Secrets

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I've got a secret.

Promise you won't laugh!

...or roll your eyes...

I've started planning Josiah's 3rd birthday and Micah's 1st birthday.

Let me remind you that Josiah turns 3 in August (7 months away) and Micah is only 10 weeks old right now...

I CAN'T HELP IT!!!!

Hey! You promised not to laugh!

In my online baby group (for moms of August 2009 babies), someone asked what parties we have coming up in 2012. The only events I have planned so far are the boys' birthdays. And I've had an idea rolling around in my head since I was pregnant of one birthday theme. I just wasn't sure if I should save it for the future or which boy I should do it for. The question got me thinking... and the more I thought... the more I wanted to pin down some ideas. So I went to PINTEREST!

The idea that I have for Micah's 1st birthday... probably... is an Oregon Duck football theme. If you're not from this area, then you may not understand that I live in Duck City, USA. This is home to the University of Oregon, and the #3 loudest stadium in the country is only 3 miles from my front door. Even though I don't understand football and can barely tolerate watching a game, when it comes to the Ducks, you can't help but be a fan and it's the only football game I'll even put effort into watching. It's necessary to have at least one Oregon hoodie in your closet, as well as a Duck decal on your car, and a U of O blanket on your bed. So, back to the party, I was thinking of how fun it would be to have a cute Oregon Duck football party, complete with yellow and green decor, footballs and rubber duckies everywhere, and stadium food to eat. I have many more ideas, but the pictures of them don't exist yet ;-) so you'll have to wait 9 1/2 more months to see them (or at least until I start making party decor... which might be next week at this rate!). You can check out my ideas on my full pinterest board here, but here are some highlights:

(all of these and the following pictures are on my boards and linked to their original sources)

So, if I do this theme for Micah's birthday, I was left with what theme to do for Josiah's. He is still an avid Mickey Mouse fan- his favorite of all characters and tv shows. But we did Mickey Mouse for his 2nd birthday. And his second favorite show/movie is Horton Hears a Who, but we did a Dr. Seuss theme for his 1st birthday! Being the party planner that I am, I can't repeat a birthday theme like that! Now, I know I have 7 months for Josiah to grow and his interests to change, but if I'm considering his likes right now, I was left with nothing else that he really loves THAT much. However, I've come up with a few themes. Here are my top 3 favorites:

1) One thought I had, actually the most recent one, was a Lego party. If there's one toy that Josiah loves more than others it's his building blocks/Lego's. You can use real Lego's wherever possible, Lego molds to make candy, soap, or crayons (just specify so the latter 2 aren't eaten as well :-) ). Pretty much anything that's a rectangle or square can have dots added to it to make it a Lego as well. Lots of bright colors and seems pretty easy to do!

2) The next thought I had was a superhero party. Without seeing pictures and only going by the themes I told him, this was Jesse's first choice for Josiah's birthday party. I, of course, want to make capes and masks for every child that may come and even a bib for the little babies that might be there! How can you resist the telephone booth, where Clark Kent transforms into Superman?! And you can use speech bubbles and action words everywhere to make everything POP!

3) My favorite theme, which I think would be adorable at Josiah's pre-school age, and is perfect for August and especially the area we live is a camping themed party! You can use s'mores in a million different ways:

You can also do a trail mix bar, "worms in dirt" (gummy worms and Oreo's), "ants on a log" (raisins on peanut butter and celery), bear claws, "catch of the day" (swedish/gold fish), "twigs" (pretzels), "bait" (gummy worms), "grizzly bears" (gummy bears), and "snakes" (red vines). 

In addition to food, tents and sleeping bags can be laid out, hobo bags (bindles) for favors- including flashlights and canteens to take home, rustic signs and teddy bears, and anything that includes sticks, bugs, fishing, etc. can be easily incorporated.

With this theme, living in the Pacific Northwest gives us a great advantage. I wouldn't want to host the party too far from town, but it'd be easy to have it in the country or even at a campsite.

What would your vote be?

Of course, as the months go by and it becomes more reasonable to ACTUALLY be planning their parties, I'll narrow down the details and post about the things I start making. It doesn't hurt to start thinking, though, right? 

Someone tell me I'm not crazy...