When I wrote this post about loving the new Pampers commercial with the baby girls having crazy bed head, I had no idea Pampers would actually see the funny picture Greyson took of Charlotte.  They asked to make her the Pampers Beautiful Mornings baby on their Facebook and Twitter this week.  “Of course!” I thought.  “How fun?!”  My mama heart was so swelled with pride at that image of my little cutie’s crazy hair.  Pampers’ more than 1.3 million followers got a glimpse of my girl.

When the picture went up on Facebook yesterday, it got lots of likes and comments.  Most comments were very sweet and flattering.  Other mothers shared their kids’ crazy bed head stories.  Everyone got a laugh at Charlotte’s funny hairdo.  Someone said Greyson looked like Seth Rogen.  Ha!  He gets that a lot.

I don’t know what it is about human nature, but naturally I focused on the three nasty comments from total strangers.  It was all I could do not to drive to Whereverville, California or Someplace, Illinois and angrily unplug the laptops of the morons who would dare say mean things about my kid.  (Oooh!  Unplug them!?  I’m such a destructive rebel, I know.)

Like this Internet user who thought it was okay to say “Kid is kind of weird looking. And i know im not the only one thinking it”  You think?  Yeah, that is kind of the point.  It’s weird and crazy hair.  That is the whole point of the picture and the ad campaign.  (Oh yeah, capitalize your “I’s”!  )  

I got all defensive when I read, “Dad’s lookin mighty creepy behind that phone…”  I mean, who is she to say that about my man!?!?  Greyson on the other hand laughed and said he did kind of look creepy and went on to make fun of other creepy Internet pictures.

Someone else said, “Stupid picture.”  Okay, then why even comment?  Thanks to Amanda who defended me after that comment.

I learned a few things from this experience:

1. I figure Katie Holmes must be ready to rip the throats out of the paparazzi and any writer for US Weekly.  Seriously.  I got bent out of shape over near-harmless comments on Facebook and she has to see pictures and read whole articles about her daughter’s lifestyle and welfare.  Be nice to Suri!  She’s somebody’s baby!  (Okay, I understand comparing my situation to hers is a bit of a stretch.)  
2. I learned that is the risk you take when you share your child’s image with the world.  I understand the risk I take writing a blog and having people read it.  I signed a waiver saying it was okay for Procter & Gamble to use the picture and I leave my blog open for your comments every day.  That’s what I decided to do and I have to take whatever comes with it.  I’m not trying to make money off my kid or anything, I just like writing about our lives.
3. I learned I need to relax my inner Mama Bear.  It’s okay.  It’s not a big deal.  I think my baby is beautiful.  Who cares what strangers think?

I love this picture.  It makes me smile.  I’m glad it made so many of you smile.  Thanks Pampers, and thanks to all the kind friends and strangers who write nice things on the Internet!

When I asked my husband and brother-in-law to move the couch and the love seat out of the house and into the garage I think they thought I had gone a little overboard.  Maybe I had, but it was totally worth it.  I wanted to open up space for Charlotte and her friends to run around and be 2-year-olds.  I got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and other bloggers, but I really wanted to make this special and personal for Charlotte.

The fabulous Brooke from Brooke Wolfe Photography took these pictures for me.  Check her out here and here.

I wanted a line from the Sesame Street theme song on the front door.  I chose “On my way to where the air is sweet” to greet guests as they walked in the door.  Grover made sure they had a spot to drop their gifts.

Charlotte was ready to party!

The party was brought to you by the letter “C” and the number “2”.  I tried to include “C’s” and “2’s” everywhere.  We had pizza along with the veggie and fruit heads of Oscar and Cookie Monster, goldfish, juice, and cupcakes.

I found a lot of my supplies for the party at our local dollar store and Michael’s.  Take a look at the bottom of my china cabinet.  I covered our open fireplace, the lower part of our china cabinet, and bar with Sesame Street wrapping paper to block out little hands.

All around the room I had toddler friendly activities to keep the kids busy.  I think Big Bird’s “nest” was the most popular attraction.

Elmo’s station was coloring “C” and “2” coloring sheets I printed online.  Cookie Monster’s station was playing with cookie “doh”.  Every kid got an Abby Cadabby wand.

I used some of Charlotte’s blocks so the kids could build a “Flying Fairy School” and they tossed paper into “Oscar’s Trash Can”.

Elmo brought the house down when he danced through the door.  (Actually, he had to walk very carefully since he really couldn’t see anything.)  He did bust out “The Robot” once he got inside.  (It was my brother-in-law, Kevin in the costume.  Shhh!)  Kids either came to Elmo running, or ran away in fear.  I expect some parents will be sending their therapy bills our way.  My sister Julie had a friend who happened to have this costume that we could borrow.

