Owen's 2nd Birthday Bash!

Guess who turned two on August 24? Owen! His birthday landed on a Monday this year, so we had several celebrations! On Sunday, we started out the day with family photos. The shoot was supposed to be both two year photos of Owen and maternity photos. Unfortunately, Owen was less than cooperative. He definitely has a mind of his own! The maternity shots turned out great...
...but the best photo of Owen was one shot as we were on our way out the door...
After a trying photo shoot, we headed home to open Owen's gift from us...

"Oooh! A present for me!"

"What is this thing??"

Owen got a helmet and bike trailer - he wasn't too sure what to think of it at first...

But as soon as his Papa took off, he had a blast...

On Owen's birthday, he started out the morning with one of his favorite snacks...peanuts.

"Cheese!!"

Then we were off to Perkins to meet up with Papa, Grandma S and Great Grandma and Grandpa D for lunch. Owen had fun opening gifts and hanging out with his grandparents. That evening after dinner, out came the birthday cupcakes. Owen's musical tastes have gotten VERY sophisticated these days. He only likes the professionals, so when the cupcakes came out along with the singing of "Happy Birthday" he quickly let us know that our singing was not up to par and stopped the song. Then came the birthday hat...oh boy!! Owen let us know that he was NOT going to wear such a silly thing!
So we decided to come back to cupcakes later and headed to the family room to open presents.

"Yippee! Cash!!"

Owen even got his very own medical kit, including a stethoscope, blood pressure gauge, beeper, thermometer, and syringe. Owen really took a liking to the syringe. I think he's seen his Papa give Mama one too many shots. Owen quickly picked up the syringe and...
...went to work giving Mama a shot in the abdomen...

Then it was back to dessert. This time we knew no singing and no hats!! Owen got really excited when he saw his cupcake lit up with candles...
He blew out the candles like a big boy...


Owen liked blowing out the candles so much, that he asked to do it again and again. So we of course obliged - it was his birthday after all! After he was done blowing out his candles for the third time, he decided it was time to dig into the cupcake...
Not being really fond of cake these days, Owen quickly moved on to the ice cream...

"Oh my! Do I have an ice cream mustache??"

"Guess to turned two years old today..."

"ME!!!!!!!!"

Owen's big party was on Saturday. Being a big car fan these days, the party had a race car theme and Owen had a blast helping to decorate...He also thought that his number 2 balloon was pretty cool...

Owen's Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins were all able to make it. We had a full house of 20+ people. Owen loved giving his Cousin Mariah hugs....
And he had fun opening present after present and making sure to take time to play with each in between. After he opened his first gift (a truck and two cars) he asked for more cars! He sure can be demanding!
Luckily there was no shortage of cars. Owen would place each new car on the table...
After all the presents were opened, it was time to eat! What else would we have to eat but Owen's favorite...pizza!!

Owen dug in...And so did his guests...

Then it was time for cake. Once again Owen put the kibosh on his guests version of "Happy Birthday".
Then it was time to blow out the candles. He blew and blew, but the candle just wouldn't go out! So I moved the candle a bit closer and...
...out it went! Everyone clapped, including Owen!

Once again, Owen enjoyed the ice cream more than the cake...
By the time he was done, his whole head was covered in ice cream!!After the sugar overload, it was time for the pinata! The kids each took turns pulling a string to try to get the candy out.

Emma was by far the most excited about the pinata (and she also left with the most candy!)
After a fun filled day, we were all zonked and ready for bed. Owen gave everyone hugs goodbye and we hit the hay.