with them. You love to play outside, get dirty and messy, find bugs, throw rocks, play in the water, go to the zoo, wrestle your brother and just get his goat in general. I can't wait to see what this next year brings. You and Sebastian are such buddies and in a few months we will be adding a new sibling for you to love. I know you will be so proud. We are so proud of you and love you so much Matteo! We pray that God will continue to bless you with a wonderful, kind and fun-loving spirit. Happy 2nd birthday, Papi!

Love,

Mami and Daddy

Read Matteo's 1st year letter here.

Happy 2nd Birthday Matteo!

For the last few weeks (okay, probably longer...) I have been brainstorming, crafting and planning (okay - obsessing) about Matteo's Mickey themed party. What can I say - as an event planner in my past life I just can't help it! And what better excuse to do it up big than my kiddo's birthday! =) On Friday, we made all the cakes and cupcakes so they'd be ready for Paul to decorate that evening.

Except that this happened....

Here's the story: I went to the bathroom (I have to go ALL THE TIME now) and Sebastian was with me. Typically, as long as they are not both left alone together while I use the bathroom things are safe, so I figured Matteo would be fine and continue to play. Well...not so much. I was gone maybe 2 or 3 minutes and I found him on the table very happily selecting a cupcake from the tower, taking a sample bite, putting it back and then reaching for another!!!!!!! My first thought was to be mad - but then I realized what a moment it was and ran for the camera instead. I asked him - "What are you doing, Matteo!?!" and he excitedly just said "cupcakes!" So the three partially eaten cupcakes were taken out of the tower and I was left with some empty spots - oh well!

And there was NO WAY he was parting with the three cupcakes. I figured...what the heck....sure he can keep 'em. =)

VIDEO - Matteo's Cupcakes
If you do not see the video below, click here to watch.



Here's the video....he would have happily kept going....

Later that evening Paul started on the cakes for the party. That's his thing - every year he decorates the kid's cakes. As much as I would love to do it, I'm always too busy running around decorating, cleaning, prepping, etc to do it. So I'm glad it's his special thing he does for them!

The progress...

Corey, Sarah and Darlene came over on Friday night to help us set up, prep, decorate and just be helpful! This very pregnant Mama is so thankful for their help....sometimes I forget that I really just can't do it all right now!

Ta-da! Hello Mickey Mouse! Kinda ironic that we have a rat themed party after our whole fiasco last October....

The next morning Matteo was excited to see the cakes.

He was quick to try to stick his fingers in it. We made sure the cakes (and remaining cupcakes!) were well out of reach this time!

Almost party time!

Goodie bags all lined up and ready to go. All the kids got a little Mickey stamp, raisins, bubbles, a plastic bug and a spiky ball - some of Matteo's favorite things.

Matteo liked playing in the bounce house as long as no one else jumped. =) Our whole backyard was any toddler's dream - we had a mini-bounce house, t-ball, soccer, a ball toss, sand table, our playground with slide, hula hoops, play silks, basketball hoop, push toys, hippity hops, bubble machine....you name it, it was outside! You should have seen his expression when he ran out and saw everything. We are so blessed that we can create such fun times right in our backyard.

Part of his "first friends" playgroup having snacks. It's so great that all of us nursing moms that met at our support group have continued to be friends! Since they were all born so close together it's major party season right now - every weekend it's some one's turn. We had about 14 toddlers at the party all running around having a ball.

I made Matteo's Mickey shirt with this applique and put a number 2 iron on transfer on the back. It turned out super cute and he loved it. I think his favorite part of his party was all the food - I had all his favorite snacks, including Cheetos which he happily sat and ate for more of the party.

The cupcakes. And you can't even tell some were missing!

I made our own Happy Birthday, Matteo banner from construction paper and some letters and also found this cute Mickey fabric to use as a table cloth. Ready to celebrate!

He couldn't keep his hands away!

Blowing out the candle! He is pretty good at it too!

Ummm....cupcakes!

Love this face...

He was excited to open his presents once he realized they were there!

Yay for new water toys!

Lita got him a Very Hungry Caterpillar card which he really liked. His Nana got him a Mickey card with the Hot Dog song that he is still carrying around to open and close so he can dance. Both cards were as big of a hit as the presents I think!

Wow - a new big boy booster chair to sit at the table with everyone for dinner. Bye, bye high chair - even if it is only for a short while!

Because we have about 20 people in our immediate family, I decided to do a kid party in the morning, break for the afternoon nap time and then have all our family over in the afternoon for a dinner time celebration. It certainly worked out great. It was quite a bit of work, but totally worth it. Logan enjoyed the outside fun that was still set up.

Happy birthday, take two! This was the best family shot we could get...

More candles to blow out.

While he was having yet another cupcake, we tried to take his picture and he gave us his cheese face. It was so funny that we all had to get one with him while he was being a ham. Here he is cheesing with Lelo and Lita.

Cheesing with Nana and Papa.

And finally, cheesing with Mami and Daddy!

He was a pro at opening presents by this point!

Aunt Sarah drew him his very own Mickey - he loved it.

What a great weekend of festivities. I went to be at 8:30 that night, but it was all worth it to see my little 2 year old light up throughout the day. Happy Birthday, Matteo!