Violet's 2nd Birthday - A Dumbo Party!

Heather Sunday, February 24, 2013 Birthdays, Cake Decorating, Parties, Violet

Yesterday we threw a little party to celebrate Violet turning two on the twentieth.

Violet LOVES Dumbo. She's been really into her Dumbo movie for a while now, and she calls all elephants "duboo", so we thought it'd make for a nice party theme.

I made her an over-the-top three tiered cake with a color flow Dumbo topper for her 2nd birthday cake. I love how it turned out, pretty much exactly how I had it in my head! {This doesn't always happen.}

I made three of these little color flow Dumbo toppers, color flow is notoriously fragile. Fortunately, my best and favorite one survived to be used--isn't Dumbo the sweetest Disney character? I love him.

And sometimes I wish I made cakes more often, but I love that I can pull out the skills I learned in cake decorating class when my girls need a birthday cake.

We rented a popcorn machine!

The popcorn was a hit. So easy to make and serve, I'd do it again for any party.

I made cake balls too.

{You know, cake pops without the sticks.

I hate dealing with the sticks. So I don't.}

And some Nutter Butters went well with the Dumbo theme...

{I got some party inspiration here, have to give credit where it's due.}

Piglets in a blanket... Jan's idea. Loved it, easy and tasty finger food.

Our party spread is never complete, however, without Kellee's gorgeous cookies.

And also a little vintage flair.

I did some decorating with pages from vintage Dumbo books.

Speaking of Dumbo books, some Little Golden Books made easy favors for families who came to Viv's party.

This vintage 1950s Dumbo book I found on Etsy. I love vintage Dumbo. Did you know the movie came out in 1941? It's quite old!

I put some more book pages on this IKEA canopy. Easy, cute party decor.

Papa and grandma were the first guests to arrive, but we had a pretty packed house once everyone got here.

The last guest to arrive was a very special one, the kids were waiting for them at the door...

Yep. We hired a clown.

The kids LOVED him! He was, actually, a really good clown.

Even the adults were fascinated by the clown.

Still, Violet wouldn't go near him. She stayed in the safety of our arms most of the time that our special visitor was here.

Lots of kids got to be volunteers for the clown's antics, here Rebecca and Eisley are helping with the Chicken Dance. The clown chose them because, as you can see, they're about the same height.

Justin and my mom both admitted that they'd had reservations about the clown idea, but in the end everybody loved him--especially the kids.

Eisley's face as he piled the hospital gear into her arms to care for her "sick daddy" was too cute. She got really concerned!

He gave Violet a pom pom as a birthday gift, which she promptly used to "bless" all the guests at her party. She went around the whole room one-by-one, it was really cute.

I always kick myself for not getting enough photos of guests, but here is a good one of Kellee, Jan, and me. {Jan has more photos here by the way!}

I really love planning and designing parties for my loved ones, I consider it a hobby {I'm a hobby hoarder} and it's a fun creative outlet. Something about creating pretty memories for special occasions really appeals to me. Last night after the party was over, Justin and I talked about our birthday memories from our childhood. I hope Violet remembers at least a little bit from yesterday, but if she doesn't, then here is this post to remind her someday!

With the clown gone, it was time to dig into that cake. We all sang the classic birthday song, Suwannee River, of course, to Violet and she blew out the candles.

I can't believe my beautiful baby is TWO!!

Even though we were short on cake--what, with only three tiers--I let her have the top tier.

Time for presents! She made out on gifts, she really did.

I thought you all might like to see what the party aftermath is, party blogs never show you the mess left over!

So we told Violet to get to work. Hey, her party, her mess, right?

Happy Birthday Violet! It was a good one, surrounded with family & friends whom we love and who love you.

We love you dearly!

And thank you to everyone who came to celebrate Violet with us!

It was a blessing to have a packed house.

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Here is my little love, Violet Grace, two years ago on her birth day:

XO
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You can see even more of our Dumbo party photos here at my Flickr account.
My friend Jan took a bunch of amazing photos too {I might have used a few in this post, thank you Jan!} and you can see them all here.

Or see Violet's 1st birthday party from last year here.

13 comments

AnonymousFebruary 24, 2013 at 3:34 PM
Beautiful Photos of a Beautiful Birthday Girl and her wonderful party. She's lucky to have a wonderful Mom like you!--Papa
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AdrianeFebruary 24, 2013 at 4:05 PM
It's adorable, Heather! (Although, admittedly, I would have been hiding out in somebody's lap if I had seen the clown too. I may or may not have a small phobia. Mommy!!)
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GretchenFebruary 24, 2013 at 5:06 PM
Your cake, your decor, the whole party is gorgeous! Happy birthday, Violet!
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Vesuvius At HomeFebruary 24, 2013 at 7:33 PM
Amazing. Gorgeous pictures. I'm kinda scared of the clown, even from here. How weird you mention Suwanee River because we just passed it yesterday, I think. WHO IS CASEY JUNIOR??? I don't let my kids watch Dumbo. It makes me too sad. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIV I LOVE YOU ENOUGH TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS!!!
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AnonymousFebruary 25, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Another very, very special birthday for Violet. Everything was amazing, as always. You did a beautiful job, Heather. As Dad said, your girls are so blessed to have you for a mom :-)
And the clown--he really was a kinder, gentler clown and everybody loved him. He had a sweet, soft (for a clown) voice which rendered him non-threatening. He wasn't "in your face", as a lot of clowns can be.
Anyway, great job, honey. I'm proud of you :-)
And Happy Birthday, Sweet Violet of the expressive face! We love you SO MUCH!!!

~Mom
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KelleeMarch 1, 2013 at 5:27 PM
Thanks for inviting us. It was a wonderful party as always! The girls will have so much fun looking at pictures and reminiscing about their awesome birthdays when they grow up!
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KatyJune 5, 2013 at 2:33 PM
Hi there!
I came across your adorable party when searching for "Dumbo" parties because I am planning one for my son! I was wondering where you were able to get that amount of golden books for the favors?
Thanks!
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