Merit is THREE | A Daniel Tiger Beach Party

We have loved becoming “beach people” since moving to Tampa.  We go almost every single weekend.  When Merit said he wanted a Daniel Tiger party, it was the perfect opportunity to combine it with the shore.  Any parents of Daniel-loving children know that the Tiger family lives on Jungle Beach! 🙂  It was also great because I am not in love with our rental house, and the yard has no shade, and it’s JULY, and basically, it would’ve been hard to host something here.  If you saw my last post, you know we fell in love with Fort de Soto while we were camping, and it was the perfect spot.  Spacious pavilions, a playground, nice facilities, and a great beach.  So that’s where we were on Sunday!

I tried to balance my usual level of party-planning with the fact that we were going to have to bring all of the stuff with us to the pavilion.  I know this is probably going to be the first birthday party that Merit really remembers, so I wanted everything to be perfect.  He was SO excited, asking probably every day for about 6 weeks if it was his “party day.”  And he LOVED it!  We had Tigey the Adventure Tiger hats and binoculars to decorate, Trolley made from a red tri-fold board, and Daniel and all of his friends made from Chinese lanterns (no balloons allowed at the park).  We had beach-themed gifts for all of his little friends to play with, and we gave away Daniel coloring books and these cute little watches just like Daniel Tiger’s that I managed to find online. The best part is that we have FANTASTIC friends who travelled to come celebrate with us, which meant the world to me because we don’t have very many friends in Tampa yet.  We have met a few people here who are equally as wonderful, though, and came to the party despite not knowing anyone else.  Thanks so much to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Happy Birthday, Merit!  I am sure I will continue to be amazed by my sweet, kind, silly, thoughtful boy. I can’t believe you are three.