Wyatt's Birthday Party!

Brian and I spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted to do for Wyatt's birthday party this year.  We've traditionally had his parties at our house, but that's basically the last thing I wanted to do!  It's so much pressure to get everything looking spotless, get everything set up, entertain the children and then have everyone leave and my house is a wreck again (and I'm too exhausted to clean)!  I felt like our options were slightly limited because there were things we just didn't want to do (like a bounce house)and things that were a little too old for Wyatt's age group.

Brian did some online research and found out that the zoo offers a few different birthday party options.  Wyatt absolutely loves the zoo, and we thought that it was perfect, cost effective and covered what I wanted - a party at a different place where I didn't have to worry about everything!  There was a party "host" who brought out 4 different kinds of animals and the kids got to touch a few. Even though the party was at the zoo, Wyatt still wanted a Buzz and Woody "themed" party, so we tried to incorporate some Toy Story things for him too.

The cake. I ordered it from Harris Teeter and it was delicious!

The cake/ food table.  I guess Wyatt put his Buzz Lightyear cup on the table for "theming."  On the left are the chocolate covered pretzel rod "favors" I made. I painted a cheap metal pail from Target with chalkboard paint and wrote "Please take one" in chalk. Super easy!

 

The room the party was in.  My biggest issue is that the zoo kept saying, "45 people MAX fit in the room."  We had 45 people in the room (and 47 RSVP'd yes) and we were completely comfortable. 

 It was totally awkward because we scheduled the party for 10:00 on a Sunday morning.  I invited all of Wyatt's class and legitimately thought that the time and the day would limit some of the kids' ability to come.  He's in a class of 12 kids and 7 of them came, including his "best friend."  He was thrilled!  And the time ended up being perfect!  If we'd scheduled the party any later in the day the zoo would have been packed and we would have had to park blocks away!

Cousins! Yes, my children were also "themed."  Wyatt wore a Buzz shirt and Reesie wore a Jessie and Bullseye shirt!

The look on his face - priceless!  Makes it so worth it! He was staring at...

 

This snake!  I can't believe he touched it!  Ewwwww!

Chowing down on some cake.  Brian rushed over for the camera to get a picture before he was done! (He has gotten a hair cut since Sunday!)

All 21 kids! Cousins, friends, neighbor and classmates!  Such a great time!

After the "party" everyone was able to go walk around the zoo, which I'll post about later.  The new Trail of the Tiger exhibit that we've been waiting forever for just opened, and Wyatt was super excited to walk around and see the new animals! He had a great birthday!