Pressing Rewind: Emerson's 4th Birthday!!!

Emerson's 4th Birthday!!!

July 9, 2011

Yes, I'm two birthdays behind on the blog, so this will be a quick and dirty recap (read: lots of pictures, very little writing) of Emerson's fourth birthday party.  Emerson's birthday actually fell on a Saturday in 2011, so we were able to have her party on her actual birthday.  Emerson really wanted to do a movie party, and it was the perfect option for a birthday party.  The kids were at an age that an hour and half movie would keep their attention.  We had popcorn, pizza, cake, cupcakes and drinks.  It was cool indoors for the hot July weather and there wasn't much set-up or clean-up....my kind of party!!!

The Old Varsity Theater on Franklin Street

Luckily one of Emerson's favorite movies, Rio, was playing for the week of her birthday.  And, check out her name on the marquee!!

The cake table was decked out with the invite, cupcakes (for the kids) and an adorable cake (for the adults) made by a family friend.  What a great job she did with both the cake and cupcakes.  I loved the popcorn detail!!

The concession stand was open with lots of goodies and a very cute attendant!!

Emerson, her friends, and even the grandparents had a great time watching the movie and eating popcorn!! Who doesn't love a good movie and popcorn!?!?

After the movie, we rounded up the kids for a group shot before pizza and cake.

Love this little girl!!!

PIZZA, nothing better!!!

CAKE TIME!!!

Loved all the fun friends and family that came to the party!  They all walked away with delicious white chocolate popcorn in these adorable containers!!

Emerson decided she wanted to do something nice for others.  So for her party, she asked everyone to bring an unwrapped present that we would later take to the N.C. Children's Hospital.  We were so proud that she wanted to give back on her birthday.  Check out all these great toys for the children at the hospital!

Of course we had an impromptu photo shoot after the party!!!  And everyone got in on the action, including the boys!!!

The Varsity was a great place for a party and I love that it is part of Chapel Hill history!!!  

Once home, we had a mini-present opening session for Emerson with some of the presents from the grandparents and us.  We couldn't let her birthday go by without ANY presents.  

In August we took the toys to the NC Children's Promise office so they could deliver them to the children in the hospital.  Very proud moment for this Mommy and Daddy and a great learning experience for Emerson!!

Birthday Resources: 

Venue: The Varsity Theatre

Printables: Anders Ruff

Cake and Cupcakes: personal family friend

Cupcake wrappers: Roundabouts Cupcake Sleeves

Pressing Rewind | Emerson's 3rd Birthday Party

I'm really playing catch-up here, hence the Pressing Rewind post (stolen from my friend, Kelly)....the funny thing is, I've had this post written for about 8 months, but it just needed some finishing touches!!  I finally got the time to add them in.

Yes, my friends, you read that right....THIRD Birthday!!  I'm trying to catch-up .  I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't post about Emerson's 4th Birthday until I finally blogged about her third birthday, I mean it's only been 24 months since the party!!  But now I have to post about both the third and fourth birthdays, before her fifth (which, coincidentally, is tomorrow).  So, I will get her third done before her birthday and the fourth will be done before her party on Saturday!!  So without further ado...Emerson's Third Birthday Party.

We celebrated at school on July 9th and I did manage to post about her actual birthday on the blog here. Of course I had another birthday shirt created by *Golden* and the kids munched on adorable ice cream cupcakes (to match the theme) created by Target.  Emerson was super excited, when she got home from school, to find her new swing set (too bad the video cut off in the middle).  I assure you, her reaction was priceless!!  Next up, the official party....

So, the next day, now, Two Julys ago, on July 10th (2010), we celebrated Emerson's 3rd Birthday with an Ice Cream Shoppe theme.  I had originally planned (yes, years in advance) to produce Emerson's Candy Shoppe.  But, after much internal deliberation, I decided two-and-three-year-olds with candy filled glass apothecary jars probably wasn't a smart idea.  So instead, we created Emerson's Ice Cream Shoppe, which was perfect for the HOT, July afternoon.

As always, I planned every detail and had so much fun doing so.  I love putting kid's parties together, and if I thought I could make any money doing it, I'd start my own business!!!  Emerson's Ice Cream Shoppe was a huge success.  The kids had a great time playing on Emerson's new swing set (a birthday present the day before from Daddy, Grammy, Papa, Mimi, Birdie and me).  Each child got a turn whacking at the ice cream pinata and eventually scurring on the ground for candy when Mr. Dale cracked it open.  And of course, everyone loved eating lots and lots of ice cream and cake!! All-in-all another great birthday party...

Check out the video below for all the birthday fun!!

The Invitation

(I bought the shell from a website and then designed the wording and layout)

Outdoor Decor

(Loved the ice cream cones I made to hang on the porch)

The Food

(BBQ Sandwiches, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, fruit, chips, and all the fixin's)

The Toppings

(all toppings fit for a great sundae, even the dipped cones that I had so much fun making)

The Cupcake Cones

(I loved these cupcake cones I made, but they all toppled onto the floor right before the guests arrived.  At least I got pictures, first!!)

The Cake

(I absolutely LOVED this cake...it was exactly what I wanted and so cute!!!)

The Favors

(Who doesn't need a drip stopper for all their ice cream cones and popsicles??)

The Printables

(Of course, TomKat Studio did a great job on matching printables to my invite)

Untitled from Brooke Dever on Vimeo.

Thank you to these great vendors:
Invitation Shell - Polka Dots and Pirates
Printing and Wording Design - ME!!!
Party Printables - The TomKat Studio
Birthday Cake and Favor Cookies - Abigail's Bake Shop (no longer in business)
Photography - JAM Photography
Favors - Amazon.com
Pinata - Birthday in a Box (.com)