a pirate's life for me

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for Hayden!  Happy 2nd Birthday my precious little pirate man.  Your bros were so excited for your big day & your birthday party.  Our day was fast & furious - we got to celebrate your birthday & have your party the same day which was a ton of fun but sooo.busy.!

 Birthday party planning is such a labor of love for me - it hasn't come very easy to me & this party was no exception.  For whatever reason - probably the sleep deprivation - I was just a bit teary until we got the party started!  Even when buying the birthday cake that morning, I choked up just telling the check out clerk he was turning 2, haha.  But, with our lovely family & friends & all the prep work done, I was able to just enjoy & celebrate my middle little.  A big thank you to Mimi for her finishing touches & photo booth decorations!  Thanks to Uncle John & Kelsey for the beautiful & delicious banana pudding!  Thanks to Aunt Michelle & my hubs for the watermelon pirate ship!

One thing I kept reminding myself when I began to feel a bit overwhelmed: If I can't celebrate my Hayden & love him well, then none of it is worth anything in the end.  It doesn't matter if all the decor is perfect if I don't give it cheerfully.  It doesn't matter if all the details are perfect if my attitude stinks.  I am so grateful for my hubs who is able to lift up my spirit when it begins to get weighed down in the midst.  I am so blessed to be able to share my boy with our family & friends on his special 2nd birthday.

We started off the party with my favorite activity of the day: dig for buried treasure!  We layered the sandbox with beaded necklaces, jewels, & gold doubloons, and then poured new sand over top of our treasure for our pirates to dig it up.  So easy & so fun.

We invited our guests to 'sail the seven seas' on our pirate ship pool float & find the 'sunken' treasure chest.  They swam with many small pirate rubber duckies, since our own Captain Hayden LOVES his rubber ducky - the only problem was getting him to share! haha.  Hot dog pirate ships for lunch with watermelon cannon balls, gold fish & chips, and Pirate's booty (Hayden's personal FAV).

 Mimi's photo booth for our pirates to strike a pose: Ships' wheel & cannon!

You are so loved my hilarious pirate boy.

My favorite birthday tradition: cake & candles & singing & his moment in the spot light.  Our little Hayden was a bit shy, & Daddy had to pick him up out of his chair & untuck that chin.  But our buddy was a little too shy to blow out his candles, so we all helped.  He wasn't too shy to eat his cake though. ;-)

Thank you all who made our day special for Hayden & thank you all for celebrating with us.  Hayden bug, we love you so much.  You light up our life & challenge us more than you know!!  We are so proud of you & praying for many more birthday celebrations to come.  Watching you grow is one of my great joys & privileges in this life.