Where Play Meets Potential
Is your toddler as big a fan of Baby Shark as my toddler? Well, if they are, you are going to want to hear all the details about Ruby’s Baby Shark second birthday party.
A two year old’s birthday party is, well, different. I love birthday parties and there are so many fun things you can do with a child’s birthday party, but that is all from an adult’s perspective.
A two year old has only had one other birthday party and they probably don’t even remember that one. They are in a completely unique social phase, where they are much more aware than when they were one, but less socially involved than when they are three.
A birthday party is a whole new experience for them and oftentimes it can be very overwhelming.
Does it mean they don’t like birthday parties? Does it mean they are antisocial? Does it mean you missed their cues and don’t understand your child? Does it mean you didn’t do a good enough job preparing them? Does it mean you shouldn’t plan any more birthday parties in the future?
The short answer is no.
With Ruby’s Baby Shark second birthday party there were moments I expected and others I didn’t expect.
It started with a bunch of balloons outside her door. I expected her to be super excited. In reality she was mostly unamused and wanted to take one balloon downstairs. I think she was more interested in breakfast than balloons.
Then I thought I would get ahead of things and take some cute pictures before her party started. Well, she preferred taking the pictures herself instead of smiling for mine.
And I really thought she was going to enjoy everyone singing Happy Birthday since we had been singing and playing that song on repeat, plus it’s always her favorite part of others’ birthday parties. Well, I think she loved it so much she became overwhelmed with emotion and started to cry.
But one thing happened just as expected…we had a great time and Ruby felt so special and loved.
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It’s funny I debated on having a theme that was cute and my choice or choosing a theme that was along her interests. I knew this was probably one of the last years that I could get away with choosing for her, but I still wanted to see her happy and excited. When I put a poll out on our social media, most people voted for me to choose the theme, but I opted to go with her interests anyways.
I am so happy I chose the Baby Shark theme. It aligned with her interests, but also wasn’t over the top and cheesy. It made her happy and that is really what it is about.
I was also persuaded to go with this theme when a generous mom connected with me on Instagram and offered me her Baby Shark decor from her daughter’s second birthday.
Click the images to take you to the product.
Ruby received lots of wonderful and thoughtful gifts from family and friends. She did receive lots of Baby shark themed gifts, which was ok with me because she didn’t have many Baby Shark items and she does love Baby Shark.
Here are a few of the things Ruby received for her second birthday.
Just a word of warning, if you plan a second birthday party with a specific theme, you may receive lots of items with that theme. That is why Chris suggested next year be a money theme (haha).
I was happy with the theme we chose and the Baby Shark gifts we received because Ruby did not own many Baby Shark items and it made her so happy to receive these gifts.
Some of the items she received were a Baby Shark Puzzle that sings when you put the pieces in their spot, a Baby Shark sound book (this is a favorite gift), and a bunch of Baby Shark clothing.
As Ruby approached her second birthday, she began to show more of an interest in pretend play. Here are some of the gifts she received for her second birthday to support that interest.
Ruby actually enjoys going to the doctor. She watches the doctor intently and talks about their tools. She loves the book Grover Goes to the Doctor which started her interest in the stethoscope. She would use any cup-like device as a stethoscope, so I thought I should get her her own.
I love Green Toys because they are high quality, durable, and made from recycled milk jugs. We received this cupcake set early, so we used it for some Birthday party play dough play.
I paired the cupcake set with some homemade play dough, dinosaurs with homemade birthday hats, and the book How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday.
Ruby loved playing with this set up and it let us prepare her for her own birthday party. She practiced blowing out candles (which she was able to do when the time came), we sang Happy Birthday a bunch, and we read the story on repeat.
Her favorite part of the story is when the dinosaur gets a baby doll gift. I reminded her that she also received a baby doll gift and we practiced saying, “Thank you for my gift.”
Another gift she received early for her second birthday was a baby doll, crib, and bottles. She loves all her baby dolls and plays with them regularly. We used baby dolls to prepare her for her brother and she still uses them to act out scenes from her life.
The latest scene she is acting out is going to bed. She tells the baby to close her eyes, which is perfect because the baby doll she received has eyes that open and close. Bedtime has been somewhat of a struggle, so pretend play really helps her work through those emotions.
