All Aboard!

"Believe in what your heart is saying,
Hear the melody that's playing.

There's no time to waste,

There so much to celebrate. 

Believe in what you feel inside,
Give your dreams the wings to fly."
You have everything you need, if you just believe."

Liam's Polar Express themed 2nd birthday turned out better than I could have dreamed it for him. These birthdays have grown legs and have certainly turned into productions, but to see the pure joy on his face made it all worth it!

I could not be more lucky to have such an amazingly talented mom. If you have a vision, she can make it come to life. From the entrance All Aboard sign, to the intricate refrigerator box painting of a real steam engine... she made this train party come to life! I cannot thank her enough for staying up late and helping me decorate.

Nicole Smith designed the perfect invitation train ticket to set the tone and created the perfect circle tags for our Garnish hot chocolate cups!

The cardboard boxes made into train cars were spray painted by yours truly and Liam and I did have fun created those to go along with the engine. The station cardboard box house was a huge hit as well as the train tables and coloring page cutouts of different trains.

When I thought about the theme for Liam's birthday, I knew I wanted trains... but the Thomas theme just wasn't sitting with me. I wanted something different and something that said January. The Polar Express was the perfect theme! and what would be more perfect than blowing in snow, right? Of course that is where my husband drew the line... but just as the song says... Just Believe... because we were informed that snow would be blown in at our location for the neighborhood snow day... I was in total shock! We had our little miracle of snow!

There was a trading post of goodies, a "Conduct Yourself" station to transform yourself into a little conductor, an Engineer's table to color your favorite train, a "Steam Station" complete with hot chocolate bar (thank you Shalonda) and cotton candy, and then Hobo Snacks in bandanas for the train ride.

Probably the best part of the event was the trackless train rides around the neighborhood. I can still hear the laughter and squeals. Liam was talking about it for weeks!

I could not believe that my aunt and cousin drove all the way to be at Liam's birthday. I am so blessed to have such an amazing family. It totally made my night!

and Marianne of Charade Photography is one of the best friends a girl could ask for and such a talented photographer. A huge thank you for helping to capture the memories!

My cup runneth over of all the love and support of our family and friends. Everyone that made the effort to come and celebrate with us and for helping to make this truly special for our little boy. To think that it has already been 2 years is gasp worthy. I don't know a life without him. He is our everything and I am so totally in love! Happy 2nd Birthday baby boy!

In case you were wondering..

photography - Kate Robinson and Marianne Horton (Charade Photography)

cutout train painting and all aboard sign - Elise Johnson Design

hot chocolate cups - garnish

invitation and circle cutouts - Nicole Smith Designs

train whistles, hats, and bandanas - Oriental Trading

silver snow flakes and snowflake backdrop - Shindigz

cupcakes - Alisha Greer

Train Cookies - Bees Knees Creative

cardboard box trains - yours truly

Train yard photographs - yours truly

table labels - yours truly