Whale of a celebration

Elliot turned ONE!  And we had a whale-y good time celebrating.  I joked, due to his size, that we should have a whale party for him.  As it turns out, there is some cute whale themed party stuff out there.  So I went with it.  And of course it was a swimming party.  Add grandmommy and granddaddy's pool and barn to Elliot's love of swimming, and that was a no brainer.  This kid is like no other infant I have ever seen in the water.  He splashes like a maniac, laughs hysterically, and then burps up all of the water and air he has swallowed from his crazy splashing and laughing.  Good times!

Each 1st birthday celebration we have had has gotten a little smaller and less involved.  Nothing could ever top the twins' circus 1st birthday party.  At the time, I knew (or thought I knew) it was the only 1st birthday party I would ever get to throw, so I went a bit over the top.  I admit it. But it was great and totally worth it!  But James's monkey/banana split party and Elliot's whale/swimming party were just as fun.  I'm a sucker for birthday parties, especially their 1st birthday.  I love watching those little faces light up, seeing them get passed around and loved on by all of their relatives, watching them dive into their 1st birthday smash cakes, and in our case, celebrating surviving the first year!  Elliot did not disappoint with the cake.  There were a few minutes when I thought he might fall asleep in his high chair because he was so worn out from the hour of swimming right before, but then he got into it!  It is almost equally fun for me to watch the older siblings join in the 1st birthday parties festivities.  The girls and James were a big "help" with blowing out candles, digging into the icing, and opening Elliot's gifts.

And like every party, I took lots of pics.  My whale decorations...

It was a  beautiful afternoon for swimming.

My birthday boy ready to hit the pool.

The whales were a big hit.  All of the kids loved them!

Madeline wanted Elliot to see his birthday whale.

Caleb.

Jacob.

Whale wars.

James got a turn.

Annabel with the birthday boy.

James, the water bug.

He jumps.

He jumps again!

And of course some pictures of the birthday boy enjoying swimming.  That face is why I knew I wanted to celebrate his first year with a swimming party.  So happy!

Time to dry off and eat.  We kept with the whale theme.  Mom made the super cute whale watermelon, and I made trays full of whale sandwiches.

And of course a big whale cake and little smash cake.  I love them!

And the rest of the party pics ... 

Proud dad.

Yay, balloons!!

I think he was wondering what was going on.

My party animals ready to dig in.

Happy Birthday to you ... 

Getting a little help from sis.

My favorite photo of our crazy little family.

There were 40 fingers in the icing.

This was the point I thought he might fall asleep from the swimming.

Then he got into it!

He loved the balloons as much as the cake!

We also celebrated all the other August birthdays.

Cool presents!

Thanks to grandmommy and granddaddy for letting us use their pool and barn.

Elliot and Ryan, our two August 21st babies.

We love our Aunt Libby.

Chilling with his great-grandparents, Nannie and Paw-Paw. 

What a fun night!

And now I'm ONE!

Of course I was sentimental on his birthday ... my last baby's 1st birthday ... and made this little picture.  I cannot believe the year has gone so fast, but I could not be happier or more in love with my littlest guy.