Emory's First Birthday Party...and steps!

Now that it is officially May perhaps I should FINALLY get the post up about Emory’s 1^st birthday party…you know, since it was a month ago!  Sheesh!  (Total slacker over here.)

Emory had a party the first weekend in April.  It was so much fun and we owe a huge thank you to a million people for all of their help and support.  I will go ahead and apologize because there will be a ton of pictures in this post.

Some of the decor (big thank to my mother-in-law for taking pictures when I was too busy):

It took me a whole night to make this, but I think it turned out kinda cute!

If you could have a love affair with an invitation, this would be my mister-ess.  :-)  So adorable!

Who needs a red carpet when you have a balloon sidewalk?

  The yummies for everyone's tummies:

The sweet table.  Everyone loved the Baboon Butter!

Tiger tails, monkey chips, cheetah cheese and crackers, elephant goodies, and hungry hippo hummus and veggies.  Yum!

God bless Aunt Diane and her patience.  I owe this woman my sanity.  She made somewhere around 60-70 cupcakes.  Aren't they precious?

Emory loved the rhino raisins...as did all my pregnant friends.

The birthday boy's set-up.  Cake by Aunt Diane and banner by my bestest, Sandra.

...and then there was the birthday boy, sweet Emory:

Uncle Jeff made sure we had overalls for this football season.  :-) 

If you want to over-stimulate a 1 year old, invite 50 people over and then throw a bunch of gifts at him. 

1. I LOVE Peggy (she set me up with my hubs) and Emory's faces here.  2. The shirt and diaper cover are just two of the MANY things the amazing Sandra made our sweet boy.  Don't worry, I'm working on getting her to set up and etsy shop!

One of Emory's toys from Mama and Dada.  This thing has been a huge hit thus far.

No party is complete without a little cake:

The fire was his favorite part.

Our son has a little too much of me in him, so Daddy had to step in and help him get dirty.

Aunt Nicki and Heather were trying to encourage filthy icing spattering to continue.

...and then he had a meltdown, so we were done.

The aftermath.

Emory with my parents.

Brandy was taking pictures with my camera most of the day while also taking care of her own baby.  THANK YOU for traveling and for all of the help!

Love this little monkey!

I have no idea what is going on in this picture, but apparently it was awkward and funny.

My family.  Minus Kandice...although the top of her head is pictured at the bottom right.  :-)

Ms. Miriam, Phillip's best friend's mom, came up to celebrate too!

Emory loves her!

Myself, Emory, and the most amazing woman in the world!  Love you, Sandra!

After most of the guests left, we took to relaxing outside with the remaining friends and family.  We had such a nice afternoon and SUCH an exhausted Emory.  Being a big boy is hard work!

Did I mention that my best friend and her most fabulous husband flew in from California for Emory's birthday?  LOVE THEM!

Love these two!

Emory hates grass.  This worries Phillip's family more than anything. 

If you think your baby has the perfect demeanor, you now stand corrected.  Meet Ella Kate.  Literally, the happiest baby in almost any and every capacity!  She's so pretty!

Aunt Nicki is trying to cure Emory of his phobia.

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Nicki know how to entertain!

Check out his feet.

Two sets of corn hole boards.  One for corn hole, the other for take offs of course!

Up...

...up

...up

...and away.

He even stuck the landing!  Nice form, buddy!

Contemplating a career as a pilot. 

Taylor and Mason were competing for the ice Phillip was throwing. 

Alli, the baby whisperer. 

Ella Kate started green beans last month and cupcakes this month!

It was a great birthday!

Did I mention that prior to going out to dinner Emory took his first steps to Aunt Sandra?  Yes!  Granted he hasn't done a thing since then, but still.  I've learned that our son is calculated, seriously quizzical, and determined.  He does everything when he is good and ready.  I enjoy sitting back and watching him go.  

Phillip and I can't believe this year is over.  It's bittersweet.  It seemed like just yesterday we were told to go downstairs to Labor and Delivery for an emergency induction and now we have a perfectly healthy, wonderfully rambunctious, sweet baby boy...BIG BOY!  God is so amazing!  

Kristin

Little Man is ONE!

I'm still working on rounding up pictures from his birthday party on the 7th, but I thought I'd share a little dose of preciousness from today.  Where does the time go?  We are blessed beyond measure.

My cup runneth over.

Kristin

Emory's 2nd Easter and a Big "UH OH!"

Does an Easter without a basket full of goodies count?  If not, then this is Emory's first real one!  (I know, I know Easter isn't about the treats!)  Last year, our little guy was a whole 8 days old on Easter Sunday.  Since he made his debut a little early, we were hardly prepared.  We didn't make it to church, obviously.  We didn't have any cute basket.  We didn't even have a precious outfit.  

