Roman turned ONE on October 3rd. I feel like his first year FLEW by–even faster than Caroline’s first year. We all gathered at Lee and Raul’s house on October 6th to celebrate this little fella properly. It was a gorgeous day with minimal humidity and no chance of rain. Lee and Raul, as usual, did a fantastic job decorating their amazing backyard and incorporating the puppy “pawty” theme. Roman had a lot of baby friends come and out-of-town family show up. He was decked out in a cute shirt and was super excited to see Caroline, his biggest fan.

Caroline’s favorite part of the party was the “Cozy Coupe” which had the license plate “CZY COUP.” Since it was a birthday gift from my parents, Lee and Raul nicknamed it the “Crazy Coupe” in honor of “Crazy Aunt Kathy.” Seems fitting!

She loved climbing into this car. She loved using the steering wheel, honking the horn, opening the door, playing with the gas cap, and pushing it around the yard.

But most of all, she loved telling all of the other kids at the party–including (gasp!) the Birthday Boy (and owner of the car) that they couldn’t ride in the Crazy Coupe. She would run over to the kids trying to play with it and say “No!No!No!” It was embarrassing. I think the Terrible Two’s may have come a bit early?

As one would hope, this fabulous first birthday did have a smash cake featured. I know it’s all about the little guy, but deep down, I look at first birthdays as triumphs for the parents…a time for them to sit back and think WE MADE IT! Lee and Raul definitely deserve to feel this way. Their little cherub has not been the easiest and they have been amazing.

Roman did not disappoint as he dove into his first ever cupcake:

And Caroline was quite concerned with him getting all of the crumbs, too:

And best of all, Roman liked our gift!

Happy first birthday, Roman! And cheers to many more!