Little Man’s jungle party!
Last week our Little Man turned two but with his sister at school and Daddy at work we played down the day itself and celebrated this weekend instead with a family party – jungle style! I got decorating with some fab party accessories from Party Delights, focusing the main pieces, like this Happy Birthday backdrop, plus a great table centrepiece and jungle animal favours in the dining room for our big family lunch. The hanging parrot added a great final touch!
I wanted the theme to continue through the house so I added some animal decals to the walls in the kitchen, hallway and living room. I love this giraffe popping out from behind the clock in the kitchen and the tiger under my painting of Bolgheri in Tuscany.
On Saturday night this HUGE balloon arrived – it was actually much bigger than I thought it would be! Little Man’s new found skill is toddling down the stairs on his own in the morning, steadying himself with one hand on the wall. My heart leaps into my mouth watching him swaying, stumbling and righting himself! I decided to pop the balloon right at the bottom of the stairs so that he’d see it as soon as rounded the corner on his way downstairs after opening his presents and cards the next morning.
On Sunday morning we started with our birthday and Christmas tradition of everyone piling into our bed to open cards and presents from Mummy and Daddy. Curly Girl was keen to help!
Once the family arrived we had a delicious lunch of roast lamb with a garlic and herb rub (great work by the husband – yummmm) and my Eton Mess with a twist which is always a winner. When the birthday boy woke up from his nap he joined us at the table for some family fun. Love this shot of him sitting on Daddy’s knee.
After lunch the present opening resumed…
….until after a long play with all the toys and a fun game of pass the parcel – can you guess who won? – we tucked into the delicious jungle-themed chocolate cake that my sister had baked especially for her nephew. The decorations were based on the IKEA animals in his bedroom – so cute!
Such a special day and so much fun. Happy Birthday Little Man!
What happened next…the roller-coaster ride of parenthood
After all our family left on Sunday the Little Man became very clingy. He was coughing and crying and wouldn’t let me put him down to make tea for them both. He’d not been himself really since Thursday night and eaten very little for a couple of days. Sunday night he (and therefore I) hardly slept and he was sick from coughing so much.
On Monday, after a trip to our GP, we were sent straight to our local hospital.
The diagnosis of a chest infection, possibly pneumonia, and borderline oxygen levels, plus the fact that he was being sick, was enough to make us a case for observation at the very least our doctor said. After a long wait in the children’s ward, which by the way was lovely with lots of toys and lovely staff, we were told his oxygen levels were good enough for him to return home. He’s on antibiotics but turning the corner.
As I posted on Facebook the same day, being a parent can be a real roller-coaster ride. One moment you’re up, the next crashing down. It was a scary time but I won’t let it overshadow the lovely memories we have of his special day.
Linking up with The Black and White Photography Project at PODcast, Share With Me at Let’s Talk Mommy, Brilliant Blog Posts at Honest Mum
Disclaimer: This isn’t a sponsored post – I bought all the our jungle party accessories myself from Party Delights.
Oh what beautiful photos, as always. So glad he had a lovely birthday but what a shame he was so poorly afterwards! Perfect example of the rollercoaster parenting can be. Lots of love to you x x x
Thank you Susanne – the photos I use here mean a lot to me so it’s lovely to hear that. Big hugs to you and your lovely family x
Ahhh happy birthday little man. The party looks absolutely amazing. So sorry to hear he is not well and hopefully on the mend now. Parenting can be so tricky. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Thanks Jenny he was SO poorly but thankfully back to his mischievous self again… that’s a good thing right? *winks*
I’m glad the party went well. Decorations looked marvellous. Here’s to a swift revoery. #brilliantblogposts
Hey thanks, thankfully he’s finally all better! *Touches every piece of wood in the house*
Those little lions are too cute! And look at your little/ big two year old beaming away there. Happy Birthday! Great job with the party
Aren’t they? Love that shot of him
Oh darling so scary how ill they can become from one day or even morning to night. So glad you were able to enjoy his birthday though and the decorations look beautiful as does your gorgeous little boy! Hope he gets well soon. Thanks for linking up to #brilliantblogposts x
I mentioned on Facebook what a rollercoaster ride motherhood can be – and this is a case in point! He’s been down and up and down again but hopefully he’s on the mend now. Thanks for your well wishes lovely x
Oh, I’m so glad he’s on the mend. You’re right, we so often go from highs to lows, awfully quickly at times! The party looks wonderful though, and it sounds like you all had an amazing time. Wonderful memories indeed. #Brilliantblogposts #ShareWithMe
Thanks Sara it was a special day x
Aww this looks so much fun. Love the cake and all the matching items. Shame he got sick. Hope he’s on the mend hon x x
The cake was amazing! My sister managed to completely recreate the animals on the wall in his room – this isn’t the best picture though as some little hands had already got to some of them! Thanks for your kind words too – he’s definitely a little better today x
His party looks fab and he looks very happy in the middle of it all. Not so good he got ill and you had to take him to hospital!! That would have been very scary. Hope he’s feeling better now x
Thank you he seems to be on the mend after lots of up and down moments along the way!
I love the sound of your party – but you’re a far better mum than me, I put balloons up, one banner that a friend gave me, and served sausages, sausage rolls, pink wafer biscuits, party rings, hula hoops etc! It’s so scary the roller coaster ride that us parents are on, but I suppose that’s what makes the good times so great. Really hoping he gets much better very soon xx
To be honest I LOVE setting up for a party. The littles don’t really like party food (I know, strange) and Little Man was asleep over lunch so it made sense not to do much more on the party-food front than the cake. Thanks for your kind words too lovely, he seems to have turned the corner today xx
Oh goodness – what a fright and a come down. So glad he’s on the mend and your memories will verge towards the highs of the parenting rollercoaster, rather than the lows
Thanks Anya, it was scary and isn’t it wonderful that blogging gives us these memories right here in front of us? x