When we last left off, I shared a few highlights from our time in Sarasota with my in-laws and after we spent the afternoon at my father-in-law’s apartment in Bradenton on Friday, Ryan, Chase and I headed onto Leah and Ricky’s house in Clearwater where we spent the night and had a great time grilling out and catching up with some of our best friends from college.
Of course there was a lot of baby playtime and cuddles happening at Leah’s house between Chase and Theo. I haven’t seen Theo since my baby shower and I was long overdue for some quality time with such a special boy. Theo is so sweet and happy and loves giving everyone kisses, hugs and showing off his stellar dance moves. Whenever music started playing, he would rock back and forth and it was just about the cutest thing in the world! Like my girl Gloria Estefan says, the rhythm is gonna get you. Theo certainly felt it!
On Saturday morning, our day began bright and early when Chase and Theo woke up within 10 minutes of each other. Clearly the two little boys knew Saturday was a special day and wanted to get the party started! We spent the morning helping Leah and Ricky get ready for the party and kept complimenting Leah on all the time and energy she clearly poured into planning Theo’s party.
Everything from the adorable decorations to the delicious desserts and fun photo booth was so well thought out and creative!
Leah and Ricky planned a lumberjack-themed party for Theo and the decor was a mix of red and black plaid, woodland creatures and rustic wood accents.
Our group of girlfriends loves personalized koozies (we do them for everyone’s bachelorette parties) and so I was extra excited to have another adorable koozie to add to our growing collection. They’re such a fun way to remember special events whenever we break them out to keep our drinks cold.
Even though Theo’s party and our time in Clearwater went by way too fast, making the drive to see everyone was more than worth it. Whenever we all get together I am always filled with such an odd mix of emotions. I’m obviously happy to be reunited with my best friends but I am also sad that we all live so far away from each other and can’t get together for a casual Friday night barbeque at someone’s house whenever we want.
I tried my best to focus on how much I love the short time we do have together and I also couldn’t help but feel extra touched to see my friends take such a genuine interest in Chase. Their desire to hold him, love on him and play with him meant a lot to me and he was definitely eating up all the extra attention!
Ryan, Chase and I left the party in the late afternoon, right as Chase was in dire need of a nap. We hoped he would nap in the car and lucked out with a solid 90 minute nap to kick off the four-hour drive back to my parents’ place (and Sadie!) in Jacksonville. We arrived home to a comforting dinner of chicken and lentil soup in the crock pot which we inhaled and followed up with ice cream before crashing hard in bed.
Sunday was dedicated to making the six-hour drive back to Charlotte and getting ready for the week ahead once we made it home. It feels good to be back and settling into our normal routine but we absolutely loved the time we had with friends and family over the long weekend.
I hope you guys all had a great weekend and are enjoying your Monday so far!!
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Theo’s party looked adorable. So many details- love the coozies! Moving away and growing up can be hard, but I’m always greatful for friendships that last the test of time.
That lumberjack theme is so unique and cute! I haven’t seen anything like it before – love it!
Really love the theme for the party and your outfit!
What a cute party! I’d love if you would post more details about traveling in the car with a baby. I can’t imagine driving 6 hours with my one-year-old. He does not like being trapped in his carseat for more than a few minutes at a time!
A baby trapped in a carseat is NO fun! I feel ya! Love this idea for a blog post though and I will try to type something up soon!
What an adorable first birthday! Love all the photos. It looks like the drive was worth it. Welcome home.
Your friend is so creative! What a cute birthday party! My mom always threw me creative birthday parties and I hope one day when I have a kid that creative gene will kick in for me!
I would LOVE for you to write a post about road tripping with a baby. We’ve taken our five month old on a few short trips, but the maximum we’ve driven one way is an hour and a half…I’d love to hear how you deal with feedings, how you keep Chase entertained, how often you stop, etc. 🙂
Yes! I agree. I love how much you guys travel! It’s so great and makes me excited that it is possible to travel with a baby. I have a 2 1/2 month old and we’re going on our first road trip for Easter weekend. I’d love to hear what tips you have! 🙂
LOVE this idea for a blog post!!! I’ll definitely type something up soon!
What a creative theme! Theo and Chase are just too cute and I loved the little sign with all of Theo’s favorite things. Looks like a great weekend.
Such a small world…I went to law school with Ricky. He and Leah are so sweet and what a cute 1st bday party for Theo!
No way! That’s awesome. They really are a great couple and Theo is the sweetest little boy. <3
So adorable!! What a great themed party. And your outfit is so cute too.
I love the birthday theme! You can tell so much time and care went into it. This is getting me excited to really get into the planning mode for my 10 month old daughter’s first bday coming up in May. We are doing a Kentucky derby theme since the party will be on the 7th! Bow ties and big hats welcome 🙂
Aw!!! So cute! My parents are throwing a Kentucky Derby party in May and we’re already on the lookout for a seersucker suit for Chase!
