Over the last few months, many friends and acquaintances asked how I planned to celebrate Finn’s first birthday. I knew without a doubt that it had to be in Florida with my family. There was no place I’d rather mark this milestone than on the beach that has brought me so much healing, and with my family who have provided both Finn and myself with endless support, love and joy.
It was a perfect weekend and I’m honored to share the highlights with you in this post. And because I know some will ask or wonder…Finn’s father opted to have a separate party for him next weekend during his time. This was all decided over a month ago.
Finn’s birthday weekend looked like a lot of time cuddling with his Mema. It was the sweetest thing…he was ALL ABOUT his great grandma on this visit. We always stay with her in her guest bedroom and he’s always loved her but this trip was extra special.
Every time I turned around the two of them were reading, playing or relaxing. This visit marked the first time that Finn would cruise over to her and hold his arms out and ask to go in her lap. It was the sweetest.
Heart melting.
He also had tons of fun with his grandmother! This was the first time we really had Finn in the ocean and he loved it.
I took him in one day when the water was pretty rough and he was laughing and babbling away at the water splashing us.
So excited to have a little beach baby…although he needs to STOP eating sand!
This little fish also adores spending time in the pool and would much rather be out and splashing about than confined in a float (you can see the float in the background). Finn started swim lessons at six moths and I really think it’s helped him with his love for the water. We swam every day during our visit!
For the actual first birthday party, my mom and I ordered a cake and got a few baby shark-themed decorations.
I wish I could tell you that Finn loved it but he wasn’t a fan of the hat or the cake. He cried about both wearing the hat and sticking his hands in the cake. Zero interest in either. This is a true case of social media versus reality, haha.
Finn’s like, “give me a cabinet to open and some old straws to get into and I’m a happy dude.” I love how simple they are at this age (I mean that in the best way).
The coolest thing about Finn’s birthday is that it was a full moon and super gorgeous.
We ended the evening with a sunset stroll…
And gift opening with Mema. She’s the best wrapper ever and packaged some small toys in a bag with lots of multi-colored tissue paper. Finn had the best time pulling it all out.
There is truly no place that I would have rather celebrated one year of being this amazing little guy’s mom.
I cannot wait to see what the next year holds for us.
Beach or pool?
How did you celebrate ONE?
Did you child love or hate the celebration?
