aiden's first birthday party!

Aiden had his first birthday party last weekend! (: I'll have his 12 month update up in a few weeks, but until then I thought I would share a glimpse of what his party was like. I spent about a month during his nap times and free play time here and there making all the decorations and planning everything. It was a lot of work, but so worth it! I love planning parties and making things. (: It's the way I show love for my people. (:

We went with a Surf's Up! theme because -
1) summer
2) Hawaii
3) warm places
4) to help summer come
5) because I showed Aiden a surfing/ocean video once and he was totally mesmerized by the sea
6) because there's nothing like being carried by the ocean -nothing-
7) to subliminally convince Jason to move us to Hawaii
8) but mostly because I'm bound and determined to have little surfer babies

Most of my ideas came from Pinterest after searching for surf party ideas, but I also came up with some of the ideas on my own (like having a palm tree in the middle of our living room). I also made a three hour playlist of surfing videos that played on our tv in the background during the party to add to the surfing theme. (: But after hearing my #4 reason to have a surfing party, Minnesota retaliated against me and it snowed on us the night before his party. Booo. I had outdoor games planned and everything! haha. California girl: 0, Minnesota: 1,279.

Aiden did really well throughout his whole party until the very end when it was nap time and he was so tired (: He had so much fun playing with cousins, church friends, and family! He loved playing with the balloons and the shark prop. It was funny to me how all the toddlers, including Aiden, seemed to enjoy chewing on the teeth of the shark! (: Nothing like teething by teething on teeth (: haha! He had a smash cake and liked smushing the frosting all around his high chair tray, and he liked tearing open the paper on his presents. (: While we were all eating, he preferred to feed his daddy instead of eating food himself. (: Silly boy!

My friend Bethany was nice enough to take photos for us so that I could be in the pictures too! (:
The cakes were made by Pick Me Cupcakes - if you're in the Northern Minnesota area, check them out! (:

So you wanted to see pictures? You got it dude!