If you couldn’t tell already by the Elmo suit, Kevin was the biggest kid at the party.  I love him!  He’s so awesome.  I love the picture of Greyson holding up Charlotte to Big Bird.  When she saw that plastic backdrop I got for like $6.00, she went crazy and had to kiss all of them.   That backdrop was by far her favorite thing.  She was all like, “I’ve been telling ya’ll to decorate like this for 2 years!”

We got a family shot in front of the backdrop.  Greyson and I also rocked our SS apparel.  If you’ll notice from Greyson’s shirt, Governor Romney did not fire Big Bird from our party.  Ha!  (Don’t hate, the party was just a few days before the election.)  Charlotte had a custom “2” Elmo shirt I found on Etsy.

Our party girl was wiped by the end.  She almost fell asleep in the nest with her wand.  This shot is proof of a good party.

Happy National Blog Posting Month! Better known as NaBloPoMo. Yep, I’m trying to write a post every day of November this year. Hmmm. We’ll see how it goes. I did about 25 of 30 days for NaBloPoMo ’11. I’m feeling even better for ’12.

Wish me luck. We have a big two days with Charlotte’s birthday tomorrow and party on Saturday. For today, just enjoy a glimpse of our Halloween.

Leave a comment with a link to shots of your costumed kiddos! There is nothing better than cute kids in costumes. Happy November!

(Sorry these didn’t post the first time.  Oh, and she was a cupcake.  Some people couldn’t tell.)

We’re kind of a big deal in the local toddler birthday party circuit lately.  (I hope you read that sentence in Ron Burgandy’s voice.)  It  seems like every weekend we’re at some preschool hot spot or in a suburban backyard sipping juice boxes.  That’s just how we roll.  Don’t hate.  Mama’s gotta get her cupcake fix.

We’re in full-tilt party planning mode as Charlotte’s 2nd birthday is Friday and her party is Saturday.  I’ll let you in on a secret.  I love it.  I stayed up well past midnight Saturday night cutting out “2’s” and “C’s” for her Sesame Street soiree.  Oh, how our weekend “partying” has changed!

I’ve noticed something about the last five parties for 2 and 3 year-olds that we have attended.  At every one of these shindigs, the Birthday Girl or Boy did not open their gifts in front of their guests.  These were parties both in homes and at local attractions.  Granted, there were a couple of parties we had to leave early.  They may have opened presents after we left, I dunno.  We hung around late at the party for the son of our very close friends.  Most people had gone when I asked if  he could open his gift from us because I knew the parents would get a kick out of the present we found for him.  Other than that, I didn’t even know if the child got their gift until the Thank You note.  (Which annoys me by-the-way.  I’m not a fan of the Thank You note.  I personally think it’s unnecessary and I feel silly when I get one.  I’m not giving you a gift to get a note about it.  I also procrastinate when writing them.  I know!  I know!  Call Miss Manners!  I’m an outrageous faux pas!)  

Anyway, I got to thinking about Charlotte’s 1st birthday party.  Did I commit a major kid party no-no last year when my then one-year-old opened her stack of presents in front of everyone?  Did I bore my guests to tears and come across as an attention seeking moron mom?

I personally like seeing the child open their gifts.  They get to tear paper to reveal some noisy, blinking nonsense.  It’s cute.  Who doesn’t like seeing a kid get a present?  I considered having Charlotte just open friend gifts at the party and save family presents for later.

What is the etiquette these days?  Is there a rule, or is it decided on a party-by-party basis?  What have you done in the past?  What have you experienced at other parties?  Should I have her open her gifts in front of the group, or wait until later?

I’m excited to hear your take on this.  Thanks!

(Oh, and I did write Thank You notes and I will again this year too.  Relax.)

See this?  I freakin’ made it ya’ll!  I am not a photographer, nor a graphic designer.  I’m just a mom trying to be all DIY and not to spend so much on the birthday party this year.  Last year I shelled it out for gorgeous 1st birthday invitations online.

This year I lined up Charlotte’s favorite toys and took several shots after the dog licked the toddler and knocked over Burt.  I’m proud to say I was able to crop Cookie Monster and Ernie back where they belong.  I’m also proud to say my child’s smile is real, and not edited.

As proud as I was of these, after I printed them all off I noticed I probably should have said “Can you tell me how to get to Charlotte’s 2nd Birthday Party?” instead of just “Birthday.”  It makes more sense.  Then I noticed my epic fail of an incomplete sentence when I wrote “This party brought to you by the letter C and the number 2.” instead of “This party is  brought to you by the letter C and the number 2.”  After printing, I lost the will to go back and correct it.  Our guests will just have to deal with my poor grammar.  Oh!  I also failed to put RSVP info on there.  But, hey, there is a Sesame Street sign with my kid’s name on it.  Isn’t that what’s important?

I won’t lie, this shindig will be a straight-up Pinterest fest.  Show me a child’s party that isn’t these days.

Enjoy the outtakes.  It shows the extent of my work.  Tell me what you think of my invites.  Happy party planning!