Blessed Beyond Measure: Happy Birthday to Caleb Andrew

Caleb Andrew Landes at 2 weeks old

Caleb Andrew Landes at 2 years old

Can not believe my baby boy just turned 2 years old!!! I think with each child time flies by even faster. So thankful for the past two years with Caleb Andrew. He is such a blessing to our family, full of life and happiness.

Caleb's birthday began as all our others do... with birthday muffins! He was pretty excited to see us come in and sing "Happy Birthday" to him. He kept pointing at the candle saying "hot". While he munched on his muffin we all sat down together as Gabe read Dr. Suess' Happy Birthday to You. Caleb really liked looking at all the creatures in the book and made noises for each of them.

After church we got things ready for his little birthday party that afternoon. Because he has been head over heels for our dog, Ollie, since he was a baby, we decided to have a puppy party. Lately he has gone from calling dogs 'puppy' to calling all dogs (or furry creatures for that matter) Ollie. So to Caleb we had an Ollie party!

Between church services I ran home to get the balloons to the house so I wouldn't have to do that with all the kids in tow on a windy day. Foresaw that being a disaster. So when the kids and I got home from church, Caleb was ecstatic to see his birthday balloons all over the house. He somehow knew it was all for him!

I spent the time between church and the party decorating his cake and cupcakes. As soon as he saw the puppy cupcakes, he wanted one.... BAD. I had to put Isaac and Julia on guard. In hindsight I should have waited to decorate the cakes while he was napping.

I got a lot of compliments on his cake and cupcakes, which is kind of funny to me because it was super simple. I always make my kids birthday cakes. Some have flopped and some have been great successes. Either way, it is something special I do for them. My goal when looking for cake ideas is to find something cute and easy. This cake and cupcakes definitely goes into the easy category. The cake was baked in a glass bowl and then placed in a brand new, never been used dog dish. I iced it and topped it with cocoa puffs to make it look like a bowl of dog food. Super easy! Super cute! And might I add super yummy! Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!!! The cupcakes were also chocolate with chocolate icing. The ears were nutter butter cookies, the nose/mouth area was a nilla wafer, and the eyes were candy. And there you have it.... easy, cute, and yummy!

This particular puppy seems a little cross eyed! I found these eye candies at Wal-Mart. Made my job even easier!

Once Caleb's friends arrived for the party, we headed outside to play. We had a water table, moon sand, sprinkler, wading pool, and bubbles. Seemed like they all had a lot of fun. I was thankful for the cooler weather. Had his party been just one week earlier, I don't think we would have been able to go outside due to the extreme heat. After awhile we came in to eat, open presents, and have cake. Caleb was fun to watch as he opened his gifts. He is so animated sometimes. Here are some of the gifts he got...

Puppy Dog Bubble blower (he loves, loves, loves this. I think we have already gone through a set of batteries)
Talking Chuck truck
Fur Real Puppy
Elmo (he now MUST sleep with his Elmo, whom he calls Ollie - shocker right?!)
Mr. Potato Head (with a gazillion little pieces - yes this is one I bought for him. He loves it!)
Baseball set
and a New Tricycle!! (still won't put his feet on the pedals, would rather Flintstone it!)

doggie bone rice crispie treats

My lil' helper. He was my Head Taste Tester!

Gabe made this dog house birthday sign. My intention was to have the kids pose for a picture. I only got Julia and Isaac to do it. I couldn't even get Caleb to sit still long enough for a picture.