Today was the toddlers BIG day. His 4th Birthday Bash! It was a jam packed fun-filled-perfect day!
It all started this morning when the toddler ran into my room at 6AM to ask if this was his "birthday day". I smiled and said, "yuppers!" He was SO happy and SO concerned about gift bags. I swear his favorite part of anyone’s birthday, including his own, is the small little trinket favors you get. It’s so cute.
I hopped out of bed with him and realized heading to the gym was a pipe dream. There was just no time. So I did a routine on Exercise TV and then the toddler and I played and danced and jumped around until we were BOTH out of breath.
After our play session we hit the kitchen to prepare for the party. We made some Big Simple Chocolate Cupcakes and fruit salad.
We had a blast. It was a great morning and this is how I will remember the toddlers last weekend as a toddler. :)
Then we were off too a local bounce play place. We bounced.. we played.. it was AWESOMELY fun. I’m so glad I wasn’t the only parent who got down and dirty with the kids. We were all jumping around and just having a great time. The husband and I even got in a round of boxing!
Then it was food time. I may have had a slice or two extra of the pizza but it was cut small for the kids. ;~) The cake was good but a slice was all I needed. Plus I knew I had my lighter cupcakes at home.
Once we got back to the house the party got more intimate with mostly family and close friends. I grilled lean burgers, Grilled Honey Mustard Turkey Oat Burgers and my new Asian Apricot Marinade AKA "The Delicious Chicken." Paired with some corn on the cob and baked beans it was an overall healthy spread with not one complaint! See… no one missed the mayo laden summer salads or high fat hot dogs if you replace them with lighter healthier turkey burgers and grilled chicken. Plus everyone loved the cupcakes that were made with pumpkin and my giant fruit salad is completely gone!
The toddler had such a full day he crashed around 7 watching one of new DVD’s. I ended up taking my best friend, Mom and Father-in-law for a ride to see the new house site. By the time I got back the little guy was dead asleep. It was time for the adults to pull out the Wii and have some fun. :)
Right now everyone’s in bed but me. I felt compelled to write about the day and I really wanted to publish the poll for "the toddler’s" new name. He has 2 more days until he’s officially 4. I still can’t believe it. I really don’t think people realize how fast time flies by until they have a child of their own. All of a sudden you have a constant reminder. It’s wonderful and sad at the same time.
OK, I’m getting too deep. :) I need sleep and anyway… What I really want to know is…
28 Responses to The Toddler Birthday Party and Poll
Leave a Reply
BlogToLose
What's Cooking in my kitchen?
-
Finally my first Farro idea! I have to say, I love this stuff! It's chewy and yummy and, well, fun! I tossed it with what I could find in my pantry and it made a wonderfully satisfying lunch. Filling but not heavy, tasty and quite nutrient dense. According to NutritionData.com this [...] -
I've seen it mentioned in a few of my clean eating and healthy cook books but honestly, I never even thought of Farro as an option for me. I refuse to shop at specialty stores and I try to use only common products that I can keep in stock and purchase from a typical grocery [...] -
I've never had a tuna melt. Is that weird? I guess that's what happens when you grow up not liking mayonnaise. I never ate tuna salad or egg salad or chicken salad. Honestly, they always kind of grossed me out. Then I realized.. hey.. why does tuna salad have [...] -
I have no idea where this idea came from. I was hungry. It was lunch. I had Brussels Sprouts. That was all the catalyst I needed.:) I decided to use a slice of real bacon to add flavor and little fat that would help sauté the sprouts. I'm trying [...] -
WOW was this good. I mean seriously good. It's not vegetarian so don't start throwing stones. I'm calling it a Garden Vegetable Burger because I use the new Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread. It was this recipe on Allrecipes.com that inspired [...] -
I drink water 99.9% of the time but every so often it just doesn't cut it. I want something else. Something more. Something slightly sweet. Today was one of those days. I decided to make a refreshing drink based on the famous Arnold Palmer, half lemonade and half iced [...] -
The other day I made a whole chicken on the grill in pieces. It was delicious! Just a little BBQ sauce and an open flame is all I need to make The Husband happy in the dinner department. I also picked up a few ears of corn from the grocery store. They aren't in season [...] -
Let me explain so you don't think I'm making a chili recipe and just put it on pizza. I'm calling this vegetarian Chili Pizza because chili is what inspired flavors. I think I told you. Little Bean is really into, well, BEANS! We go through a can about every 2 days. Yesterday [...] -
I've confessed my inability to follow recipes here on GreenLiteBites many, many times. I don't know why it's so hard for me. I can barely follow some of my own and I wrote the darn things! I think most of my problem stems from not having all the ingredients listed and, [...] -
