Emmett's 1st Birthday Party

Emmett's 1st Birthday was a Bug-Tastic good time! Andrea did a great job of decorating and we had lots of family and a couple of friends that came all the way to Albemarle to celebrate! We had so much fun, and are so grateful for their love! There are a lot of pics, but hey it was a big day!!!

....they were making personal Bumble Bee pinata's!!! There is a long somewhat comical and painful story behind these, but they turned out GREAT!!!

The rest of the swarm. Each Bee had some Bug Bites (fun graham cracker snacks shaped like bugs that we found at the last minute that fit the theme perfectly!!!), a rice crispy treat, and lollipops.

Very colorful and fun caterpillar cupcake cake made by Andrea with leaves from Eli's 1st b-day party!

Fun decorations and yummy snacks!

Grandma Gwinn brought a three pack of water guns for the boys. They were a big hit at the party. The three cousins played HARD in the water. You can see they are a little wet, we should have started them in their swim suits.... oops.

Beautiful Mama and the Birthday Boy, Emmett.

While collecting bugs for decorations Doc found a turtle! Not 100% with the theme but we had to hold on to it for the day.

Emmett "attacking" his pinata, with a little help.

Eli going after his.

Claire trying to get into her pinata after she got it down.
The pinata's were stronger then we thought!

Wyatt showing off the final result!

This is a video of the three kiddo's and their pinata's. It was very fun watching them play with the Bee's, especially at their different levels of coordination and athleticism!

Cake time, oh my!!!

Still unsure of that candle....

His first cake tasting... I think he liked it!

Two hands....

I love this pic! Really getting into the swing of it!

Wyatt's cupcake is gone and he is on to a lollipop, Eli's icing is gone and Clarie is just getting started.

The aftermath... Emmett is not a fan of bibs as you can see!

Present time, it was a group affair.

The three water kids! They ran and ran and ran!!!
You can see that they look a little hot!

Andrea also made goodie bags for the kids with bug magnifying glasses, bug books and bug stickers. This was the only bag to survive long enough for us to take a pic.

Most of our time was spent on the porch.

Tom spent a long time reading to all three kids and making them crack up!!!

Jill, Meg and Mutti hanging out on the steps.

The awesome Garri!!

Auntie Alison playing in the yard with Paige and Emmett.

Napping

Strawberry picking in the hot sun makes one a wee bit tired. Dad and I were fortunate to get a quick nap and everyone else thought it was quite comical.... Apparently, we slept in the exact same position. After the fact Andrea told me she was worried she would wake us up because she was laughing so hard; I just don't see it ;-)

It is a comfortable position...

I am glad I got the long couch!

Wake up Grandpa!!!

Strawberry Pickin'

The day after everyone arrived we went Strawberry picking. Jill missed the strawberry adventure last year by one day and wanted to participate this year. You cannot beat fresh strawberries, so we looked up a local place and headed out.

Looking for some good ones.

Mama and the littlest picker.

Eli taking a sample.

Emmett had to sample some too.

Okay, so I might have also....

Grandpa even got in on the picking action!

Emmett Turns One!!!

Emmett is officially one! On Emmett's birthday my parents and Auntie Jill arrived for a long weekend. We had a relaxing day hanging out, making preparations for Emmett's party, and concluded it with some ice cream!

Emmett not sure what to make of the candle.

He knew exactly what to do with the ice cream.

Mmm, good.

Just hanging out on Dada and lookin' cute.

Having fun with Mama.

Being crafty for Emmett's party.

What ARE they doing....

Mr. Independent

Emmett is getting so much personality, it is awesome!! He is very independent and playful. You can tell he wants to play with the bigger kids so badly, at times he tries to follow them around crawling while they run. He is growing so fast.....

Emmett just hanging out playing toys by himself.

Emptying the basket.

What's up?

Birthday Fun with Friends!

Our good friend's little girl, Emma, turned 2 in mid May and the boys and I made the trip to Durham for the festivities. We stayed at my parents for the weekend and got to do a little shopping with Grandma Mutti. It was nice to be able to go to stores that we are no longer close to. Plus I had some returns to do at a few of those stores. After a bunch of running around on Saturday we were on our way to the party....but on the way there we discovered that the party wasn't until Sunday! Luckily we were planning to be in town until Monday anyway. So, on Sunday, we made it to the party (a little early even!)...but....the boys fell asleep on the way there and ended up sleeping in the van for more than half the party!! They were both apparently really tired b/c a lot of times when the car stops moving they wake up, but not this time. I was glad when they got up though, b/c I didn't want them to miss all the fun! Eli slept through cake and ice cream, but got up in time to see Emma open presents!

Emma with her Aunt Annie enjoying her super cute Curious George cake! I know someone else who had a Curious George 2nd birthday!

Emma with her neighbor and the present from Eli and Emmett. They have a medical kit too, and love it, so they thought she might too!

Emma's sweet baby sister, Abby, and their grandma!

Emmett hanging out with Emma's daddy, Jon.

Some of the kiddos checking out Emma's new water table!

Emmett standing all by himself at the table, a little unsure of himself maybe?! He's getting so big! His 1st B-day is only 4 days away (from this picture)!

Me and my sweet friend, Laura. Buddies since elementary school!!!

Laura, me and our kiddos...minus Abby, she was napping!

We had a great time and love visiting these guys! Thanks for throwing a great party! :)