Emma's Birthday in Photos

Well it really happened, my baby turned a year old on Saturday. She had a circus party theme! Colors and animals are two of Emma's current favorite things so I think it fit well with her personality. Like everything else though there were some bumps throughout the day, but we were striving for fun not perfection and I think (besides the heat) fun was had by all!

The day started out early. I arrived at my parent's house close to 11am to set up for the party at 3pm, giving Emma's dad only one request: to make sure she took a nap (a mission he easily accomplished)! So I arrived at my parent's house, on a Saturday morning and it seemed the county had decided that it was the perfect time to begin some major pipe work .... throughout the ENTIRE neighborhood. Three blocks surrounding their house were closed off. I made it to their house with the majority of the decorations before the street was completely blocked off, needless to say I got some odd looks from the construction workers when I unloaded a gigantic paper mace elephant.

I endured about a half hour of shear panic that the safety of the party goers would be put in jeopardy. I didn't want anyone falling into a mound of dirt, but I had to much else to do so,  I gave up on my mission to call the county and question the terrible timing on the construction. Luckily I was there early enough to get the word out to most of our guests ahead of time to let them know they would have to park on a different street. Below is the carnage of the pipe replacement construction right in front of my parent's house. I am helplessly looking on from behind the safety of the fence (safety for the  county workers from my wrath.)

Set up went pretty well although I was already pretty exhausted by the end of it and the party hadn't even started yet. But everything turned out better than I expected. I made the happy birthday banner and it looked smashing!  Yes for my semi craftiness! The banner and food were outside on the porch and the desserts were inside to keep from melting in the near 90 degree heat. 

 

My sister and I decorated the cupcakes. They weren't professional looking but they were made with love...and animal crackers. Who doesn't love animal crackers!?!?

My mom made the cake. It's a carousel cake, the same cake she made for my first birthday and the same cake her grandmother made for her when she was little. I was glad to have that little piece of tradition present for Emma on her day. 

My husband's mom made this papermace horse and it was waiting for us in the front yard when we brought Emma home from the hospital so naturally I had to bring it to the party! It went with the theme and was a connection with the first celebration of her birth. I was glad to have it there. (There were more balloons. They didn't make it in the heat.)

Here it was the day we came home from the hospital! It might show up at every birthday she has from now on. I will show up at the bar on her 21st birthday waving it in the air! (You think I'm joking?) 

So, I ended up jumping on the goodie bag band wagon, but in my defense, they were not filled with your typical small goodie bag toys that get lost or are a choking hazard. They did have one small stuffed animal. They included animal crackers and animal shaped sand toys, perfect for summer! I kept it simple and only included items I felt might get some real use. 

Here is the aforementioned papermace elephant that raised eyebrows among our uninvited construction guests. Emma's godfather's aunt (got that?) made it and they were going to throw it away to make more space and I just had to rescue it! I knew it would serve an awesome purpose some day! And presto....circus elephant! 

Now onto the action! Emma had an awesome time playing with all of our friend's kids and her cousins! We had sidewalk chalk which of course she tried to eat, bubbles, mini golf, bag toss, and balls. It kept the kiddos entertained for a few hours! 

I also got animal masks! How could I not?

Emma had a great time with her cousin Cianna. They are only a year apart! I can see the future tea parties to come! 

Emma also enjoyed playing with her older cousin Justin, while the evil orange mesh fence from the uninvited construction looked on. Although it did turn out to be kind of cool for the kids. Dump trucks driving up and down the street were pretty awesome. 

All of the rest of the pictures were taken by other people at the party. My digital camera died and my iPhone ran out of storage space all in the same breath (yes I had charged my camera ahead of time but it decided not to turn on when I needed it the most!) luckily my brother in law and my father were on hand to capture the rest of the day. 

We sang happy birthday and Emma got to wear her pipe cleaner crown! My pintrest masterpiece!

 She got a lot of great gifts! One favorite was the farmhouse from her Auntie Julia! 

 All in all a great time was had by everyone, especially the birthday girl. I am so grateful for all of the support of our friends and family to make it a really special day. I look forward to many more celebrations to come!