Carson's 2nd Birthday Party

If you haven't seen what we did for Carson's first birthday, check it out here.  We did a whale theme last year since he wasn't really "into" anything yet.  This year he is into so many different things it was hard to choose!

I didn't do much outside because it was supposed to rain that day.  I stuck a balloon on the mailbox and made this quick DIY sign for one of our garden hooks.  I really wanted to do duct tape train tracks on the sidewalk but the tape wouldn't stick.  It was a total Pinterest fail.  How sad!

Here's a few of the banners I made.  The photo banner is a picture of Carson every month from months 13-23.  Scroll down to see a college of the photos!

Here's another DIY sign I made using a cardboard cake base and streamers.

I decorated the mantel with a Carson banner and some of Carson's photos.

6 months - 12 months - 18 months

I love our invitations!  The Etsy seller was so easy to work with!

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I decided not to buy a cake this year for two reasons: 1.) I didn't know how many people were coming for sure and 2.) it saved a lot of money!  I made homemade cupcakes instead and I think it was a success!

These snickerdoodle cupcakes are the bomb.com.  I'll be sharing the recipe very soon!

Since I didn't have a super fancy cake like last year, I decided to dress up my cupcakes with some homemade toppers!  These Oreo cupcakes were pretty good, too.  They had a hidden Oreo in the bottom!

I stole this food train idea from Pinterest.  The Thomas toy was actually a hand me down from some cousins and it worked perfectly!

Beverage station!  I made strawberry lemonade by making strawberry ice cubes and everyone seemed to enjoy it!  The ice cubes are super simple: puree strawberry, pour into ice cube tray, freeze!  I added a little extra sugar and water to my strawberry puree.

My mother-in-law bought this little name train for Carson about a year ago and it was perfect for the party!

The birthday boy!  I love his birthday shirt because he can wear it again and even pass it on to his brother.  I loved having a custom "Carson" shirt for his first birthday but didn't think it was necessary this year.

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I found this favor idea on Pinterest and though it was super cute!  (Seriously, how would we ever throw a party without Pinterest these days?!)  The bandanas are from Hobby Lobby and the hats and whistles are from Amazon.  You can also find everything through Oriental Trading but I wanted fast shipping so I went with Amazon!  Plus, Amazon was cheaper!

{whistles}  {hats}

Here's a closer look at the pictures I included on the banner:

Here's a look at the thank you notes I used.  I used a photo card last year and it was a big hit so I wanted to do it again!  I took the photo myself and ordered the card through Walmart!