Our Finnegan Family: 1st Birthday Bash

It's seems crazy to Cody and I that our "baby" is one already; that when people call him a "baby" they will correct themselves and say he isn't a "baby" anymore! This first year was so trying and fun at the same time. I think the biggest lesson we learned is to trust God in everything. I remember sitting in the wee hours of the night wondering how I was going to go to work the next morning. Just when we thought we had Eli all figured out, a tooth would appear, a cold would come on, or he would start a new behavior and we would go back to the drawing board and pull resources to figure out what to do! Now that the first year is behind us, I think Cody and I can start growing back together again. I won't lie, the first 3-6 months we were more parents than we were husband and wife. So I'm looking forward to what lies ahead not only for Eli, but for Cody and I as well!

The morning of Eli's birthday, I was diagnosed with strep throat, but thankfully so many people encouraged me to still go to the party! We had to host the party at my parent's church because we didn't have enough living room space to accommodate everyone. It worked out perfectly because then I didn't even have to clean when I didn't feel well! My parents and I went to the church to decorate while Cody stayed home with Eli so he could get a decent nap in before the party. (He was recovering from the flu he had the previous week) Thankfully my parents are great organizers and set up the party will little help from me! Mom and Dad F. came early and helped with last minute food prep. The family who babysits Eli even pitched in and made his cake! It was beautiful! (Pics below) The party began at 3pm and went until 5. I was amazed at how fast everything went. Eli was definitely tired and wasn't his normal energetic self, but did great considering he hadn't eaten anything but pedialyte and crackers the entire week!

The food table minus the little ham stacker sandwiches

The AMAZING cake! Thank you Leah and the Walker family!

The layout

Eli's throne... The squares you see are the scrapbooks Mom F. has made of Eli.

Such a great Dad!

Everyone's looking at me!?!?

This is O.K.

Now this is what I'm talking about!

The classic Eli whiny face:) He didn't like everyone watching him eat his cake. Seriously, he wouldn't eat it until everyone went back to doing their own thing.