last stop (again): Max's "Where The Wild Things Are" 2nd Birthday Celebration (Part II)

Hi Friends,

How are you doing today?  What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Now we are bringing you the second half of my super Where the Wild Things Are 2nd Birthday Celebration.  Be sure to take a look at Part I if you haven't already (it gives the back story on the party, quick location change, shows the decor and details, and more).

All Images: Mad Max and Family

This is where I am thinking ... who the F are all of these people in my house.  And why the F am I dressed like this?

Where The Wild Things Are ... ?  Making art of course.

We weren't really prepared to feed a bunch of small children IN our home.  But really - who ever is ... ?

Do you make art activities are your birthday parties?

Check out my wolf tail!

Instead of making mischief in my wolf suit... I held on to Daddy and Mommy for most of the party - FOR DEAR LIFE.

My super party guests drew in / wrote in / signed my Where The Wild Things Are book.  How do you collect messages and memories at your parties?

It says 2!  Mommy taught me that I am two now!

Do you realize, Mommy, I did not wear the wolf suit / crown for a reason?  And now look at you.

Happy 2nd Birthday to me!  Last year I cried when we sang Happy Birthday and ate cake ... this year I was less dramatic.

My new SKUUT bike!  And my FIRST bike at that.  See how the photo is blurry?  This is what happens when your train wreck Mommy has cake and blurs the lens.  Lovely right?  We didn't notice until the next day when we were taking photos.  Oy.  We'll share more photos of my bike soon.

And finally ...the last two photos are of my Super Sissy and her Super Friend O (they are nearly the same age!) - ignoring each other and than a movement shot.  And you can also see Mom's cake aka the blurrrrrrr - sorry!

Oh wait ... we are NOT done.  Finally ... my favorite part of the party - the MAX BOAT.  Enjoy some photos of some of our party guests in the boat!  This wasn't everyone, but it was at least several of the WILD monsters.

-Mad Max

PS: You can also find us on Mad About Town.

I'm Famous! (And Other News: Dead Fish, Kitchen Table Forts, and More) ...

Hi Friends,

How is your week going so far?

So Mommy and I were thrown for a loop this week ... we were really prepared with our blog schedule this week (we have so much to catch you up on), but after my very exciting birthday yesterday (Monday) ... we had some drama at home that evening.  (I really just wanted the Fire Department to visit our house again like they did on Christmas).

What happened?  My room start smelling like dead fish / burning rubber!  It was awful.  I had to sleep with Daddy.  Then today (Tuesday) I couldn't nap in my room (and the weather was bad so we didn't leave the house) ...which means ... I DIDN'T NAP.  AT ALL.  That was fun.

It was so much fun that Mommy and I built our first Kitchen Table Fort together ... I think she was trying to trick me to sleep in it, but it didn't work!  Needless to say ... Mommy and I didn't get to all of our blogs (let alone laundry and other things) today (Tuesday).

All Images: Mad Max and Family / Tara J

But here is a photo from our Kitchen Table Fort fun:

We have lots to catch you up on about our birthday (including Part I of my WILD RUMPUS birthday celebration).

But what did I get to do yesterday (Monday) for my birthday? ...

Mommy and I went with Gramby and Sissy to ... the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see the DINOs!  (Thanks for the dino and dino book, Gramby).  We also went to have lunch Downtown at Niko Nikos, and Daddy and Pops met us there!  Finally, we went to Target to get more prizes ... went home to open more presents and eat cake.  Whew.  What a wonderful day!  Photos to come soon.

AND ... I'm famous.  Again!  Right before I turned 1, I was in the New York Times (I don't know that I can top that).  And yesterday (Monday), my 2nd Birthday Card for Chica was picked and shown on Sprout TV!  Thank you to Mommy and Gramby for helping me make such a wonderful card.

Here are two photos of my card (from my Mommy's iPhone) before we sent it off!):

What does the note say?

Happy Happy Birthday 2 You!  Happy 2nd Birthday Max!  We love you Super Mad Max.  You are the best son, big brother, and grandson.  We love to learn from you and laugh with you each day.  You're our little goof!  We are excited to watch you SPROUT!

