party time

with the big day quickly approaching, we decided to have brendan's birthday party ten days early in order to have his family included.  minus the west coast fam, all of his family from both sides were able to come together to celebrate our little guy turning one.  it is still hard for me to even type that.  one?!  but i will save the sentimental thoughts for another post...

for months now, the party theme had been quite evident, and if you have spent any time with us, you most likely could have guessed it, too.  sesame street.  brendan loves almost every second of any episode he watches.  elmo, abby cadabby, and murray round out his top fave characters.  a few google and pinterest searches led me to the choices for decor, and emily had the great idea to print pictures of brendan over the past year to bring it altogether.  i gave my aunt a general direction for the cake but let her work her magic.  and, boy did she ever!

 

 

everyone was extremely kind and generous with their gift-giving and time to attend the party.  emily opened her house for this all to happen, and i am forever grateful for that.  i do not think i stopped smiling the entire evening because my heart was so full with almost all of our family around to honor our sweet boy.  i know brendan will not have any memories from this party, but we will have stories and pictures to show him how special it was.  maybe i am just a sentimental mommy, but i really could not have asked for a better evening.  to all of our family, near and far, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

now for the rest of the pictures!

a quick shot with uncle zach before he headed to work

eva was a fan of the cookie...icing

these two were super excited to be reunited after aunt rachel spent 6 weeks in south africa

cuddles with maw while adjusting to the excitement of the party

wanting to touch the candle flame

trying to figure this whole cake thing out

discovering how fun it is to eat cake by himself

heavy eyes and cheeks are the sure sign of a cake coma

playing with the new kitchen from grandma and papa

one happy boy after a fun party night