Twin Birthday 2011: Toddler Birthday Party

The twins got to celebrate their birthday on three different days this year (instead of two days like last year due to a certain unscheduled trip to the ER). First was their Mom’s Night Out Playdate on Monday. I wanted James and Julia to have a simple party and picked as the theme their two favorite things: Elmo and bubbles. I decorated the room with some Sesame Street character streamers, a big Elmo mylar balloon, and some small red balloons. To say Julia liked the Elmo balloon was an understatement.


Julia awoke to find a Julia-sized Elmo balloon in the family room. She immediately gave it lots of hugs.


Oh, Elmo. You so funny.

Then the guests arrived...



Kids in attendance at the party: Oliver (mom Rachel), twins Sam and Josh (mom Debbie), Ronan (mom Stacy), and twins Zoe and Zachary (mom Sharon).

And of course the birthday girl and boy...:

I'm told their names are Julia and James.

Rachel’s son Oliver took one look at the Elmo balloon and said, “NO!” so I put Elmo away for the rest of the playdate.


"NO Elmo balloon."
"Also, I want one of the hundred board games on the wall over there. I won't tell my mommy which one. She'll just have to guess."

Some Sesame Street decorations

For the first 45 minutes the toddlers just ran around and played with toys.


Oliver and Ronan play together.


Julia and James share a cuddle with Mommy.


Sharon with Zachary and with Zoe


Rachel with Oliver


Julia decided her outfit needed some accessories.

James and Julia love bubble time at Gymboree so much that I blew bubbles for them and their guests. The kids seemed only lukewarm about the bubbles. Maybe they needed a song like Gymboree's unfortunately catchy “1-2-3 Bubbles You and Me” to play to make them go crazy for bubble popping.







Next up was cupcake time. Mark assembled the twins’ new IKEA table and chairs the night before just for the occasion. Josh and Sam brought their own gluten-free cake while the rest of the guests had Whole Foods mini chocolate cupcakes. Last year James seemed uninterested in his birthday cupcake until settling on destroying it with the flat of his hand. This year he immediately gobbled it up, possibly while the birthday song was still being sung.


Either those are the remains of Josh's gluten-free cake or Elmo should really get that looked at.


"Why is my high chair at 45 degrees?"


Julia, Ronan, Sam, and James at the new IKEA table with their cupcakes in various states of being devoured.


James eats his cupcake, possibly in one bite.

Julia on the other hand preferred to look at hers. Eventually, Ronan who was sitting next to her and is no fool, grabbed it and wolfed it down. I gave Julia another cupcake and I think she took a tiny nibble so she could keep her girlish figure. Mommy eventually ate the rest.


Ronan licks his lips in delight while eating his cupcake. Julia contemplates hers.


"It's my party and I'll look pensive if I want to."


"Julia, if you aren't going to eat that I will be happy to eat that for you."
Julia watches in shock as Ronan devours her ornamental cupcake.


Julia clutching her cupcake possessively after Ronan makes another pass at it. She managed to end up with a dot of frosting on her nose somehow.


"Look! I have a cupcake! Isn't it pretty! I shall take it to bed and hug it and kiss it."


James eating his cupcake wrapper. Literally, as we later discovered.


Julia's forlorn about the passing of age 1.

Meanwhile, "Mmmm... paper."

When Oliver left, the Elmo balloon re-emerged. The party store indicated that this mylar balloon should last a month or so, but they clearly weren’t anticipating the attacks - I assume with love - from my kids, James especially. They pummelled it so much that Elmo sustained puncture wounds. He had to go to the big furry muppetland in the sky before long.

Zoe REALLY loves Elmo.

Josh and Zoe make a wish. Poor Elmo.

Josh, Sam, Julia, James, Zachary, and Zoe. (Not pictured: Ronan and Oliver.)
Julia might be teething. Can you tell?

After the party ended, James and Julia continued playing with the Elmo balloon.

I really wanted to get Julia's hair in pigtails because there's a picture of me with my hair in pigtails on my second birthday. I'd been trying for months to get her to let me and I finally I achieved pig-tailness, albeit only for about 30 minutes.

Me at 2 years

First pig tails on Julia!

Elmo bye bye

Thank you Stacy for many of the pictures! And captions!