Birthday Greeting from afar

My toddler has many friends that live far away.  Technically, her little friends are actually the children of my friends, but you get the idea.  Those friends have birthdays ... each and every year.  I know, imagine that!  It's really hard to keep up with sending gifts, especially when you A) don't get to enjoy the party and B) don't get to watch the gift being  opened.  Where's the FUN in that?  So, I try to come up with fun and creative way to wish a little one happy birthday ... from far away ... without spending a ton on shipping.  I also want to try to involve my toddler in the process as much as possible.  To get the biggest (cutest) bang for my buck, I usually fall back on photography - I take pictures of my toddler :)

Well, my friend Debbie, who I taught with at the beginning of my career, is also mom to three of the cutest two year olds on the planet. You can find out more about Debbie and her triplets at The Growing Cunninghams.  I mentioned that her toddlers are two, but I failed to tell you that milestone is officially TODAY!  

Happy Birthday, H, M, and L!

• The easel served as the backdrop.  Grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote a simple message.
• Used PowerPoint to create a really large number 2 (representing the age of the birthday girls and boy).  Typed each kiddos name on the number.  Printed them out.  Cut them out.
• My toddler sat on my lap and named the letters of each name.  I told her what "she" spelled.
• Had Natalie choose TWO stickers to put on each one, and then we counted to figure out that 2 + 2 + 2 = 6.
• I then attached toilet paper tubes to the back of each number to give her something to hold onto.
• Grabbed my camera and started bribing with jelly beans and clicking like a crazy woman.
• In the end, I had a bunch of photos to choose from and made a collage using Google's Picasa - that's what you're looking at up there :)
• I sent the collage to a local place to be printed in an 8 x 10.  
• Debbie and the birthday kiddos got an electronic copy emailed to them first thing this morning. 
• The print, all three 2's, and a personal message will be sent to H, M, and L in Virginia.

How's that for a fun and easy birthday greeting?