and then he was 2.

Well we apparently survived Malakai's 2nd birthday and the festivities that ensued. I have SO many pictures and so much to tell that I think I'll break it up into a couple posts. First, a bit of a timeline of how we spent his birthday. I'll do a 2nd post of the decor + prep that went into throwing his party.

The night before I could.not.sleep. I woke up every hour and my mind was spinning with the details of the following day. Being sore + pregnant didn't help. I decided to give up and get out of bed at 5:30am which is when I finished his birthday letter. I posted it at 7:20am, the time he was born.

Ben + I got ready quietly and let the birthday boy sleep until he was good and ready to wake up for a very eventful day. He woke up around 8am and we greeted him together with a birthday song, he grinned through the whole thing and was in a very good mood. We got him ready and gathered our things to head out the door for his first ever breakfast out. Moments before we loaded the car he pulled an entire tray of cupcakes out of the fridge and onto the floor. I gasped and then composed myself because it was his birthday and a few cupcake casualties shouldn't ruin it. Thankfully, they were all saved.

We headed to the Original Pancake House, a favorite local breakfast/brunch spot. I planned to split the banana pancakes with Malakai but I found out that they'd give him his very own birthday stack! It came complete with berries and a candle. He was thrilled (we've been practicing blowing out candles all week).

I knew it was going to be a good day when I captured such a perfect photo of him blowing out the candle. This is my new all-time favorite photo.

Kai then proceeded to eat the entire stack of pancakes and downed his glass of milk. He was happy + well behaved the entire time. What a great start to his 2nd birthday!

When we got home we played a bit and then loaded up the car to take all the supplies and decorations to Grandma + Grandpa Pottorfs where his party was held. We played a bit and I decorated. Around noon he ate lunch and Ben took him home for a quick nap while I stayed to finish decorating and frosting cupcakes.

At 2pm guests arrived and the birthday boy came shortly after, fashionably late and a little groggy from his nap. After he warmed up to the house filling with loved ones he was ready to play and socialize. He was quite enamored with the balloons as well as the new water feature that Grandpa had just put the finishing touches on that morning.

Nothing like balloons, water, and rocks to make a two year old very happy!

After an hour of greeting guests we went straight to singing to the birthday boy. He was once again thrilled to see a flickering candle headed his way and grinned from ear to ear as everyone sang to him. He blew out the candle but it relit itself 3 times before going out. It was quite the spectacle and he enjoyed every minute of it.

Then came time to dig into his very own cake. Unlike last year's healthy recipe I made him good old fashioned funfetti cake out of the box with homemade cream cheese frosting. Instead of digging in he carefully lifted the robot and licked the frosting. Then poked at the top a bit. It was only after I gave him a spoon that he actually ate some of it. Leave it to a toddler to save his manners for the one moment you want him to be a bit messy!

Everyone else had cupcakes and vanilla ice cream. Shortly after we gathered for gifts, I didn't want to draw things out and have any guests feel obligated to stay for hours on end. He was really into opening the first couple of gifts but then all he wanted to do was play with the basketball hoop and flashlight he just got. It is a bit cruel to ask a child to open a gift and then not play with it until later. We kept trying but eventually gave up and opened his gifts for him.

This kiddo is well loved, he received many generous gifts. There were about 45 people in attendance at his party, it was such a blessing to have so many friends + family come see him for his birthday.

After we finished up gifts he played with his toys, the balloons, and of course the water feature some more. We also got some photos in the stand up robot that Grandma Pottorf had made the night before. Great minds think alike because Ben + I almost made one as well!

{beep, boop}

As the crowd thinned and we were down to just family we barbecued for dinner and tried to relax some. Malakai did not have the same idea. Thankfully he ate some dinner but then he was back at running around, full of energy. He didn't rest for anything all day other than to eat and take a 1 hour nap.

{play time with G'Pa Jim}

It was no surprise then when later he had a hard time settling down and falling asleep. He finally got to sleep by 9pm and Ben and I settled in at 11pm. I am currently surrounded by boxes and bags of gifts (while the remainder are still at my in-laws) and no energy to find a place for them. Our next big task is to get the playroom together so that we have a place for all these things.

Malakai obviously had a fantastic 2nd birthday and despite the exhaustion Ben + I enjoyed it too. We felt loved and accomplished and couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate the birth of our first born.

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated our special boy!