Keeping up with the Kiddos: Sidney's Elmo Birthday Party

Sidney...
... 2 years old, not so little anymore
... the HAPPIEST person i know
... her happiness is contagious
... loves to snuggle
... chatterbox
... carries her "blankie" everywhere she goes
... loves her big sister
... jumps off most of our furniture
... a danger to herself; will for sure have stitches and/or broken bones in her future
... loves her swing set and can climb the rock wall
... does not mind that she still has to ride backwards in her car seat (still under 20 lbs)
... counts to 13 in english (and counts backwards from 10 and ends with "BLAST OFF!")
... counts to 10 in spanish (i swear, she did it one time and will never do it again!)
... loves her grandparents
... enjoys coloring and painting at her art table
... remembers to pray before mealtime
... loves to sing and knows lots of songs
... most commonly used phrase, "What dat?"
... so very loved

She also really loves Elmo so that seemed like an obvious theme for her party. I included pictures of our party decorations - maybe you'll be inspired to have an Elmo party too!

I printed the invitations on a color printer, cut it out and taped it on to red card stock. I found the Elmo stickers at our grocery store. Also, the invitation says the party was on March 4th, but the girls and I were all sick that day so we had to postpone the party two weeks. I'm so glad that we were all healthy the second time around!

PS - I still don't know how to blur out the address/phone number/email in pictures. Can anyone explain how??? Is there a way to do it without PhotoShop? Maybe in Paint? I just put paper over the info in the picture above.

I made the thank you cards by cutting this heavy red with white polka dot paper to fit my envelopes (I bought the envelopes at Hobby Lobby). Then I found this Elmo scrapbooking paper and cut out a bunch of little Elmo's, taped them on white card stock circles and taped it to the card.

To make the wreath, I cut a number 2 out of poster board. I should have used a thicker foam board because once I glued the pom pom balls on the number 2 it was really flimsy. I taped a bunch of popsicle sticks to the back of the number 2 so it was more sturdy. I made the "Sidney Street" sign using card stock and sticker letters/numbers. I used fabric tape to hold it to the ribbon. Then I secured a red ribbon to the back of the number 2 to hang it up.

I used these baskets as table centerpieces. First, I wrapped green Desert Foam in white tissue paper and placed it at the bottom of each basket. I had to use several pieces for the biggest basket. Then I filled the baskets with (1) photos of Sidney taped to colored printer paper that I cut with scalloped scissors, (2) Elmo heads made from card stock, (3) a "Sidney Street" sign, (4) pinwheels from the dollar store, (5) Elmo's cut out of scrapbook paper and taped to card stock and (5) purple flowers. I attached everything to sticks that I painted white and stuck it into the Desert Foam at the bottom of each basket. Lastly, I filled in the gaps with crumbled up red tissue paper and flowers.

To make Sidney's party hat, I bought a red hat and taped Elmo's face cut out of card stock paper to the hat. Then I glued red pom pom balls to the top and bottom of the hat. So quick and easy and cute!

I printed a bunch of my favorite photos of Sidney over the past year and taped them to our pantry door in the shape of the number 2. Such fun memories!

I made a bunch of Elmo faces and taped them to sticks that I painted white to line the walkway to our front door.

I hung red, white and purple balloons from streamers in the door ways.

And finally...the DESSERT table (aka: my desk)!! I bought the cake at Walmart! This was my first Walmart cake and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! Not only did it taste great, but it cost under $15! I know I could have made it for much cheaper, but I haven't yet reached that level of talent. Instead I made the chocolate covered marshmallows! Stay tuned tomorrow for that recipe! We also served Oreos - a Sidney favorite (and the only dairy and egg-free dessert she could eat!). I used frosting to stick the Elmo sugars to the Oreos. And Valentine-colored M&M's. And a fish bowl filled with Goldfish crackers to honor Elmo's BFF, Dorothy.

Tim and I were exhausted by the end of the night but it was so worth it! Sidney had such a great night!