We also have high emotions with loud things like the blender and the vacuum. After her Baby Shark second birthday party, we had to vacuum the house. Luckily, we took out the pretend vacuum gift and she was able to vacuum right alongside mommy. She handled the situation much better with her own vacuum.
The power of pretend play is amazing!
Ruby received a few different pretend food kits. She is showing a lot more interest in her kitchen that she received for Christmas. She loves to wash her hands and cook when mommy or daddy are cooking in the real kitchen.
The two kits she received are both Melissa and Doug (I love this brand!!) and they are the pizza making kit and the ice cream kit. Everything from Melissa and Doug are such high quality that I never even question putting it on her wishlist.
I imagine many days of her feeding me pretend ice cream and pizza in our near future. So far I think I am up to about 10 ice cream cones. She mostly serves me mint chocolate chip and strawberry.
We have used a few different play dough kits from Play at Home Mom Co and they are always a hit. This one was perfect because it matched the theme of the party and it had so many quality pieces. Such a fun, unique gift for a second birthday!
Play at Home Mom Co. has so many great kits that are loosely themed in fun ways like Blippi, princesses, unicorns, and construction. Stop into her store to see all her options.
Click the pictures below to take you to the products.
Here’s another super unique gift for a second birthday from one of my favorite small businesses. The Creative Learning Co.’s boards are high quality and offer many opportunities for open ended play. The peg board comes with pegs, dowels, 2 12” dowels, wooden beads, and colorful bands. So excited for so many simple play ideas with this board.
You can get 5% off with code: Toybox5
Watercolor paper, paint, and paint brushes were a gift that Ruby received from us. She loves to paint and watercolor is a less messy paint option, so I was happy to get her some large watercolor cakes and nice watercolor paper.
I also noticed we only had thin paint brushes, so these thick toddler brushes were perfect to add to her art tools collection.
Wooden beads were also a great addition to her art collection. We can paint them and then we can also practice threading with them. It’s a double activity in one material.
Perfect!
When I added these big buttons to Ruby’s wishlist, I didn’t realize they were as big as they are. They are the perfect size for little hands and they are not a choking hazard. This allows me to do fun color and shape sorting activities without the risk of choking. Such a fun and useful loose part to use for early math skills.
Another great math material is the geoboard. I used them all the time in my preschool and kindergarten classrooms. I was happy when Ruby received this beautiful wooden one. I’m excited for her to try it out and for all the counting and shape activities we can do with it.
Blocks are an amazing open ended resource, loved by so many children. Mega blocks are perfect for a second birthday gift because they are easy to put together for those developing fine motor and coordination skills.
I have also seen some great ideas with spelling, addition, subtraction, and letters using the Mega Blocks. So excited to have these now.
I have been wanting to start doing yoga with Ruby because it offers many benefits including mindfulness, breathing techniques, calming, spatial awareness, and body awareness.
When I found these cards on Amazon, I immediately added them to her wishlist because they show real people doing the pose. They are also large and very durable (little brother Miles was found chewing on one yesterday). I have only openly let Ruby explore the cards so far, but I plan on taking out 2-4 cards and practicing the poses with her.
This was a thoughtful gift that wasn’t exactly the theme of the second birthday party (Baby Shark), but it was still somewhat related.
We are going to need lots of bathing suits because both of Ruby’s grandparents have pools and we are starting swim classes for her next week. I see lots of swimming in our near future.
Ruby is a fan of dinosaurs and she loves bath time. The combo was an ideal match for her second birthday interests.
She received light up dinosaurs. When they touch the water they automatically light up and they turn off when they are taken out of the water.
She also received bath bombs with dinosaurs inside, which she absolutely loves!
We usually give her an option of a bubble bath or a colored bath (using Mr. Bubble color tablets), but now we have added the option of a dino bath. She has chosen a dino bath 5 nights in a row. We only have one more left and I am fearing tomorrow now.
The cool thing is t hey come with matching cards, so she has enjoyed using the dinosaurs even after they are out of the bath bomb.
Ruby is one lucky two year old and she had such a great second birthday. I am so grateful for the family and close friends who joined us on a holiday weekend to celebrate our little toddler.
When I reflect on the day, I only remember the fond memories (even her crying during the happy birthday song) and the little moments that were stressful at the time have faded away.
If you have a second birthday coming up in your family, I wish you all the happiness that we experienced.
Now tell me, what was your child’s second birthday party theme? How did they respond to their birthday?
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