Joe and Faye are 3 years and 2 days apart. They actually came very close to having the same birthday. I went to the hospital “in labor” with Faye the night before Joe’s 3rd birthday and spent about 6 hours there without any progression. Since I was already very overdue, the doctor suggested I start the induction process, but I decided to go back home instead and wait it out. I really didn’t want my kids to have to share a birthday. I was induced 2 days later.
There are pros and cons to having their birthdays so close. The biggest benefit is being able to throw 1 big joint birthday party for our families, which means less travel for them, less work for me, and more excitement for the kids. On the down side, this year Joe also wanted his own “friend” birthday party, and I’m guessing Faye will eventually want her own, too. NOT looking forward to that in a few years.
Anyway, I asked Joe what theme he wanted for the party and he picked bugs. At first I tried to talk him out of the idea (it didn’t feel very cute for a little girl’s first birthday), but I eventually got on board. I figured I could focus on creepy bugs for Joe and sweet butterflies for Faye. (I anticipate this joint boy/girl theme being a problem in the future.)
Since it was just family, I actually kept the party fairly low key. Well, low key for me anyway. I walked through Hobby Lobby one night and found some random bug things and sort of threw everything together last minute. My biggest hang up was Faye’s high chair. I had ordered cheap paper butterflies on Amazon but couldn’t figure out what I wanted to stick them to. I tried to make a tulle skirt look like a butterfly net, but it just didn't hang well. I ended up going with a hula skirt (cut short) for her high chair and used the tulle as a table runner instead.
Joe requested meatball subs for lunch which worked perfectly because Faye loves them, too. It was so easy -- I just threw some frozen meatballs in my crockpot with marinara and mozzarella cheese, and bought some deli-style hotdog buns at the grocery store. I stole the Babybel cheese ladybugs off of Pinterest and made a few other bug-appropriate snacks like "butterfly" pasta and veggies & "bug" dip. For dessert, I baked each of my kiddos their own birthday cake so they both felt special. Faye’s cake, of course, had to have blueberries on hers since they are her favorite. I made dirt cake for everyone else, and my mom made the cute bug sugar cookies. I will say, this theme was surprisingly easy once I got going with it.
Joe was super excited with how it all came together, and has been hiding all the fake bugs around the house to scare me. And as you can see from the pics, Faye loved smashing her first taste of sugar! Overall, it was a successful first joint birthday party!
Happy birthday Joe & Faye! I love you!
Woah! Some of the things look so real. I would be scared at first, I am not kidding! But I am sure these bugs and butterflies would have been delicious. My sister is getting married next month in one of the wedding venues Los Angeles and I think this theme would be great for her bridal shower party.
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