I'm a 1, Almost 2

That's what Caleb used to say anytime someone would ask, "Hold old are you," or "How was your day?"  We loved to hear him say it so we will miss it very much, but we are sure two will bring many more adorable sayings.  Since this was the first birthday where Caleb actually understood what was going on, we decided to make it a special one.  Auntie flew in early to help with the preparations and keep mommy sane. The theme of the party was, Va Va Vooms (or cars for anyone who doesn't speak Caleb). For decorations we hung all his favorite car logos with streamers and balloons.  Caleb was SO excited when he saw the decorations. He smiled and ran around naming all the logos, "That's Lolli va va voom, that's Auntie va va voom, that's Geby va va voom, that's Mommy va va voom, that's Daddy va va voom."

Mommy and daddy spent an entire month working on weekends to build cars out of cardboard boxes for a car race.  We built a train, a sports car, a jeep, and a beetle (which Auntie thought looked more like an old school rabbit), and a special number 2 sports car especially for Caleb. Everyone divided into teams for a relay race around the back yard. Each person raced to one of four pit stops and did an activity (attach the car's wheels, attach the car's license plate, refuel with a bottle of apple juice, or hang a car air freshener), then passed the car to a teammate who raced to the next pit stop.  The jeep, which turned out looking the best, was actually the most difficult car to maneuver.  The gold sports car won the race.

 

The bean bag toss was also a big hit with the kids, however Caleb refused to actually toss the bean bags and instead opted for walking up and delicately placing them in the holes.

 

So many family and friends came for his big celebration.  Geby and Emmanuel came down from Denver, and of course the party wouldn't be complete without his best buddy Matthew! Caleb was very exited to see him and instantly it was just like old times. 

  

 

We ended the celebration with cake and ice cream and then opened presents.* Caleb got so many wonderful gifts; books, cars, clothes, a mini piano, toys, a beautiful gold necklace from Geby, but by far the best present came from Lolli, Auntie, and Pops.  The look of his face when he sees it is worth 1,000 words.

 

Caleb LOVES his Cadillac. He's actually a pretty good little driver too.** Mommy and Caleb take it for a spin to the mailbox everyday after work, and Daddy took Caleb for a ride and picked up a little girl! He just barely reaches the pedals so it's definitely a car he can grow in to. It's a good thing Daddy's car is currently in Seattle because RubRub's Cadillac has taken his spot in the garage!

Happy Birthday little love.  Mommy and daddy are so proud of you and love you more than anything else in the whole world.

_____

* Check out the fancy chocolate car logos on top of the cupcakes. That beautiful work was done by none other than Mommy and Auntie.  Laugh if you'd like, they look a whole lot better than the logos the cupcakes came with!

** Daddy is convinced Cae will turn out to be the first black NASCAR driver. Mommy thinks we should aim just a bit higher.