Leftover brown rice and leftover sauce meet in this quick lunch idea inspired by my favorite food of all time: Pizza. I swear I can turn anything into a pizza concoction. Have you seen all my pizza ideas? I've used everything from pumpkin to zucchini, polenta to wontons. Nothing is off [...] -
This isn't a recipe just an idea I had to share. I can't believe how good it was! I've never had grilled pineapple. Can you believe it? I just never really had the desire to grill it before. When you love something raw sometimes it doesn't occur to you to cook it. [...] -
I whipped this up for lunch on a whim today because, well, I have a baby who's obsessed with three things… Cheese, Beans, and Avocado. No, really. Look... It's my go to meal for him so I find myself with beans and avocado readily available. [...] -
You know that tradition 7 Layer Mexican Dip? The one with the cream cheese, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, cheese, green onion and olives? Yea. That's the one. Well I had a craving for it the other day. Well, not exactly for it as I can never make anything the way it's suppose [...] -
If you go through the archives of GreenLiteBites I have about 5 total beef recipes. Five. Compare that to the 80+ I have tagged with chicken/turkey there's a clear winner in the meat department on my blog and in my home. I don't have a beef with beef (omg The Husband [...] -
I'm a kitchen sink smoothie maker. Whatever I have on hand goes in the blender and viola! A quick breakfast or a healthy snack. Last year I posted an "Elastic Approach" to how I make smoothies but I still like to share specific combinations that worked really well. This was one [...] -
The other night it was just the kids and I home for dinner and I decided to make what I wanted to make no holds barred. Without The Husband home it's much easier for some reason. Hmmm wonder why? Ok, not here to husband bash.. really.. I'm not! I'm here [...] -
*sigh* I was really hoping to share an awesome turkey burger idea. I had grand plans for my leftover ground turkey. The results was alright but they could have been so much better. I added diced pineapple, red pepper, green pepper, oats and soy sauce to the meat and formed 2 patties. In hindsight I [...] -
I made this on a total whim yesterday having no idea if it would work. To my surprise it did AND the husband actually said he liked it... UNSOLICITED! Here's the story. I had only 4 tilapia fillets defrosted for dinner. I knew it wasn't going to be enough for us [...] -
This is a slight reboot of a recipe I posted last year simply called Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili. Staying true to my use-what-I-have-on-hand roots I, well, used what I had on hand and made a similar dish with a spicy twist. Topping the result with avocado added a cool creaminess that [...] -
Did you hear? The Laughing Cow recently launched Smooth Sensations a line of 5 cream cheese spreads. There's Classic Cream, Classic Cream Light, Strawberries & Cream, Garden Vegetable and my favorite… Cinnamon. It's a sweet wedge of creamy goodness! Today I decided to use my new favorite flavor [...] -
Confession time, I recorded a 30 minute video making this with both kids (partally) 2 nights ago. I miss videos. I really do but they seem so much more difficult with 2 children. I'm also having technical difficulties with my video recording and audio syncing making it VERY time consuming to edit. [...] -
A couple of years ago I shared a modified version of Sloppy Joe's I made for a party. Everyone loved it but I've been wanting to try to make something similar for the family on a smaller scale and without the pre-made canned Manwich sauce. I don't particularly have any issues [...] -
Yesterday I was dreaming about a salad. Not just any salad, but a chickpea filled, cucumber, and red onion salad with a fun, tangy dressing. Unfortunately, I had no cucumber or red onion. Well, that's a lie. I had a half of cucumber but it was a mushy mess and [...] -
Dinner meals are getting harder and harder for me to share lately. I've gone back to just whipping things up without really measuring anything (this meal was going to be one of those until I realized I still had enough light to take some photos.) I've also instituted a few brainless meal nights [...] -
Three years ago I posted a video called "Makin' Hard Boiled Eggs" where I shared my system for, well... making hard boiled eggs. Genius name, I know. I'm smart like that. Anyway, since then I've gotten tons of feedback and comments thanking me but all the information is locked in a long winded 10 minute [...]
About Roni
Roni started this blog in '05 to journal her weight loss. 70lbs later, she's committed to living a conscious, healthy life and hopes to inspire others along the way. Read more on the about page.
Congrats on your healthy and lovely offspring! I just RANDOMLY came across your site last night when I was looking up a brocolli cheese soup recipe (I think that’s what I was looking up, I can’t remember now!). Anyway, your site is a major inspiration, you make it look so easy! I hope to achieve similar results someday and have started (or re-started?) blogging about it, which will hopefully help me stay accountable and on TRACK! anyway, in a VERY long way, just saying thanks and congrats!
