Birthdays... (Part 2)

So, Caleb's birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  Since we spent the weekend of his birthday at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, we are having a party this weekend to celebrate.  Nothing big, just a few friends, pizza and cupcakes at a local park.  He is really looking forward to it.

My boy is a bit unusual.  He is not really interested in current trends.  Which is awesome!  Except when it comes to planning birthday parties.  Last year, he wanted Batman, which turned out to be surprisingly difficult to find.  It was apparently the summer of Spiderman.  So, I couldn't find any paper plates or anything with Batman, but I was able to get a Batman cake from Publix (which I apparently neglected to take a picture of).  And an awesome Batman giftbag...

Almost as big as he is, haha...

This year we had a different challenge.  You see, Caleb loves, LOVES puppies.  Ask him what he loves, and he will say "Puppies!  Oh, and my mom."  Yeah, he loves puppies.  So, when it came time to pick a theme, he asked for puppies.  Sounds easy enough, right?  I mean, kids love puppies.  Puppies are timeless.  Just head to the grocery store and pick out a puppy cake.  Yeah, not so much.  There were Blue's Clues cakes and Littlest Pet Shop cakes, but that's not what we were looking for.  No problem, there must be puppy cupcake toppers somewhere?  Nope, nada.  Well, there were those strange looking picks and candles, but I didn't like them enough to spend the money on them.  So what is a somewhat creative mom to do?

Yep, I headed out to my favorite stores, Joann and Hobby Lobby.  I perused the scrapbooking sections for hours (at least that is what it felt like to Caleb) looking for the perfect puppy paraphanalia.  Stickers, stamps, punches and paper.  I have no interest in scrapbooking, but I love all of the crap involved in it.  *Sigh*

Oh, yeah, so... armed with my trusty coupons, I bought everything I needed...

Well, almost everything.  Had to head back for more cardstock. 

Fast-forward a few hours of punching, gluing and stamping, and I turned out a couple dozen custom made cupcake toppers.

Ta-dah!

Not too bad, if I do say so myself.  Especailly considering they came completely from my head.  The blue and green ones are for the kids, the brown ones are for the adults.

Oh, that little guy?  That's Mack.

Cutie, huh?

Mack is part of a set of vintage salt-and-pepper shakers.  The other one is just as cute.  My grandmother worked for Mack Trucks, so she had all kinds of bulldogs around the house.  Caleb was fascinated by these shakers as a baby.  I like to think my grandmother is pleased.

Back to the party plans, luckily we were able to find puppy party supplies pretty easily.  Online.  Thank God for the internet. 

So, this weekend should be fun.  It is our first party with friends rather than just family.  I kept it simple, low stress.  Hopefully.  I'll let you know how it goes.

For now, I'll leave you with this...

Don't you just love that face?