A pig and monkey birthday party!

Pig and monkey? Seems random, right? I asked the boys weeks ago what kind of birthday cakes they wanted. Their answers? "Monkey cake" from Ben, and "pig cake" from Sam. Shouldn't have surprised me, they each have a stuffed animal to which they are very attached -- a pig for Sam, a monkey for Ben. I started researching how to make a pig cake and a monkey cake, and thought I was prepared.

After sending out the invitation, one of husband's friends offered to make the cake. She has a small side-business that is a cake-making shop, so it seemed appropriate to let her make the cakes. When she asked what we wanted, all I told her was something with a monkey and a pig.


The day of the party turned out to be beautiful -- 70 degrees and sunny -- and my parents were at the house early in the morning to help wrangle the boys so I could prepare for the party. After a quick trip to the grocery store (it's amazing how fast I am when I am on my own -- major grocery shopping in 20 minutes!) to pick up supplies and balloons, and I was back home. My mom helped with all of the food prep, and the boys played with PeePaw and each other so we could prepare.

The party went great, but Ben was clearly not feeling well. On Wednesday, the boys and I ended up at the pediatrician's office due to Sam's labored breathing, and the doctor diagnosed him with "severe croup," gave him a steroid, instructed me on what to do should his breathing become any more labored, and told me that he questioned whether we would get through the night without a trip to Children's Medical for a breathing treatment or oxygen for Sam. Ahh, lovely. We got through the night just fine, thankfully, but Ben was clearly not feeling well on the day of the party and wanted nothing to do with cake or presents.

We spent a lot of time playing outside, as Mimi and PeePaw brought the boys a sandbox, and they just love sand. Grandma Lola is getting the boys a swingset for their birthday, and I can't wait to pick that out and have it delivered! It will be so great to open the doors and let the boys outside, rather than have to drive to the playground. I told the husband we definitely need to fence a portion of the yard to contain the monkeys, however!

That night, Ben was clearly not himself, and I took him temperature -- 102.7. Poor guy, no wonder he wasn't excited about his birthday party! (don't worry, I warned the other moms about the possible infectious diseases roaming around the house prior to the party!).

All in all, we had a great weekend with family and friends, and I am so grateful to all the wonderful people in my life who love Sam and Ben and were here to celebrate their big day!











** photos compliments of Becky