Birthday Celebration and Pajama Day

On Sunday, we celebrated Elliot's 2nd birthday. We didn't do a party or anything fancy but rather enjoyed spending time together as a family of 4. Just because his birthday is right before Christmas doesn't mean that we skim on decorations or presents. We celebrate his birthday the same as any other birthday in this house. So, I got busy and purchased some balloons (Elliot loves Thomas the train and Amelia got an Ariel balloon) and decorated the table the night before. Even our Elf wanted to join in to the fun.

My little guy seemed pretty surprised and happy about his gifts. He got a book from us, a ride-on motorcycle (purchased used from a friend), a stuffed Goofy, a wooden puzzle, a dinosaur, and an Iron Men doll.

Elliot also received gifts from family and friends and has been getting really good at unwrapping for the past 14 days. Thank you all for the thoughtful gifts for my little man. He loves every single one of them. 

Daddy decided that Elliot needed an action figure and he sure was right. This kid (and my husband) love playing with Iron Man:

Mommy and her baby boy:

Happy kids:

Even though we had plans to go to Charlotte that day to ride the train/ trolley and hang out at a big park, we ended up not going to due a Panthers Football game that would have made the drive and town very crowded. So we rearranged our plans and took the kids to a nearby mall to ride the escalators and play on the two indoor playgrounds. Both kids didn't mind the change-up as they had tons of fun. 

We finished the morning off with lunch at Firehouse Subs and then went home for their naps. In the afternoon, the birthday boy got his birthday cupcake and a song. He sang along too:

After talking to some loved ones on Skype, Elliot and Amelia enjoyed playing for the rest of the afternoon in the backyard, where it was unusually warm for this time of year. 

 

My little boy truly enjoyed a fun-filled birthday and loved everything about it. That same night, the choir at our church hosted a Christmas Special "Darkness Into Light" and while Derrick put the kids to bed, I enjoyed some lovely Christmas music in a peaceful and relaxing setting. 

The next day was Pajama Day at Amelia's preschool and my little girl was very excited and ready to go. She had picked out her pj (Elf on the Shelf) already on Friday and couldn't wait to slip on her boots and go to school. 

All the teachers and almost every child wore their favorite pj and the kids enjoyed watching a Christmas movie while eating popcorn and sipping hot cocoa. Here are Amelia and her classmates:

Elliot wanted to have a pj day too, so he wore his Elf on Shelf pj all day long at home.

 

It had been a great couple of days full of celebration, love, laughter and fun and I will cherish these memories for a long time to come.