No worries!  This year Mama and Daddy made up for lost time!  Easter Sunday fell the day after Emory's 1st birthday party.  It was such an exciting weekend!  Ella Kate (and Brandy, but we all know who the star of this parade really is) came up for the weekend.  She's some kind of precious.  Will had to work this weekend, so we made sure to capture tons of pictures.  Fortunately, a camera loves some Ella Kate.  Want to know why?  Because she's ALWAYS happy!  Check out Sunday's cuteness (FYI: we let the babies have their baskets the night before):

Brandy teaching Ella how to sneak up on the Easter Bunny.

Emory got his own set of keys (so maybe he'll leave Mama's alone)!

"Hey!  Aren't you the one that should be in the basket?" 

"I got this, Mom!  Both hands at 10 and 2...and a mouth at 12!"

It was so far past their bedtimes. 

Emory showing Aunt Sandra and Uncle Steven his lion.

Aunt Sandra had to tell Emory goodbye as she put him to bed.  :-(  They flew out before he woke up.

Ella Kate kept laughing and pulling her dress up.  Already mischievous. 

I love these two!

Ella Kate has a basket on steroids!  Emory got her a lion just like his!

Look at her smiling.

We put the fun in dysfunctional!

A little better with Phillip NOT sitting on my lap.

Hi, precious girl!

Well, there's a smile. 

We stopped by my parents' house to take pictures after church.  They were ready for their naps, but I still thought this was a cute picture of Emory and my mom.

This boy loves his Poppy.

LOVES!

Granted, Ella Kate napped during church, but all things considered these two did pretty good for staying up for almost 6 hours with no morning nap.  This is the picture Brandy took when we got home.  Emory NEVER sleeps in the car.

Funny story from the Easter service at church...

Emory normally goes to the nursery while we are in Sunday school.  We go home and watch service because he won't nap anywhere and he can't stay in the nursery for 3 hours without a meltdown.  

Well, we decided that we would go to the regular service since Brandy was in town and she likes our pastor.  Emory was going to give it a go with us.  I was surprised at how well he did during the singing and some of the service.  He hates loud noises, so usually he cries his little eyes out.  

The pastor really got into the meat of the Resurrection part of the sermon when Emory drops his little book that he was playing with.  So the pastor is yelling (we're Baptist, we yell) something along the lines of "Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him" when suddenly our child screams, "UH OH!"  Fabulous, Emory!  Phillip and I struggle to keep from laughing.  I scoop up his bag, carry him out, and feed him fruit.  Next week, he'll be going back to the nursery.

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Savior!

Kristin

"He's not perfect."

Are you addicted to Pinterest?  I am.  Well, my obsession is getting a bit better but only because Emory won't nap as much.  :-)  I find all sorts of goodies on there.  The other week I came across this quote:

"He's not perfect.  You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect.  But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold on to him and give him the most you can.  He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.  Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect more of him than he can give.  Don't analyze.  Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there.  Love hard when there is love to be had.  Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you." 

~Bob Marley

Anyone that knows us also knows how completely different Phillip and I are.  Initially, I was concerned about how this would work in a marriage.  Through all of our valleys (and admittedly, we have dealt with a lot more than most early marriages), he always made me laugh.  I have to say that I am guilty of not expressing my thanks enough and over-analyzing too much.  Thankfully, I married a pretty gracious fella.  

Just a challenge: (for anyone that may be reading) thank the person that supports you the most...and the best that he knows how.  

 

Kristin

 

Emory + Florence = Long Overdue Trip

We have been so busy lately, but thankfully my current profession has this thing called Spring Break!  We decided to pack up and head down to South Carolina.  Emory LOVES it down there.  Daddy was only able to be there for the weekend.  We stayed until Wednesday when Aunt Diane came back with us for Emory's birthday party!

Carly was helping Emory with his birthday present.

Grammie gave Emory entirely too much sugar, but boy did he love it.  (Can't you tell?)

That boy can find his mama anywhere!

Emory thinks this is the best seat in the house...any house.

 

Playing with Logan.

These girls are not afraid of mud. 

Taylor got in trouble.  Big surprise!  ;-)

I could kiss those little cheeks forever.

My boys.  My world.  My heart. 

 

Have you ever heard about Emory's crazy hair?  Meet said coif.

Apparently, this is childcare Florence style.

...and this is your brain on drugs.

He loves his Aunt Diane.

Somehow Grammie has this calming effect that can put this baby right out.

Last but not least, Emory visited the best farmers market in the world...FINALLY! 

I'll post more about the birthday festivities later.  We hope you had a great Easter weekend!