Once again, sweet friends, you blew me away with your comments on Charlie’s birthday post. Thank you SO much for reading my reflections on this wild and beautiful vocation of motherhood and for letting me know that I’m not alone in the joys, heartaches, and everything in between. I’m so thankful for that!

Charlie’s birthday fell on a Saturday, so we happily planned a celebration for that very morning. I weighed a few different theme ideas (and filed some away for when he’s a little older) before landing on a classic: choo choo trains :) Our party was much smaller than last year’s and I really wanted to keep things simple, so I chose just a few details to include, like a cute cake topper, little wooden train favors, and an adorable (but still play-ready) outfit for the birthday boy! One thing that got nixed the week of the party: the idea I had to construct a “train” out of moving boxes for the kids to play in in the backyard. Then, I remembered that I hate crafts :) We put our new slide (one of Charlie’s gifts from us) out in the yard instead and it was a hit…and conveniently in the color palette! Here are a few photos from this special morning.

I think I’m going to take a selfie with him on each of his birthdays (I have one from last year too!)…surely that’s a tradition even a teenager will be okay with, right?

Once again, I know Charlie won’t remember these parties (and if party planning isn’t your thing, feel NO guilt in skipping parties for your little kids!), but they are so, so special to Dave and me. This day and his first birthday party have literally been some of my most treasured memories over the last two years, and I already can’t wait to see what’s in store for this year–I think I’m going to love this age!

Cup train stickers | Straws | Gold 2 balloon | Yum napkins | Red and white plates | Wooden train favors | Charlie’s outfit | White fan garland | Cake topper | Cake recipe (had to link this because I had the hardest time finding a dairy-free, egg-free vanilla cake, and this one turned out SO well! My tweaks were using coconut milk instead of almond, decreasing the cups of sugar in the frosting to three, and using two 9″ round pans instead of three 8″ round pans (cooked for 25 minutes). It was delicious and Charlie has been asking for birthday cake for every meal since ;)