1st Birthday

So I have been horrible about blogging but I figure if anything deserves an entry it is a first birthday party.  We had Emma's party last weekend which was a few days before her actual birthday on the 17th.  It was a small gathering in our apartment but it was perfect.  I decided on a hungry caterpillar theme after looking for ideas on Pinterest and I was very happy with how it turned out.  All of the ideas (decorations/cake) all came from Pinterest so I can't take any credit for creativity.

Here is a shot of the birthday girl in her hungry caterpillar onesie:

All of the food and decorations were inspired by the book:

Monthly pictures from birth to 11 months

Fruit

A very big "slice of salami"

The food table

Posing behind the food table

caterpillar cake

Of course all the mandatory family shots:

Emma and her grandmothers

Grandma C

Aunt Sarah

Funny Face

With all her grandparents

Grandpa and the pups

Family shot with Wembley

Reading her Hungry Caterpillar book

Emma got some great gifts, especially the homemade gifts from her grandmothers:

Her blanket made by Grandma C

One of her shawls made by Grandma H

Lola is checking out the stuffed dog to make sure it isn't real

And then the cake:

Singing happy birthday to daddy too

Happy Birthday to You

Blowing out the candles

Green Hand

Feeding daddy frosting

I don't think I want this cake mommy

Ok I'll try it

Oh it was good

It was hard to choose a few pictures for this page so please visit our shutterfly page to see the rest: http://emmaartinian.shutterfly.com

Disney World

In mid January I took Emma on her first plane ride to Disney World.  Sarah flew with me so thankfully I had help.  When we got down there we met my parent's, Adrienne, Ed, Jessica and Jason.  Saturday morning we cheered on Sarah as she completed the half marathon.  Well Emma and I made it there after she crossed the finish line but we were cheering in spirit from our 30+ minutes waiting for a bus and the 30 minutes spent on the bus trying to get to the finish line.  That afternoon my friend Karoline drove up from her house to spend the afternoon with us.  I haven't seen her in about 3 years so it was great to catch up.  We all wandered around Epcot and had a fun lunch at the beer garden in Germany.  That afternoon after people went to rest up before/after their runs and Karoline went home Emma and I took a quick swim in the pool.  The next day Sarah and Emma and I cheered on the marathon runners from outside our hotel.  We were able to see Jessica, Adrienne and Ed as they ran by but unfortunately missed Jason.  The afternoon was spent wandering around the Magic Kingdom.  Emma got to ride It's a Small World, the Pirates of the Caribbean and the new Ariel ride all of which she loved.  She also rode but slept through the Haunted Mansion.  We met up with everyone else after they rested post Marathon for an early dinner in Downtown Disney.  After Emma went to bed that evening grandpa babysat while mom, Sarah and I went to Jellyrolls for some piano bar fun.  Monday we had an evening flight so we spent the early part of the day at Animal Kingdom with everyone except grandma and grandpa who had to head home early that day.  The flight home was uneventful and we were very happy to see daddy when we got back to JFK.  Overall it was a quick 4 days but a good time.  Here are some of our pictures.  Unfortunately I never got one with the marathon runners in their bling.

The Chear Squad off to cheer

Sisters after Sarah's race

Beer Garden

Beer Garden

Beer Garden

With Karoline and a very sleepy Emma

Not too long after that picture

Family shot with Mexican Donald Duck