What a Day for a Two-Year-Old!

In the future, how can I possibly beat a birthday that included a bicycle rack, a Crazy Gorilla, a vacuum cleaner ride, a plastic microphone, and a tissue paper explosion? I do not think that it is even possible.

Anyway, here's a recap of the little guy's second birthday! Woot woot!!

The requisite birthday morning bedhead shot (an up-and-coming tradition in our family):

A brand-new birthday tradition -- the morning present (it was a tiny set of musical instruments): Tim came along to Weston's weekly music class that morning, and in addition to the regular musical activities, we sang Happy Birthday, ate sweet treats, and... oh the joy... played on the bike rack outside the church building:
I like this picture, even though Tim is making a seriously goofy face. (It says to me, "Ew, Weston, you have snot everywhere. Here, let me get you a tissue."):

In the afternoon, we visited Chuck E. Cheese's for some playtime. The first thing Weston did was run over to what he calls the "Crazy Gorilla." He is FASCINATED with this bizarre gorilla arcade game. (Basically, you put in a token and then hold the handles for as long as possible while they shake and vibrate. The longer you hold on, the more tickets you get. If you hold on the whole time, then smoke will come out of the gorilla's mouth and ears. It's the most bizarre arcade game in the history of the world.)

See the fascination?

Weston decided to mimic the gorilla:

We also "played" some Skeeball. (And by "played," I mean Weston threw the balls over and over again towards the circles, while Mommy and Daddy fetched them as they rolled back down again and fell to the floor. The balls only made it INTO the circles when Tim or I would eventually roll them. On the upside, this method of Skeeball can last 10 minutes or longer, as opposed to just a minute or so when played for real. FYI.):

Weston also got to ride on what we're assuming is a giant vacuum cleaner. Can you possibly imagine a more wondrous, magical ride than a giant vacuum cleaner? I cannot.

Weston's fascination with Crazy Gorilla is only matched by his fascination with Chuck E. Cheese's animatronic band:

Finally, we visited the prize counter. Even though we probably only earned 20 tickets that afternoon, we were able to score 80 tickets worth of prizes for Weston. (For months, I've been taking Weston to Chuck E. Cheese's to run around and play on the rides. I don't spend any money, except maybe to buy a soda because of a small feeling of guilt. But, I regularly spot random loner tickets that kids have dropped or forgotten. If I see a kid nearby, I'll give them to him/her, but if the tickets appear to be completely abandoned, I pocket them and save them up for Weston. Ta da!) And what can 80 fabulous tickets get you?? A crappy plastic microphone and a tiny lizard:

Fortunately, the crappy plastic microphone was a hit:

The entire drive back home looked like this:

When evening rolled around, it was party time!! There was delicious Costco pizza (which, in retrospect, appears to be quite greasy):

Two of our favorite buddies, Kate and Jacob, came over for the festivities, and because our kitchen table only seats 2, we ended up treating Weston to Living Room Dinner:

And then it was time for PRESENTS!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!

The train paraphernalia was by far the most popular with the little guy:

He also scored a sweet dump truck full of Mega Blocks (thanks K&J!!):

And did I mention that the dump truck came in a huge gift bag full of tissue paper? OHHH MAN, does this kid LOVE tissue paper:

Then it was time for cake! I'd like to thank the good people at Vons for their lovely contribution:

We sang Happy Birthday:

Weston got ready:

He nailed one candle:

And then he got the other one!! Woohoo!!

Mmmm, delicious sugary goodness:

Not many smiles... just lots of eating of cake and frosting:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KID! WE LOVE YA!!

P.S. A couple days later, the train tracks were still hot:

Hooray!