Emmett turns ONE, a birthday extravaganza

 We (mostly Amy) maybe went a little overboard for Emmett's first birthday.  But we were in Utah with both our families and once the party-planning ball got rolling...well, it was a little hard to stop.  I understand that my future children will probably ask me why they didn't get a grand party like Emmett when they turned one, and I will just have to tell them it's because we love Emmett the most.  :)
In all honesty, we've just really enjoyed this first year as parents, and we wanted a chance to celebrate how much fun we've had with this little guy.
I know I will love my future children just as much as we love Emmett.  And if that love doesn't translate into a big 1st birthday party for each of them, then I'll have to show it some other way.

 I found the invites on etsy.  Probably didn't need actual invites since we basically only invited family, but it was a cute detail that encompassed the theme. The theme being a circus, if you didn't notice by now.

 I made the banner out of cute paper from Pebbles in my Pocket.  I used a variety of solids, stripes and polkadots in soft red, blue, orange and yellow.  The giant 3-foot balloons are from Zurchers.  It would have been super expensive to fill them with helium (which we probably couldn't have done anyway since there is a random shortage of helium--did you know that?) but they were tons of fun as they were.    It looks like they are moving in slow motion in the air.  Emmett had a great time playing with them.  I even managed to untie the knots at the end of the evening so that I can reuse them.

My mom and dad had to make a day trip to Boise for a funeral on the day of the party, so my super kind and helpful siblings, Beth and Quin, along with my tolerant husband got to be my worker bees.  Quin hung the circus bunting along the gazebo, filled and tied the balloons, set up chairs and helped hang the banner.  Beth was my go-to girl in the kitchen, and she made Emmett's cute party hat.  Clark did the shopping,  entertained Emmett and did anything else that I needed done.  I truly could not have done it without them.  Thank you, thank you!

 Even though my mom wasn't there the day of the party, she certainly put in more than her fair share of the work.  She was up until 3 a.m. the night before sewing together the banner and helping me (a lot) with the cake.  It was my first time really working with fondant, and I learned a lot!  I was super thrilled with how it turned out.

 My mom made darling little animal sugar cookies for the carousel.

These little cupcake toppers and wraps were the inspiration for the carousel/circus theme--Thank you, T.J. Maxx!

The Menu:  Gourmet french loaf sub sandwiches, chips, watermelon, kettle corn, rosemary parmesan popcorn, mini churros and sweet & spicy almonds and pecans.

Emmett & Jude--just a couple of weeks apart in age!

 So excited!  

 A happy birthday boy!

Checking out the candle.  

 It was a little passed bedtime, so this little guy was verging on emotional.  However, as soon as someone sang or clapped their hands, he was all smiles and bright eyes.

 Eating the monkey cookie after mom blew out the candle.

Mmmmm.  Chocolate cake.  

I love all of his different expressions.  He is such a character.

 A few sweet presents.  Notice how I am checking the gifts to make sure they are Emmett appropriate.

 Time with family, time to jump on the tramp and time to shoot hoops--so many of Emmett's favorite things!

It was a very fun day for us and hopefully Emmett will someday look back at these pictures and thank his family for making such a big fuss out of turning one.  We love you, Emmett! We do love you a lot buddy.

I love in this video how Emmett's mood immediately brightens anytime we clap or sing.  He loves being the center of attention!  No idea where he gets that!