Lots of Love, 
Mommy, Daddy, Sissy (Sadie)
Gramby, Pops, Mimi, and Grampi

And here we are on Sprout TV with Chica!  Thank you for featuring me, Sprout TV!  (And thank you for getting the photos, Mimi!).  You can also find our card on SproutOnline.

-Mad Max

PS: Be sure to also find us on Mad About Town.

last stop: Max's "Where The Wild Things Are" 2nd Birthday Celebration (Part I)

Hi Friends,

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

First, Happy 2nd Birthday to ME today (and Happy 11 Week Birthday to Sissy)!  Mommy wanted me to share a look back ...

Image Credit: Erin Carlyle Photography

Super Mad Max nearly two years ago today (newborn photos by Erin Carlyle Photography).

Image Credit: Erin Carlyle Photography

And here I am over a year ago (photos taken before my birthday).  Photos by the wonderful Erin Carlyle Photography.

So how are we celebrating today?  Well, I'm having a fun-filled day with Mommy, Sissy, and Gramby today.  We'll share more soon!

But we also celebrated this Saturday - my WILD RUMPUS "Where The Wild Things Are" 2nd Birthday Party!  In this blog post, I'll share some on the decor, and in a separate post I'll share more photos on the actual party and guests.  Too many photos to share! 

All Images Below: Mad Max and Family 

Where The Wild Things Are is one of our favorite books so Mommy and I picked this theme for my 2nd Birthday Celebration - plus the main character's name is MAX.  Is this one of your favorites too?

First, I should note ... that there was a HUGE last minute change in plans because of the weather.  My party was suppose to be in Hermann Park near the playground area under a pavilion.  We were really hoping for nice weather (but just in case we built a boat ... no, joking), but it was very cold and rainy.  Even though the pavilion was covered, it just would not have worked out at the park.  With that said, Mommy wasn't really prepared to host it at our house (a small townhome - not fit for a party of almost 50 with kids especially!) .. not prepared as far as prep, decorations for the home, or entertaining us WILD children.

BUT ... with that said, the party turned out really great!  We hosted it in the garage (with the cars out of course) - art making activities and on the main living floor.

Photo above: Me (cranky after my nap with my paci and Caillou) in my Where the Wild Things Are Max costume (Pottery Barn Kids), Daddy, Mommy, and Sissy.  Sissy also had a Wild Thing "I love you so ..." onesie (Etsy), but you can't really see it in this photo.

And what was one of my favorite parts of my party?  MY MAX BOAT!!!  Can you believe it?  Gramby and Pops made it all on their own.  Impressed, no?

It was made out of a cardboard box we received at Christmas, and the other supplies are from (mostly) Hobby Lobby and Lowes (and supplies we already had).  What do you think?

A special thanks also goes out to Gramby, Pops, Mimi, Daddy, Viola, Mandy, and Jessicana for helping Mommy and making sure the party was a great success!

Food table!  So of course if we knew the party would be inside we would have thought of wall decorations instead of wedding photos and such ... but that's okay, Mommy.

We bought printables from by Sonny and Co from Etsy.  We loved them!  So we used the colors on the printables as our main party colors (although we didn't really use the green / blue too much it is hard to match).  For the food Mommy picked WILD green, yellow, and brown snack food (fruit, veggies, and crunchies - chips, crackers, etc.) since our party wasn't during a meal time.  My Gramby also made (brown!) coffee cake, and Mimi made (yellow) crown cookies.  Thank you!

Closer image ... 

Credit: Table Cloth from Party City and other paper products from Arnes Warehouse.  Other decor is mostly from Hobby Lobby, and Gramby helped paint the boat and add a sail.  The Max doll is from Amazon, and the monster mask is from Oriental Trading (we included the monster mask in the gift bags!).

The food is mostly from HEB.  The amazing cake (every loved it!) is from Whole Foods Market.  We bought my cakes from Whole Foods last year too.

Mommy was in a desperate hurry with the last minute prep at home and taking photos before people arrived so we might not have the best photos (see the apples are still in the bag!).  But we did our best!

