The Bean's Second Birthday

This year we decided to forego a big party in lieu of having people stop by at their convenience to wish The Bean a happy second birthday.  I felt a little guilty not making a bigger deal of it, but I think it was the right decision for us as a family right now and I believe that The Bean has been enjoying seeing all his people spread out over the course of the last week or so.

The night before his birthday my mom stopped by for a visit.  The Bean had a blast playing with her and was VERY excited about the Duplo set she brought him.  (Which I was glad about, since I had suggested Duplo animals as something he would probably enjoy.)

On his actual birthday they had a little party at daycare.  We made him chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and sprinkles to take in and share with his friends --they were a hit!  (Last year when we sent in organic oatmeal muffins. That's a Famous Last Words post waiting to be written!)  At least the cupcakes were organic.  That's got to count for something, right?

When he got home we called up Grandma and Grandpa on Skype and they watched him open his gift from them and his gifts from me and Jen.  He totally gets the concept of presents now and was VERY excited, giving an emphatic "WOW!" after tearing into each gift.

Dinner was pretty much just leftover cupcakes.  

Saturday my sister and her family as well as my Nana stopped by.  It was really so that Nana could open her gift from us (a digital frame complete with a bunch of photos of the great-grandchildren from the past year), but my sister also had some loot for The Bean including the book Playful Learning for his Mama and Mommy to take a look at and get ideas from.  I was pretty excited about that!

I'm glad to say that almost everything has found a home now and that we've got a good stash of toys etc. to come out later in the year when the ones he's currently playing with get a bit stale.

We still have to arrange a time to see my cousins and Aunt, but needless to say, The Bean has already been quite spoiled and enjoyed every ounce of it.  As a friend's daughter once said to me, "It's okay to be spoiled, just as long as you're not spoiled rotten."  Smart kid. ;)