If I had to pick which thing my son loves more, dogs or balls, I’d be in a pickle so Doggie Ball party it was!

I made dog ears for each kid to wear in lieu of birthday hats. I got a bunch of sparklie headbands from the dollar store and fashioned some felt & fur ears. They even left them on for 3 minutes!

The hit of the party was the dog bone dig. I had the “big” kids bury the dog treats in the sandbox and then the younger kids search for them. They collected the bones in the dog bowls I also scored from the dollar store. At the end of the party we gave a box of slightly sandy dog bones to a dad at the park who had a dog at home, so no dog bones were wasted in the making of this party.

I made chocolate cupcakes and decorated each with a negative space dog bone. I cut out dog bone shapes out of paper, put them on top of the frosting and then sprinkled confectioners sugar over it to leave the bone shape. I didn’t factor in the wind but it was a party for a 2 year old so, really, a little wonky is just right. I also made some dog themed chocolates for the kids to take home. Candy molds rock, minimum effort for maximum effect. I tried creating candies with multiple colors this time, not so tricky and kinda fun. I will admit that I, myself, would not eat one of these candies on a $100 dare. Something about those little melting disks screams carnauba wax. I’ll have to experiment with higher quality ingredients next time.

We served the cupcakes in dog bowls that the kids took home. The wind never allowed us to light the candles but that did not deter my little guy. He’s been practicing. Every time we said something about his birthday he @@@B……l……e……w@@@ out imaginary candles, very sweet.

The goodie bags were stuffed with stickers, water colors, a notebook and a bone shaped carabiner.

And these didn’t quite make it to the party table:

You are just going to have to trust me when I tell you that these are meant to be dog bone shaped.

Reminder: do not treat the timer as just a suggestion.

edit: These were supposed to be dog biscuits with butter, cinnamon and sugar on top.

Our other big activity was playing “fetch” with a bunch of balls we brought from home and some winning additions to the collection received as presents (Thanks E, S and K)! I think they all made it home with us. A big thanks to K for risking poison ivy to rescuing the basket ball and to E for crawling under the car to fetch the much loved Hello Kitty ball.

This decorating was done for us prior to the party. My friend who likes to take a firm stand on graffiti is planning to bring a sharpie her next trip to the park and change “PooP” into “BooB” – you know, for the greater good.

Sign of a good time spent:

Happy Birthday little guy. You make me stretch my parenting muscles and you challenge me to be better. Most days I thank you for that! 🙂 I appreciate your wonder at the world and your capacity to love. You have taught me to appreciate the unique gifts each member of our family brings to the table and I am so glad we are a table of four.

I am buckling my seatbelt and looking forward to YOU at TWO!