Audrey's 2nd Birthday Party

Now that I have two children, and they are growing up at lightening speed before my very eyes, you may notice that my blog is becoming a little more toddler/baby/child focused. I still plan to focus heavily on baking and cooking, but will also include some crafts and other fun things. I am NOT crafty, but I am working on it, and enjoying every step of the journey with my little munchkins. :-)

My first baby girl turned two years old on Saturday, and we had a Sesame Street themed party with family on her birthday, and a party with her friends on Monday. I'm really happy with how everything turned out, and wanted to share in case any other moms need some ideas.

Food

Mini meatballs (TJ's precooked frozen mini meatballs, slow cooked in amazing sauce... recipe below)

Pigs in a blanket (TJ's nitrate-free cocktail pups wrapped in Pillsbury crescent dough)

Mac 'n' Cheese Balls (TJ's)

Crab artichoke dip (Whole Foods)

Black bean hummus dip (Whole Foods; this dip is amazing and probably easy to DIY)

Veggie tray....sliced up red, yellow, and green peppers and carrot sticks

Meatball Sauce Recipe

*For 3 bags of mini meatballs, I combined three jars of Trader Joe's organic marinara sauce, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, and 1 cup of blackberry preserves (I used a mixture of blackberry and raspberry this time, but usually just use blackberry; whatever you have on hand will work). Blend well, cover meatballs in crockpot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Other:

Sesame Street Cupcakes (boxed yellow cake mix, vanilla icing mixed with various food coloring, Oreos for the mouths, marshmallows and m&ms for the eyes)

I used this website for inspiration: http://itsallabouto.blogspot.com/2009/04/sesame-street-birthday.html

I bought a Wilton icing bag set at Michael's for about $8, and purchased the "grass" tip separately for about $3. I have NEVER even been to that section of Michael's before, and knew absolutely nothing about icing cupcakes (except just using a spatula and going to town). If I can do it, you can too.

Elmo/Oscar/Cookie Monster/Big Bird Goodie Bags (I used my friend, Missy Mellen's photos from her son's birthday party for inspiration)

I purchased the bags, in groups of 13, at Michaels for about $3 a bunch. Then I cut eyes, noses, and mouths out of construction paper. It was kind of fun, and took maybe a little over an hour while my wonderful mother-in-law played with the girls. :)

I think both parties turned out well, and Audrey loved seeing her favorite characters throughout our house. We still have a few Sesame Street balloons floating around the house, that I'm sure won't be going away anytime soon. ;-)