Birthday Girl

Somehow, a year has gone by since sweet Esmé Ruth was born.  She is a beautiful, busy, bottom-scooting baby who continues to delight the whole family.  I am so thankful that she is my best sleeper and really just an easy baby all around.

Can you tell I'm having just a bit of fun with my little girl?  I'll have you know, her ridiculous pink party dress is the only item of clothing I have bought her in this entire year.  Speaking of, big shout out to the family members that do keep her dressed: Gramma, Queenie, Aunt Steph, and Aunt Hannah.

 Esmé had a very special birthday on Friday, since Zach took the day off of work.  We played/worked in the yard, enjoyed a delicious 12 Bones lunch, and then Esmé had her first taste of chocolate cake with Bobbi frosting (a very secret and very Polish recipe handed down from my great grandmother).

 E was a little suspicious regarding why we would bring a flame so close to a one year old, but we didn't let that stop us!

 

Like anyone with a good dose of Zembruski blood would do, Essie ate the frosting and disregarded the majority of the cake. It was blissful.

 Owen and Caelum were very excited about getting Esmé presents with their own money.  Zach also thought we should get her something because he is kind like that.   Aunt Rachel sent an adorable wooden tea set that the boys could barely keep their grubby hands off of.  It was a hit with everyone.

Saturday was the day of the big party. It was quite a busy morning as Gramma and Grandpa arrived and the ladies headed off to Sam's Club while the fellas went to Family BBQ Day at Borgwarner. Soon enough, both sides of the family arrived and the party really got started.  I will refer you to Hannah's blog for better/more pictures.

This is about as fancy as it gets for an Ashton birthday party.  The pallet was my crowning achievement in craftiness. Yep, spray paint and double-sided tape are as good as it gets with me.  We had plenty, even too much, food and a new creation we like to call Blueberry Ridge Punch.  A large thank you to Mr. Zach Zoschke for giving us a basic recipe with which to work.

Zach manned the grill and a few of our neighbors came to help us celebrate this sweet girl: 

E spent a lot of time in her highchair, eating, which is appropriate since that is her favorite thing to do.  And of course, there was MORE CAKE! She got to have the traditional Angel Food cake for her first birthday (a tradition that we made up with Owen).

 

And now, pictures of Essie stuffing her face:

 And my face:

 The big kids had a lot of fun (maybe too much in some cases?), and Bennett was the champion of "winning everyone over" with his adorable face and personality.

As the party wound down, it was time for presents. E was lavished with gifts from all the family, and she is once again stocked with clothes (phew, what would I do otherwise?). Grandma Dean completed E's beautiful quilt, which will soon be hung in her room. 

 Her favorite was probably the matching pillow that Grandma Dean made.  She plays peek-a-boo behind it and bellyflops onto it. She was sleeping with it, but started playing with it too much. It has  been removed until she learns to handle a pillow like a big girl.

 Before the night was over, my mom and I had a big photoshoot in the front yard because, well, why not? I can't even choose my favorite, so feel free to scroll quickly past an embarrassing amount of pictures.  You'll get the general idea: baby, balloon, dress, belly.

A big thank you to all the family that drove for hours in order to come to the party, with food and gifts in tow.  Thank you for the help and for being so sweet to Essie.