Party Post One ended with the arrival of Elmo and Cat in the Hat. After giving some time for people to eat and mingle, the girls’ favorite characters showed up in full force! It was hilarious to see kids from all over the park (some not at our party) look over in absolute disbelief and glee as the giant, furry, moving, talking Elmo and Cat in the Hat emerged on the scene.
Despite Elmo being the girls’ favorite character EVER (multiple requests per day to read Elmo books, watch their Elmo potty video, snuggle with Elmo stuffed animals, etc.), S and A took a few minutes to warm up to the real thing. I expected nothing less– he is, after all, a huge, furry, red monster who materialized out of nowhere. I wonder if the girls thought it was all some kind of crazy dream.
Kudos to Elmo and Cat in the Hat for staying COMPLETELY in character and using their “character” voices the entire time, even when I was talking to them about payment and logistics. “Elmo says cash is fine!”
While I had no doubt the girls would eventually warm up to their beloved Elmo, I was more apprehensive about Cat in the Hat. Am I the only one, or is the Cat in the Hat (at least in the book) kind of creepy?
The story behind hiring both Elmo and Cat in the Hat for the party was that I really, really wanted to have a Thing 1 Thing 2- themed party as it is the quintessential theme for twins. I figured this may be my last year to do it since the girls might want to start picking party themes in the near future. I had to do Thing 1 Thing 2 while I still could!
However, although the girls have a Cat in the Hat stuffed animal and like to read the book, it’s not necessarily their favorite character. I figured they would go nuts over Elmo, so instead of having another Dr. Seuss character come, I went with their red, furry friend. It turned out perfectly, even though I’m sure people were confused as to why Elmo showed up to a Dr. Seuss party.
Parker, Avery and Liliana loved Elmo!
Elmo and Rhys.
Baby Noah showed no fear.
Violet and Luke were fascinated.
Others…not so much. Poor Kennedy!
Maliyah kept her distance.
Grace shares the same birthday as the girls (March 11, 2013) and even came in matching party colors. She warmed up to Elmo eventually.
Samantha had her moments.
After Elmo and Cat in the Hat greeted the kids who weren’t absolutely terrified of them, Elmo did some bubble games with willing participants.
Parker and Leighton were over there in a flash.
After their fourth (fifth, sixth?) tacos, we finally coaxed the girls to go help Elmo with the bubbles, and they ended up having a blast.
Then it was just Parker and the girls for the longest time!
Just a regular old day blowing bubbles with Elmo.
While Elmo was doing games with the kids, Cat in the Hat was taking orders for face painting. Even though I assumed Cat in the Hat was a little bit more frightening (from my perspective, at least), there was constantly a line for face painting. I heard from my friends that she was great about going around and greeting the kids as well as asking them if they wanted a painting.
Amelia was very insistent about getting an owl on her arm.
Samantha loved her butterfly!
Cat in the Hat did an AH-mazing job with the face paints! Avery’s looked so pretty!
Remy and the Cat.
Halle’s face painting was so pretty.
Parker was reluctant to take photos, but his giraffe face was awesome!
While Cat in the Hat was working on face painting, the kids joined Elmo for some parachute games– the girls’ absolute favorite.
Notice Baby Noah in the background– he had the best view!
After the parachute, Elmo did some songs, dancing with musical instruments, ribbon play and a parade around the park with the kids. S and A alternated between hanging with Elmo and watching the face painting.
Jayden gets painted.
Leighton gives it a go.
In between getting their faces painted, gorging themselves on tacos, churros and snacks, and playing games with Elmo, the girls managed to mingle a little bit.
A hug for Ryan and Sebastian.
Amelia, Grace and Susan.
Elmo did a great job of mingling too!
Some of the kids never quite warmed up to Elmo or the Cat. It was fun to watch anyway!
Elmo tried his best with Shea. Fail. She was terrified.
Maliyah and Allie tolerated Elmo for a quick picture!
Luke wouldn’t leave Elmo’s side.
Noah was a huge fan.
High fives all around!
Obsessed!
It was pretty chaotic trying to make it around to see everyone, and with 84 people there, I regrettably did not get pictures with every friend. On the bright side, because Anthony the taco guy was taking care of the food, Jake and I were actually able to at least say hi to everyone and have some fun!
Originally, Phi and her family had a business trip scheduled that weekend, but ended up being able to make it to the party, which we were ecstatic about. The girls would have been devastated if their buddy, Parker, hadn’t been there!
We were thrilled that the girls’ mentor/life coach, Marisa, came all the way down from UCLA to celebrate, even though she was on the verge of finals week. A sweet surprise for the girls!
Jake talking shop with Rich and the Hada crew.
So good to see Michelle and Kole, who had just fallen down and skinned his knee, poor guy! Kaleb was hiding somewhere.
Noah did a ton of mingling too.
I see cake! I see cake!
To be continued…
Just as in the last post, a big thanks to Sarah, Dad, Phi, Allison and everyone else who sent me their photos!
Lots of love,
