Vanessa Bryant Celebrates Daughter Koko’s 1st Birthday & Brings Up How She’s Named After ‘Dearly Missed’ Dad Kobe

Vanessa Bryant, 38, posted the sweetest birthday message for her youngest daughter Capri‘s 1st birthday! “Happy 1st Birthday Capri! Mommy, Daddy, Nani, Gigi and BB love you SO much!!!” she gushed, referencing nicknames for Capri’s big sisters Natalia, 17, the late Gianna, and Bianka Bella, 3. “God Bless you sweet princess. Capri Kobe Bryant a.k.a. ‘Koko-Bean‘ named after her dearly missed daddy, Kobe Bean Bryant…We miss you SO much Gigi and Daddy,” Vanessa added.

She attached her touching caption to a gorgeous photo of she and late husband Kobe lovingly gazing at newborn Capri, which you can see here. “Girl dad” Kobe cradles Capri in his arms, who wore the most adorable flower headband for her first-ever photoshoot! The trio all rocked matching white ensembles for the angelic photo, with Kobe opting for a classic crisp button down, Vanessa in a bohemian style dress and little Capri bundled up in a cozy knit blanket.

Vanessa shared a second photo of Capri all dressed up for her big day! The newly minted 1-year-old wore a pretty dress as she at in front of an epic castle shaped cake by Los Angeles bakery Sweet Lady Jane. “Happy 1st birthday Capri! We love you so much mamacita,” Vanessa gushed, going on to explain the signifiance of the amazing cake. “@sweetladyjanebakerycafe thank you soooo much for coming through and creating a special birthday cake for our Koko-Bean. Natalia had the original Disneyland castle, Gianna had the Walt Disney World Castle, Bianka had Disney Paris and Capri has the Tokyo Disney Castle cake,” the Disney fan gushed.

“Due to the pandemic we thought our 1st birthday tradition wasn’t going to be possible but Jane and Trent made sure Koko got her birthday cake to match her big sisters,” Vanessa wrote, thanking Sweet Lady Jane’s owners. “I really appreciate Jane and the amazing cake designers that really cared to make this possible. So sweet!!!!Thank you, thank you. We love you Koko-Bean! #One-derful!” she also said. The Disney theme didn’t stop there, as Capri had a Princess-themed balloon display featuring Elsa from Frozen and Ariel from The Little Mermaid!

Friend Khloe Kardashian, 35, commented “Happy birthday sweet KoKo,” while WNBA star Lisa Leslie, 47, gushed, “Happy Birthday Baby Capri.” Former Real Housewives of Orange County star Heather Dubrow also commented, “Happy Birthday,” celebrity florist Jeff Leatham, Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo, jewelry designer Jen Meyer and many more left loving messages for baby Capri!

Capri is growing up right before our very eyes on social media, and even took her very first steps for her mom on May 24! The then 11-month old started off standing in the arms of her auntie Sophie as she then walked over to her proud mom, who had her arms out! She looked so cute and happy as she wobbled taking each step. “Capri’s 1st Steps!!!! Yay!” Vanessa captioned the short video, who then gave her daughter a sweet kiss. Vanessa added, “My baby!!!! So proud of my Koko Bean Capri took her first steps from her auntie Sophie to mama today.” The entire room clapped and cheered as Capri made her big steps, and we’re sure her dad Kobe would have been so proud, too.