It's hard to believe that my baby is turning 4. I have pangs in my heart every time I think about him growing up. I love the sound of his high pitch squeaks and constant jokes. His blue steel eyes and his hugs and kisses. His little arms wrapped around my neck. I don't ever want this to end. Thinking about it hurts.

With all that said, my baby's turning 4. So we be PARTYING!

It's so awesome having a summer baby. Pool parties are the best! And this year, we made sure all Luke's dreams came true. We started with a pirate theme, for his love of Jake and the never......the name is too long. You know who I'm talking about.

I did tell him I was going to have a guy dressed up like a pirate at the pool. I failed him there however many people did come dressed to our theme so they made up for it!

Ok his other big dream...that he's had for about a year now...is a water slide.  He keeps asking me if we can add one to our pool.  I continuously explain he's welcome to add a slide when he gets a job and would like to pay for it himself.

So for his birthday this year....we brought in a pretty amazing water slide that had a bouncey castle to boot. The kids were in heaven. As I'm sure you can imagine.

For themed decor we love working with Minted. They make it so easy. The color palettes are always amazing, the designs are fantastic, and they ship super fast! Plus you always have the option to customize.

When guests arrived I had a few items set on the table for instant gratification... - crudités, chips, ranch dip and some homemade salsas - Beverage dispenser of water and ice topped with a pirate hat (that I found at my local party store)

Lunch was served by Seasons of Southampton. We copied our menu from last year's pool party with lobsters, mussels, corn, potatoes, bbq chicken and watermelon. Let's put it like this...no one left Luke's party hungry.

So what do the kids do at a pool party? Swim, obvi. I had a lifeguard on deck to man the kids. She's one of a kind and gets right in there with the kids. But what else? I thought, let's set out a craft! So I asked my girls at Imagination Lane if they could put together an eye patch making craft and boom, it was awesome. Every now and then a kid would end up at the shaded table and make one. They were adorable.

Dessert is where we really got to shine for Luke this year. I think we pulled out all the stops by hiring Belinda from Carolena Cakes. I mean....c'mon! She nailed this cake and it was out of this world delicious.  We had barely any leftover.

We tested out Mister Krisp to add a little skull to our table...

And my two favorite Pinterest finds:

Pirate bananas. I loved these guys so much I kissed them. There was nothing to it. Tie a bandana around the banana's head and give him a face with a black sharpie. Don't forget the stubble!

2. Treasure chest of gold sprayed Oreo cookies....I mean, DUDE! Look at these! How adorable?! Make a lot..these went FAST!

(Abby found the edible gold spray on Amazon here)

Then there is the bar. I wanted nothing but simple this year. Water, water, water, wine, wine, wine and some beer. We put out Coke, Diet Coke and apple juice...and that was IT! How easy is that?

The pool was bopping, beats bumping and kids were jumping. Luke's party was a blast.

Happy 4th birthday to my baby. I love you.