Monday, May 2, 2011

Of Skeletons and Celebrations

My kids are so blessed to already be surrounded with a great circle of friends who love them like siblings and whose parents care about them, too.  So Em's birthday celebration extended for almost a week as she had her Easter party, then her actual birthday, and a few days later, her friend party!  Turning one is certainly a big deal up here in this house.

Em was really excited about her party, especially when she woke up to a house decorated in pink and white.


Then she changed into party ensemble #2, complete with kitty shoes, flower headband, and magic wand.



She is undeniably all girl.  Through and through.

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No photoshoot would be complete without The Tongue.  The Tongue means true happiness.  I didn't have to twist her arm to get her dolled up; the girl loves accessories!

Then their friends arrived and we happily moved the party outside due to agreeable weather and sunshine.  The play house was a big hit.  Em even made her presence known by eventually leaping through that window to be included.



Jax and his buddy Harper get along so well and since she's older, she often shows him the ropes and he thinks she is the coolest thing.  
 


The kids were loving the combination of blue skies and bubbles...


Photobucket

...when an unexpected guest crashed the party.



For the love of God, what is that and why do I live here

One minute, peaceful playtime; the next, animal cemetary.  Any thoughts on what kind of animal that used to be?  We would soon discover the rest of it, jawbone, ribs, etc., intermingling among the acorns and fallen leaves scattered across my side yard.  My initial thought is that whatever it was moved into the little house to die a peaceful death, and when we dragged the house across the yard, we unknowingly disturbed a little of the circle of life.  Now I just want to bleach the hell out of the house, even though that assumption could be totally wrong and those bones could have been there for months.  All I know is that skeletons do not belong at one-year-old birthday parties!

Luckily, empty bellies rumbled and so the party moved away from skeleton central to the deck where quesadillas and fruit filled the void until it was time for the ugliest-looking cake ever made.




Don't let the icing and sprinkles fool you--it was a very unattractive cake!  But it still tasted great!



Em thinks this week-long celebration thing really has its perks!

The afternoon wrapped up with very thoughtful gifts and a little more energy burned before everyone made their way home for nap. 



The manly way to hold hands.

Jax and Harper, saying goodbye.  I literally heard him say, "I love you, Harper."  Awwww.

Em sure is one lucky girl, for so many reasons, not the least of which is the good luck bones sprinkled around our house!  Please let that be the first and last encounter with extinct wildlife we have this year!

Happy Birthday, baby girl.  We sure did it up this year, but you deserve every second of recognition.  Our lives wouldn't be the same without you.  We love you!

22 comments:

Ashley S. said...

Too cute! I love, love, love her outfit! It looks like a sweet party for a super adorable birthday girl. As for the skeleton, yes, it is very random :)

UpperBottom said...

i could eat your baby whole. sooo cute and chubby! : )

faith ann raider said...

oh these are SO cute!!! LOVE that sweet white dress :) Great shots.

XLMIC said...

That pic of her in the hat and cardigan w/ the bubbles... to die for. That playhouse will be a hit for YEARS I bet... ours was. What a wonderful series of celebrations :)

Adriel Booker said...

two reasons right there that i hope to have a girl one day: that adorable white dress and those awesome kitten shoes! arg!!! :)

4 Lettre Words said...

What fun! LOVE those little shoes.

Callie said...

"For the love of God what is that and why am I living here?" I spit out my coffee reading that! HYSTERICAL! And your Em is adorable. LOVE those cheeks! Happy Birthday to her and congratulations on a lovely party....no bones about it, it looked fabulous (sorry, I couldn't resist)!

Melanie said...

So adorable and darling! LOVE HER! My little one is almost 14 months and we had a disastrous first birthday with a 103 degree fever and everything. So nice to see that Em had a NICE time at her party!

Smiles,
Melanie
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Alana said...

Loooks like Em had a great birthday! Sorry we are too far away to celebrate with her. I am pretty sure Addy would have loved to be in the playhouse with all of the other kids. :-)
Hugs from us...

Sweaty said...

Following you from the Tuesday hop.

OMG, your baby girl is TOO cute!!! She's adorable to the max! Love ALL the pictures of the children... so precious!

Glad I found your blog! Looking forward to knowing you better!

Would Like To Be a Yummy Mummy said...

What gorgeous photos. Following you now after discovering terrific tuesday. Looks like a great blog. Feel free to check out my blog :-)

Nicole said...

Happy 1st birthday to your little girl. She is so adorable. Loved her birthday outfit, too cute. Great pictures!

jen said...

ohmyfrickingadorable!
(i mean, other than the skull - yuk!)

your title made me laugh....so I had to come check it out. at my house we use, "Shake it off" LOL

now following so I don't miss any of the good stuff
The Survival Mama

Julie said...

Love, love, love the sweet shot with the precious dress and the wand! My ten month old has The Tongue as well, so cute!

The skeleton story is hilarious. Darn those unexpected guests! ;)

Beth P. said...

Oh my gosh! Happy 1st birthday and what a cutie! I LOVE those kitty shoes. It looks like a great celebration!
Thank you so much for linking up for Photo Tales, I really appreciate it!

T.J. said...

Why no birthday is complete without skulls and bones, don't you know?!

Em looks fabulous right down to her kitten shoes!!!! I also particularly enjoyed the "college" shirt :)

Jen said...

So, so cute and thosekitty shoes jsut push it over the top! It should be illeage to be that adorable!

Laura said...

I would have commented sooner - but I died of cuteness overload when I saw her party outfit!

Unknown said...

she is too cute - love the outfit - you are a brave momma with white - my kids, esp my boys would last 1 second before that was stained with something!!

Alana Jo said...

What a cutie!

andrea said...

Adorable pictures. And as wierd as the bones are.. yours pictures of them are cool!

Babybindle said...

What a great post. Those pictures of the baby in the sun...adorable but oh my the shoes. I love it!

http://babybindle.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-capture-spring-has-arrived.html