Roni, I’ve been reading yours blogs for several years, love them all. Your hard work is very apparent.
Just wanted to say that I think you’re a terrific Mom. I feel it’s very important to have your child involved in making healthy food choices from an early age and you’ve done such an amazing job with the Toddler in that respect. You’re truly a role model for all us up and coming Moms. :)
Glad the party went well!
Happy Birthday to the Toddler! Sounds like a great day! When you watch the Exercise on Demand videos, do you watch them on your computer or is there a way to hook your computer up to the TV?
Michele – I did it on the TV for the first time. I have “onDemand” thru Comcast. Not sure how to hook up the computer but I’m sure it’s possible.
Happy Birthday The Toddler! I was all for The Kidlet. But that’s not a choice…. hmmm.
Glad the party was a big hit!
~Lisa
LOL I’ll add it!! :)
Time certainly does seem to fly by whenever you have kids! Glad the party went well. And good luck with the transition from “The Toddler”, whatever you choose! I call my own minions “The Dumbbells”. =P
Yes, time flies by so quickly. My toddler will be 3 in August and I almost feel a lump in my throat coming. It was so fast. However, I think I will be more emotional when he is finished POTTY TRAINIG —- UGH! (ha ha ha)
Congrats mama! I understand how it is a fabulous time, and slightly sad. Mostly fabulous though. Every year we watch the kids’ birth videos at their birthday (born within just 4 days of each other 2 years apart). I get all sad but am so proud of who they’ve become.
You were smart to cook such a healthy spread :) I totally went over the deep end (with all good intentions leading up to it) with my kids’ birthdays.
shaking my head that you had enough energy to post after all that. :)
Sounds like a wonderful birthday for adults and kids alike!
BTW, I voted for “the son” but I actually have a “write-in” vote…
“the kiddo”
Have a great Sunday!
What a fun day! I placed my vote for “the little guy”!! You’re right, they do grow up soooo fast. At first, you can’t wait for them to be old enough to do certain things and then all of a sudden they are old enough to do a LOT of things and you want it all to just stop!!
I have been reading your site since the toddler just became a toddler from a baby…you are right, time sure does fly when you have kids! I always feel older on my kids birthday than my own..my daughter just turned 12 and I can’t beleive I have a 12 year old!!!
Happy Birthday, Toddler!
Happy Birthday to “the kid/the little guy” (my two votes)! What a fun mom he has! :)
how about calling him “mini-me” he looks so much like you!
My goodness! He looks so “old” in the cupcake pics! It’s been great watching him grow up on your blog. I vote for the “little guy”. In a year or so, he can be The Kindergartener!”
Happy Birthday, Toddler! They grow up so fast… Sounds like an awesome day! My vote is with the majority for “the little guy.” I hope you and the little guy are going to have a great week! :)
Happy Birthday Ryan! So exciting!
I have two sons (ages almost 6 and just turned 9) I usually call them “kiddo” or “boy-o” Of your choices, “The Boy” gets my vote.
Happy Birthday!! They do grow up too fast!
I giggled at your poll. My parents only have 4 grandsons, will never have a granddaughter (I have 3 boys, my brother has 1 – neither of us will have more kids) and my dad calls them, in order of their age, ‘the big guy(9), the medium-big guy(7), the medium guy(4) and the little guy(2)’. It works.
Happy Birthday Ryan (Dog!) and happy birth-day to you, too Roni. Sounds like you guys had a fantastic celebration and the food you mentioned is making me hungry. =) My vote goes for The Boy. I have two sons, and when we’re goofing off I often call them Pete & Repeat although neither of them are named Pete. LOL
This was from last night
Me: I’m so sad “the toddler” isn’t going to be “the toddler” anymore
Husband: (completely serious and knowing exactly what I am talking about)
Is he going to be “The Kid” now
Me: I don’t know yet, Roni’s doing a poll, so far “the little guy” is winning.
;)
We just celebrated my little girls 6th Birthday soon is her big sisters 12th! It goes far to quickly. I did pretty well with the healthy food & had prepped the day before. I did have a piece of cake at the party though!
Happy birthday Toddler! My vote is to call him “the preschooler”.
Hey Roni,
How about “Mini Dude”?
I vote for ‘The Little Guy’, but that’s only because ‘Stud Puppy’ is not on the list.
Husbands tend to like this – it automatically makes them ‘Stud Man’.
Happy Birthday Ryan! We share the same birthday!
I voted for “the kid”. Mine are 25 and 27 and I still call them that!
I THINK HE SHOULD BE CALLED LITTLE MAN, BECAUSE HE IS A LITTLE MAN…….