Fireman Party

When I asked Jack a few months back what theme he wanted for his birthday party this year, I reminded him that his 2nd birthday was a choo choo party to help him understand what a theme was.  Of course, then he said he wanted a choo choo party.  SO, I took the liberty of deciding on a theme on my own (while I still can!!).  Fireman theme it is!

(Shirt purchased on etsy.com from seller: SweetThingsforBaby)

We had a great party with our immediate families and some of our closest friends.  We got fire hats and fire safety coloring books for all the kids courtesy of Grandma Clayton, who works at a fire house.  We also gave each kiddo a fire-themed book in their goody bag: a board book for the babies, Curious George and the Firefighters for the preschoolers and The Fire Cat or Little Critter: Going to the Firehouse for the big 1st and 2nd graders.

Austin Kuehler a.k.a. Ozzie

Charlie the Fireman

We also were inspired by some ideas we saw on pinterest and made cardboard fire trucks to play in.  I had the idea and planned to make just a handful of them, but my crafty husband was having none of my planned half-hearted attempt and took the project and ran with it.  He ended up making 10 fire trucks - one for each of the kids (excluding the babies).  They were a hit and were an extra favor for the kids to take home with them.

 A fire truck race (I use this term loosely):

The highlight was the real fire truck that came to visit!!  Grandma Clayton arranged for the guys to come  make a visit and let us check out their truck for the small price of to go plates for the three firemen (and Jason smoked them each a slab of ribs the following week as a thank you).  Side note: I'm told most fire stations will do this for you if you ask, so it might be a good idea even for those that don't have the awesome hook-up we had.  ANYway, this part was a surprise to Jack because if the fire house gets a call during that time, they obviously have to back out.  We didn't want a disappointed birthday boy!!

Jack was pretty shy, especially at first.  He eventually warmed up and explored the truck a little bit, but only with one of his parents or grandparents very close by.  Some of his friends were really into it.

Grandma Clayton & Jack

Connor Neu

Paige (our niece) & Sloan Schneider

  

Sweet Lily Bug (our niece)

Grandpa Lang, Lily, and Jack helping Charlie with his hat

Nathan Mincher

Kate & Zoey Kuehler

Aidan Neu

All the kids EXCEPT the birthday boy, who refused to be in the picture.  Of course.

I'd say the Kuehler kids enjoyed it the most.  Here is Zoey spraying water with Austin nearby

Charlie & Grandpa Lang

Charlie & Austin checking it out

Grandpa and his boys

When it was time for the truck to leave, they asked Jack if he wanted to blow the big horn.  He agreed, and climbed in to step on the pedal.  He was impressed by how loud the horn was and was then very excited about the truck and firemen (too late!!).  They pulled away and he wanted to stay and watch until they drove by again after turning around, when he very enthusiastically waved at them and yelled thank you.  Fun.

I also attempted to make this cake from Betty Crocker's website

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7PgDvxDG1Q)

My version is not nearly as pretty, but at least you can tell what it's supposed to be.  That's a success in my book.  I used Oreos for wheels, rolled black licorice for hoses and gumdrops for lights.

We also had a pull-string pinata (perfect for the three year-old crowd!) shaped like a dalmation with a fire hat on.  It was fun.  I had to post the video below because my mom was the very inexperienced videographer and It. Is. Priceless.  I seriously laughed out loud.  Sorry Mom, this is just too good bad not to share.

Jack received lots of great presents, many of which were Toy Story-themed, so he was a happy camper.  His favorite was the big Buzz Lightyear he got from Grandma and Grandpa Clayton, but he also received a Leap Frog Leapster (handheld learning/games), a TAG Reader, a Buzz sleeping bag, baseball bases (heavy duty, I might add), an adorable ball cap that says "jclay II" (thanks Aunt Kelly!) and lots of other fun toys.

All in all, the party was a success and everyone, most importantly the birthday boy, had a nice time!!  Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us and spoiled our little three year old with gifts!