...emmy's 2nd birthday - wrapping it up...

we weren't sure how emerson would react to the whole birthday cake & singing thing because she was anti-being sung to throughout the day. once we had the candles on the cake though, she was sold & actually let us sing "happy birthday" while she smiled away! i was thankful that it didn't turn out to be some traumatic experience. :)

emmy loved her little doll...it was a great find, i must say! she laughs, cries, sucks her bottle, burps, and sleeps! so real life and so fun to take care of!

but the real hit of the party was the purse that uncle jer & aunt jen gave her. once she opened it, she literally would not put it down...she even went to bed with it that night. she's such a girl, it makes me laugh... :)

the kids love when grandma & grandpa field come visit...it was so fun to have them come help celebrate!

showing off her new stick-on earrings from grandma & grandpa olsen...sooooo pretty!

it really was a fun weekend! emerson loved having so much family come & so did the rest of us. it's hard to believe that this little girl is already two! she's so much fun to have around...with her funny facial expressions, tip-toeing around the house, crazy curly hair, love of teasing zac & mimicking anything he does, high-pitched screams, sneaky behavior, whispering secrets in our ears, cute dance moves, unique vocabulary skills (or lack thereof), love of anything & everything girlie, and multiple hugs & kisses throughout the day...we can't imagine life without her. she makes us smile everyday...and we're so glad she's ours. :)

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 5...

i found these suckers at oriental trading & couldn't resist. such a good deal too, 12 suckers for $6.95...not bad!

a birthday party just wouldn't be the same without cupcakes...(and yes, the pig is made out of fondant)

we had some "fresh cream" to go along with our farm theme. i made a few other signs too...like "pig slop" for the baked beans, "100% beef" for the hamburgers, and "chicken feed" for some chex mix treats...

(i found the little buckets at zurchers...i think they were like .35 cents...or maybe they were .70 cents, i can't remember...but i thought it was a good deal)

zac saw these barn shaped cookie cutters at orson & gygi...how he spotted them, i don't know. but once again, i couldn't resist & we made some for our guests to take home.

have you ever wondered how to get that perfectly smooth look on your sugar cookies? well i have & i finally figured out! you use royal icing, and i found a great recipe here that's simple and very yummy!

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 4...

some of the little tags i made to hang from the chandelier...

diet IBC rootbeer was a must!

and i found this little watering can at target & figured i could use it for something! so a centerpiece it was!

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 3...

here's the cake, which was far from perfect...but it turned out pretty cute and served its purpose, which was mainly for decoration & blowing out candles! :)

the easiest & probably best tasting fondant recipe:

1 (2 lb.) bag powdered sugar
1 bag of mini marshmallows
2 Tbsp. water
crisco

*put marshmallows & water in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals until the marshmallows are smooth with no lumps. (stir between each microwave session)

*then gradually add powdered sugar. once it is workable (not super sticky, pour it onto the remaining powdered sugar. (you may want to grease your counter top & hands with crisco to prevent sticking.) knead it until it is the consistency you want. you'll end up using most of, but not all of the powdered sugar. :)

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 2...

zac came up with the great idea of taking emerson to the thanksgiving point farm for her birthday. there couldn't have been a better place to help celebrate...

**these pictures were taken by grandpa mike...edited by me.**

the bunnies were cute, but definitely stinky!!

keeping entertained by a wierd looking goose...

the cutest baby goat...that emerson loved!

this little birthday girl was tuckered out. we got home & she fell right asleep, missing the first half of her birthday party. but we were glad she napped, so she could actually enjoy the rest of the night in happy spirits!! last year we didn't have such a happy girl on our hands, so we learned our lesson that it's best to let her sleep when she's tired!! :)

...emmy's 2nd birthday - part 1...

this little girl had a birthday...and it turned out to be such a fun party! lots of family came & it was definitely a weekend we'll remember. thank you everyone!! instead of doing one gigantic post, i'm going to post a few pictures each day...saves time! i've decided that's why i sometimes dread blogging, because it takes forever because i post so many pictures all at once. so i'm going to try and be a better blogger by simplifying my posts!! we'll see how it goes....

emerson loves animals and even though she still doesn't say many "words" she can make animal noises. so i thought it would be fun to have a little farm birthday for her. in the few weeks working up to her birthday, i'd ask her what kindof birthday she was going to have and she would say "coooowwww-uuh". it was very fun to put together & i'm pretty sure she liked it. so for starters...here's the invite!