Theo's 1st Birthday Party

I cannot believe our sweet Theo bear is already one year old. It's true what they say: The days are long, but the years are short! The last year is pretty much a complete blur. From what I understand, that is pretty standard for the second child!

Saturday night we had a very sweet celebration for Theo at the splash pad in Manito Park. My mom organized. She got a delicious lemon cake as well as pizza for everyone. The rest of us brought along various drinks and appetizers and I happily took care of the decorations. The cake topper is from French Toast and the rest came from good ol' Target. 

Because we are no longer in Switzerland, I was a little worried about drinking beer and wine at the park. We had solo cups, but I actually brought along brown paper lunch bags in case anyone wanted to cover their beer. I nearly got laughed out of the party! ;)

Coco and her second-cousin, Thayne, had a great time running around in the water, playing with the helium balloons and throwing the frisbee Joel had brought along. They were also kind enough to open Theo's presents for him. ;) He got new stacking cups, a few things I had gotten while still pregnant in Zurich, and his favorite, an abacus. (More on that seemingly inappropriate choice later;) Then it was time to sing and eat cake!

Theo was spellbound by everyone singing happy birthday to him and Coco was kind enough to blow out his candle. Then it was time to dig in! 

Theo took eating his cake very seriously as you can see. He polished off a whole slice and then had a little more! Well, it was his birthday party after all. 

For the remainder of the party, Theo was absolutely mesmerized by his abacus. My mom is also a Montessori teacher, so she did not get Theo the abacus for math, but because she knew he would love using his little finger to move the beads up and over the arches. She was right! I have to say, now that we have it at home, it is so lovely and inspiring to watch him work with it. Plus, his little fingers could not be any cuter!

We feel so lucky to have that little dumpling of joy in our family. He is sweet, thoughtful, so so so soft, cuddly, curious, unbelievably strong and delightful in every way. Happy birthday, Theo! We love you so much. 

PS - Coco's 1st Birthday

Photos by Amy Sinisterra