Thursday, February 13, 2014
Emmy's 2nd Birthday
Remember last year when I pretended Emmy's birthday wasn't going to happen and waited until the last minute to plan? I swore I wouldn't do that again. And in some ways, I didn't. I sent out invitations in advance and planned to do a low-key shindig at our house. We invited 25 of our closest family and friends and were surprised to find out that everyone could make it! I was so happy that everyone loved Emmy so much that they would take time out of their busy lives to come party for a toddler so I quickly adjusted our plans to make room for all the guests.
I called a local bbq restaurant on Thursday, ordered the cake, shopped for Emmy's outfit and decorations and had the whole party planned in less than 4 hours. Pretty good!
I even thought that by not having the party at our house we might have a leisurely Saturday morning since I had nothing to do to prepare for the party. Of course, I could never let that happen soI decided we should deep clean our house top to bottom just in case anyone wanted to stop by (and they did). And anyway, it needs to be done at least once a month and it's tough to convince Joe to help if I don't have a good reason.
Emmy acted shy and clingy as the guests arrived, I think it blew her mind to see so many of our different groups of family and friends come together.
Just in this one picture, we have Emmy's godfather, maternal grandparents (Pops and Gigi), uncle (JonJon) and paternal great grandfather (Papa Bill). How cool is that!?
Sweet Hannah had her birthday the night before with even more people in attendance. She is a trooper. I really so very rarely see this little girl unhappy or stressed out. She is amazing!
I don't know what I would have done without my mom helping me set up and organize all of the last minute details for the party. Papa is always getting the shaft when the babies are around!
Once Emmy got comfortable with all the guests, she went nuts running around the restaurant and visiting with everyone. I loved watching her run up to people to give them a hug. I also loved watching my friend's son, Jameson chase after Emmy. They played together without actually ever looking at or directly communicating with one another. How fun would it be if adults could have a good time without communication!?
Since I was busy entertaining everyone, my awesome sister snatched up my camera and took most of these pictures. Including the two above and below that perfectly capture Emmy's sweet personality.
When she started getting bad, running in the kitchen, digging in the trash and trying to escape the restaurant, we decided to pull out the cake. As soon as she locked eyes with that cake, she absolutely had to have it right then so she sobbed through the entire rendition of "Happy Birthday".
Oh well, our sweet friends patiently waited for their slice of cake!
Opening presents was way more fun this year. Emmy ripped through the bags and was excited with every gift she opened. Jameson was never too far behind, eyeballing her new radio flyer skooter and soccer ball.
Emmy had a great time. She loved getting to see so many of her people together and the party was so fun for us too. We have 4 or 5 Christmases every year. It takes a lot to get so much family in one place and I cannot put into words how much I appreciate everyone driving to Birmingham for Emmy. She is a special little girl, true, but she is lucky too, to have so much love all around her.
I even stayed on budget. Here's how it broke down:
Food for 14 people: $95
Just hamburger meat, hot dogs, buns, chips, dips, sweet tea and beer. I also picked up the utensils, plates, napkins and cute straws- all from Target, all while my husband cried about being hungry. Do you know how hard it is to plan a last-minute party while shopping in the world's most distracting store while your husband and child whine about being hungry... in a GROCERY STORE?! So yeah, I sent Joe and Emmy off to get their own food.
Decorations: $23
I thought I was too late to get cute things that said "1st Birthday" because I assumed that was an Etsy buy or maybe I would have to search local gift shops but Party City had some great choices! I went in for a dozen balloons and came out with party hats, a bib and tablecloth. Sidenote: buying balloons for my kid's birthday made me feel really adult all of a sudden. I realized I had never purchased them and I wasn't sure what to do so I just sulked around the counter stretching balloons until someone asked me if they could help. Then I blabbered about my kid's first birthday and wanting shades of pink and the sweet guy just picked the colors for me.
Cake/Smash Cupcakes: $30 (okay, $40 but I had a $10 gift card so technically still on budget)
I saw this cake on their website for Valentine's day and when I called they said they keep them in stock so I didn't have to custom order. Easy! And, it was only $32 - maybe it's just me but I thought that was a steal! Again, my first time buying a cake. I actually prefer the taste of homemade cakes but I wanted this to be special. Emmy loved her cupcake. Or at least the icing anyway.
Grand total: $148.00
Most people ended up bringing their own beer which was great since our 18 went really fast waiting 2 hours for the grill to heat up. That outdoor grill was the only hiccup the whole day. It took so long for the coals to get hot that everyone had filled up on beer and chips.
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| my sweet sister, Courtney! |
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| this wagon is going to be awesome, I can't wait to use it! |
We brought a football and my dad bought Emmy this awesome Radio Flyer that she got to ride around in. I was busy making sure everything was laid out and being sociable so it was nice that my sister was able to capture the moment on her camera. She's really talented and having her saved a lot of money.
In retrospect, I should have known that I wouldn't be able to get out of a party and I should have planned a little better just to avoid the last minute stress. There was no way my family was going to let me out of having a party and I am so glad they didn't. Emmy loved it. She loved everyone doting on her, being outside, watching her puppy play and eating cake! I am so proud of this sweet girl and our first year with her has been full of joy, I just can't wait to get to know her this year.
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| my momma and emmy |
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| rufus snufus, the best dog in the world |
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| my daddy and my baby |
Operation: Birthday Party
Who's got the prettiest blue eyes and her first birthday party tomorrow??
This girl!
First off, I can't believe we have had our sweet girl for a year already. As much as it seems our life was a blur before her, the time with her has gone by even faster. I want to do a proper birthday party and first year post but this is not that post.
This one is about my thoughts on a one-year-old's birthday party. I follow other mom's blogs and am a little frustrated at the levels that some moms go to for a first birthday. Professional photography, customized outfits, full on themes with extravagant handmade decorations, catered food and dammit - just plain beautiful parties. I love it and yet I HATE IT. It's so much money for something that is more likely to make your kid squeem under the pressure of so many eyeballs and unfamiliar items floating around.
I wanted Emmy's day to be special but I wanted it to be a day full of her favorite things just for her. So, a day at the park watching her poodle run around, long naps and lots of dancing with her parent's undivided attention. That's an Emmy day. But maybe that's selfish of us, to keep her day for ourselves.
So at the last minute Joe and I decided to throw together a picnic for Emmy and invite the family and friends.
Budget: $150.00
Timeline: 24 hours
Think I can do it? I hope so! But in the end, all that matters is that my sweet girl has a good weekend. She truly deserves it.
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