Life As We Know It: Happy First Birthday, Eli!

Y'all, my life has been a complete whirlwind the last couple of months! We found out we were moving back to Alabama, bought a house, moved 700 miles, unpacked AND planned my baby's first birthday party...all in a matter of 2 months! Needless to say, there were many all-nighters and without the help of my family, I couldn't have done it all.

Eli's first birthday was everything I wanted it to be. It was a wonderful day of fellowship with our close friends and family. We did a nautical/sailboat theme and I thought it turned out perfect! We cooked hot dogs, watched him eat his smash cake and swam in the pool. The rain held off for his party, thank goodness! Our sweet friend, Jenny, came and took pictures for me so that I could actually enjoy the day without worrying about getting the perfect shot of everything!

I worked for 2 hours on that "life ring" wreath! It turned out super cute!

Red and white yarn wrapped around a styrofoam ring. I hot glued the wooden anchor and hot glued welcome sign to the back. Love the end result! I may remove the welcome sign and use by the pool all summer long!

These were so tedious, but SO cute! Totally worth the time! Life savers, red sharpie and twine! That's it! Super cute!

Fish bowls with Swedish fish, blue sharks and goldfish. I put large gallon ziplock bags with water and blue food coloring to make it look like the "ocean." Fish nets to get out the treats for the grab bags.

Grab bags! 2012 for year he was born. I ended up putting the time of his birth as well. I also had anchors and ship wheels.

Hawaiian punch and sweet tea! It's been a long time since I've had sweet tea!!

Fish net with monthly pictures of Eli. I painted wooden sailboats and added ribbon detail. Very tedious, but worth it! Used tiny clothes pins to secure to net.