a first birthday party for theodore louie!

we had a sweet little party for theodore louie this weekend.  the warm sun warranted bare feet and shoulders and urged everyone to see things through squinted eyes.  our backyard, flooded with golden rays and melodies of the avett brothers, put us all in a cheery mood.  it was lovely.

our darling theo boy turns one early on this upcoming week but we chose to celebrate a few days early so some our our closest family members could take part.  they traveled from iowa to make his party extra special and i know it meant the world to him.

i kept things simple for this birthday: a nap-time crafted garland made from eucalyptus and found feathers, a gold crown, homemade pumpkin spiced apple pies (a mini smash pie for theo and one larger pie for us hungry adults), a few of his favorite wooden blocks, sugar cookies, a new tee pee birthday present from his nanas and papas, flowers picked from our neighbor's garden, and one giant white balloon for the birthday boy to play with.  the focus was set on spending wuality time together and less on elaborate party games and expensive decor.  in learning from the past, simpler is always better despite being the obvious, it being more manageable.  i am sure glad i went this route because it gave us more time to focus on family and just plain ol' hanging out together.

we set our little brown haired chap in his new fort and gave him his tiny homemade pie that i had baked earlier on in the week from apples we had picked ourselves.  he knew right what to do with it.  he dove in face first, as all pie lovers wish they had the tenacity to do, and showed that pie who was boss.  with an ever so sly grin and very present twinkle in his eyes, he licked his bowl clean and got pumpkin apple filling all over the place.  it even found its way in-between his darling baby rolls.  watching him in his new tee pee you could tell this was his best moment ever.  he was so happy.  glowing, even.  we looked on with grins ourselves, snickering as he fearlessly kept going back for more, lifting the wee tin to get as big of a bite as he could.

afterward, when there was no more mess to be made, i took him inside and hosed him off in the kitchen sink.  i washed the pie away and out came a clean and rather slippery baby boy.  a boy that wanted to cling to his mama in the warmth of his towel.  as i felt the weight of his chest fall onto mine i held him there, my almost one year old, whispering "i love yous" into his still wet ears.

happy, happy birthday sweet boy.  i love you, i love you, i love you.