Ryder's First Birthday

My little baby boy is a year old!

 

How did this happen??

 

It seems like just yesterday I was staring into his perfectly clear, blue eyes for the first time, saying "Hi... hi... hi!" as tears streamed down my face.

 

It has been the longest, hardest, most magical year of my entire life.

 

We threw Ryder (and ourselves) a big Cinco de Mayo birthday fiesta to celebrate, with family and some of our closest friends.

 

Happy First Birthday, Ryder Steven!

 

Fiesta-themed decorations. Thanks, Pinterest.

Ryder had a blast playing with his cousins and BFFs.

We had a piñata and a taco bar to go along with the theme. Gosh, I love a good theme party!

 

Having his birthday lunch (attempting to get something nutritious into him before the inevitable birthday cake sugar rush).

Everyone was so excited to spend time with spoil the birthday boy.

As expected, Ryder was much more impressed with paper and bows than he was with his actual presents.

But he loved all his gifts, especially the pushcar from Nana and Grandpa, which was one of his absolute favorites! Later in the day he spent hours in it getting pushed around the backyard (mostly by cousins Sophia and Aubs).

 

Mommy had to open most of the gifts, since the party and all the guests were a little too exciting for the birthday boy.

 

Piñata time! We started out with a kids' plastic bat, and all the kiddos got a turn.

Then it was time to bring in reinforcements -- a full size bat (and assistance from Daddies).

Ryder didn't waste any time getting in there and grabbing his fair share of candy. Son, you are your father's child...

 

We got super lucky with the weather -- it was a gorgeous day for a party on the patio!

 

Here we go with the birthday cake! Ryder didn't waste any time digging in...

He was a little tentative at first...

 

But once he got his hands into that wonderful, ooey-gooey frosting, he really went for it.

 

Surprisingly, he was much less interested in eating the cake then he was in playing with it.

 

Daddy wasn't about to let birthday cake go to waste though! He was quick to lend a hand...

 

The aftermath. Thank god it was a nice day and we could use the hose...

 


 

 

 

It's hard to explain how I feel about my baby turning one. Ryder seems like such a big boy now, but he's still my little baby at the same time.

 

 The party itself was a huge success. Grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends... Our child is very loved.

 

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our lives this past year -- we couldn't have done it without you!!