I believe I saw one at Janie and jack! 🙂
What an adorable birthday party for a little boy! I love the theme and she went all out too! I hear ya on the missing your girlfriends. My best friends live so far away we almost never see each other anymore. When we do get together I too am happy, but sad that it will be ending all so soon. It sucks, but it is important to focus on the moment no matter how fleeting it is.
So cute! Please share where your outfit is from! I love it 🙂
Hi Erin! The skirt is from Francesca’s (I bought it around Christmas last year) and the crop top is from Nordstrom Rack!
This was such a fun post! Could you find out where Leah got her Mama Bear shirt??? I’d love to get one for a pregnancy announcement!
First of all, CONGRATS (I’m assuming it’s your announcement?)!! Such an exciting time!!! And Leah ordered the shirts from our mutual friend Alison’s company. You can see the shirts on their Facebook page and reach out to them there –> https://www.facebook.com/porto.bluegifts And here is the post with an image of the shirt –> https://www.facebook.com/porto.bluegifts/posts/1697604187183989?pnref=story
What a cute theme for a child’s birthday party! Looks so fun. Also, LOVE your skirt. It’s so adorable!
Thank you, Sam! <3
Julie, I would love to hear more about your road trip with Chase. My baby girl is 9 months and I’m itching to take some quick trips soon, but as a first time mommy I start to worry about how she will take the drive. Any tips or tricks that you want to share would be so appreciated!!
And as always, Chase is adorable!!!
Working on this post this morning!!! I had a few people request it in the above comments, so I’m gettin’ on it ASAP! 🙂
Where did she order the koozies from?
Leah ordered the koozies from our mutual friend Alison’s company! 🙂 You can reach out to her and see some of her personalized products on her company’s Facebook page –> https://www.facebook.com/porto.bluegifts
What a great theme!! I often see a lot of cartoon or children’s character themes, but this one is absolutely adorable. My husband loves anything Adirondack-y or anything to do with moose/black bears, so this might be good in the future. Orrrr perhaps for one of this birthdays :p
So adorable! The first birthday seems like the most special, and to have it so personalized means when Theo is older he can look at photos and see how loved he was, and celebrated.
Wow your friend Leah hit it out of the park with her lumberjack theme! The party looked like a ton of fun 😀 What a special birthday for her son and I’m sure one day when he looks back at the pictures he will feel so loved!
YAY THEO!!!! what a cutie. i’m so happy he’s doing so well! <3 <3
ps your outfit is everything.
xoxo!
These are the cutest decorations and the theme looks adorable! Sounds like such a fun weekend:)
What a cute idea for a little man’s birthday! I love it! My husband would have been all over that! So glad you had such a fun time with your friends and family over the weekend – it’s harding living away from everyone so I understand how much you cherish those weekend trips!
Theo!! <3 I'm so glad you got to be there for his first birthday!
Umm you look amazing – would never know you had a baby in the past year!! Love the lumberjack theme, so cute for a little boy.
Oh my goodness, that party is adorable. Everything about it! Theo and Chase are looking mighty handsome, too. <3 So glad you were able to spend the weekend with friends from school. I can certainly relate to how precious those days are!
Happy Birthday Theo!! What a special little boy!
Where is your outfit from Theo’s first birthday party?!
The skirt is from Francesca’s and the top is from Nordstrom Rack! 🙂
That is the cutest theme I have ever seen!! How fun!
Thank you so much for being vulnerable to share such a difficult experience. I hope you can feel us rallying with you.
My husband and I have two cats, a 3-year-old, and a baby on the way, but the cats remain our first babies. I can’t imagine our lives without either one of them–they are huge parts of our day-to-day activities and they make me happier than I ever thought a pet could. Sometimes I almost feel silly for how much I love them (and talk about them!) Pets truly are members of our families, and it makes sense that it’s so difficult to lose them. But certainly Huey felt this love every single day of his life, and that made all the difference to him!
what a cute party idea!! love all those little touches!
So glad you were get together with your special friends and Theo for his first birthday. What a cutie! Leah did an amazing job with Theo’s party. How fun! On another subject, I made the one dish cabbage and chicken bowl for dinner tonight with leftover cabbage from corned beef and cabbage last night. It made the recipe super easy and delicious! Even Drew likes it. We served it over brown rice. Thank you for yummy and healthy recipe! Love, Aunt Laurie
I’m so glad to hear this!!! We were such a big fan of that recipe in our house. Love you!! <3
So glad you were able to get together…
Love that mama bear shirt, and I’m not even a mama! Want to get it for a friend, thanks for the link in one of your comments. Sounds like you had a great trip – another fun post!
What a fun trip!!! So nice that you got to see friends and lots of family! I too get sad thinking about how I don’t live near my besties.. it is hard but it makes our times together so special.
What a cute idea for a party theme! She did a fabulous job on all the details, so cute!
Beautiful baby! Happy (belated) Birthday to Theo!
I love this lumberjack theme and have desperately been looking for the backdrop and flannel pants that Leah used for Theo’s party. Any idea where she got them from? I am hoping to do something similar for my son’s photo shoot coming up! Thanks!!
Where did you get the custom koozies? I love them!