The yummy Whole Foods cake was vanilla icing and chocolate cake.  I actually ate it and didn't cry this year!  So if you are thinking about buying a cake ... and want it to be affordable too (and delicious) with good ingredients, consider Whole Foods!  Mommy made her own cake decorations - printed on cardstock.

Gramby made my small Max boat to be a table centerpiece.  And she made it to be like the large one.  Isn't it great?

You can also see a photo of me in my Max costume with Daddy.

We have some leftover gift bags so we should take some photos of the gifts to share with you.  But what types of items did we pass out to our WILD guests?

Where The Wild Things Are coloring sheets (you can easily find them on Google), Monster Plate Max (Craft Kit), Drawing / Writing Booklets (so guests can create their own Wild adventure), colors, and small guests (under 3) also received a monster bath toy.  We found the booklets and colors on Oriental Trading and the bath toys on Amazon.

Our Wild party guests signed my Where The Wild Things Are book, and this table also featured our delicious marshmallow pops.  Have you made those before?  They were fairly easy to make (with the help of Elizabeth, Viola, Mandy, and Mimi!).  All supplies were bought at Hobby Lobby.  We are looking forward to trying more adventurous pops in the future.

This crown goes to my Pottery Barn Kids costume (I refuse to wear it... doesn't go well with my Scotch), but don't worry - Mommy put it to good use.  Wait until you see those photos.  I also had a change of outfits (of course)... My 2nd Birthday personalized shirt and bib are by Little One Boutique.  Mommy found them last year on Etsy!  Sissy will have to get a birthday set from them sometime later this year.  We highly recommend!

There wasn't a whole lot of decor downstairs and at the art table because we were prepared only to have food tables, but that's okay.  The kids really enjoyed making their art!  Gramby made this centerpiece with items we already had at home.  It fits well with the theme, of course!

Stay tuned for Part II of my 2nd Birthday Celebration!

Did you celebrate anything this weekend?

-Mad Max

PS: Be sure to find us on Mad About Town.

next stop: Happy Travels, Happy (Merry) Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday ... etc

Hi Friends,

Happy New Year!

We have to apologize for being MIA for a few weeks, but we gave ourselves a break since it was the holidays after all.  But first ... how were your holidays?  Did you travel?  How was your New Year?  What are you looking forward to this year?

We have so much to fill you in on during the coming weeks ... our 3rd Annual Houston Rockets trip to NYC ... Christmas ... then there was New Years ... and today Mommy and Daddy are celebrating their 3rd Wedding Anniversary, and now Mommy and I have mostly been busy planning my 2nd Birthday Celebration (for this Saturday), and my real birthday is this coming Monday!  Whew.  (Oh, and we can't forget Sadie celebrated her 2 Month Birthday ... and her 10 Week Birthday this week.  More on that soon!).

So needless to say, we are a little bit busy (mostly with my birthday celebration - we can't wait to share more about it soon.  Start crossing your fingers it doesn't rain on our "parade"!)  Everyone is involved in DIY for my Wild Rumpus party, and Gramby and Pops creations are VERY impressive.  Guests should come just to see those (and to see me, the Super Tot, of course).  We have so much planned to celebrate,  and at least we have cover in case it rains (it's at Hermann Park near the playground area).

Also, Mommy is returning to work from maternity leave very soon ... we are all very sad about it and looking ahead to summer!

In the meantime... we wanted to share a few fun photos with you today.  First a few fun Instagram photos from the holidays, and then a wedding photo of Mommy and Daddy.  Love you!

Image Credit: Mad Max and Family / Tara J

I got Caillou from Santa!  I love my "Cowie" (Caillou).  Christmas Eve PJs are from Old Navy.

Image Credit: Mad Max and Family / Tara J

Sissy with some of her Christmas gifts at our house.  Isn't she a cutie?  Christmas Eve PJs are from Old Navy, and her My First Christmas bib is from Target.

Image Credit: Mad Max and Family / Tara J

PJ time during the holidays (it beats tummy time, Sissy says ...).  PJs both from Carter's.

-Mad Max

PS: You can also find us at Mad About Town.