Birthday Fun

This year for Ryder's birthday we decided to skip the party and celebrate in other ways.  Sometimes we feel the birthdays can be overkill when we have so much other fun stuff going on around that same time.

On Ryder's actual birthday he woke up to mommy and daddy throwing a lot of balloons at him while he was still in bed.  The plan was to fill his bed with balloons the night before, but I somehow went to sleep that night without thinking about it so we just exploded into his room with balloons the next morning. He was totally freaked out for about 2 seconds, but quickly switched gears into excited birthday mode!

He got chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast that morning.  Although, Sawyer might have enjoyed them more than Ryder.

Later that morning, he got to open presents.  He was very excited to get a new game and some wood letters that you put into cards to spell words.  The perfect gifts for our preschool loving boy.  Ryder got lots of phone calls that day and we just enjoyed our 3 year old!

He got to choose where to eat that night and Grandma and Grandpa Decker joined us.  He obviously chose Red Robin as that is definitely the kids' favorite place to eat and then we had a pirate cake, ice cream, and presents at Grandma's and Grandpa's.

 My parents were coming into town Friday night so the kids got to stay up super late waiting for them and Ryder got to open more presents.  He was one spoiled boy!

The next day, Tyler was headed out of town so my parents and I met Meg, Clint, and their kids at the parade downtown.  Ryder is obsessed with parades because he loves the marching bands.  He is constantly pretending to march and play drums.  The candy doesn't hurt the love for parades either.

After lunch out we headed to the fair.  The kids loved eating lots of treats and going on a couple rides.

Everyone was exhausted and disgusting by the end of the day.

As if that wasn't enough "celebrating" we headed out to ice cream in Palmer Lake later that evening.  I love that Ryder's pants are on backwards!

All the kids at the ice cream shop stand on a bench and make the passing cars honk.  I think it's super annoying but apparently every kid loves it.

I love that our kids have so many people that love them and love celebrating the day they were born.  It's so sweet that they get so many calls from aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

Ryder asks every day when he gets another birthday.  Hopefully, it passes or it's going to be a really long year!

Ryder at Three

On August 7th, Ryder turned 3!  He is still a fun, energetic, smart, and kind boy.  We have so much fun being around him and still makes us laugh constantly.

Ryder loves all things Spiderman.  He also likes other superheroes, but calls all the other mean guys. He sleeps with a Spiderman, Ninja Turtle, Captain Hook, and Batman figurine, as well as a teddy bear, his bible, and a stuffed penguin.  He likes little toys and is gaining quite a few collections (mini trains, mini superheroes, and mini airplanes).  He sets them all up on the table and just stares at them.

He loves board games, puzzles, and books.  He will sit and listen to stories for as long as I have to read them and he likes to look at books independently.  He loves preschool with mommy, and asks to do preschool every day.  He really just loves learning, which brings lots of happiness to this teacher mama's heart.

He will play outside for hours, and this summer has become very proficient on his balance bike.  He loves to ride his bike, swing, and jump on the trampoline.  He loves water and has no fear when it comes to any body of water.  He likes being on Papa's boat, and playing with all his cousins.

Him and Rilyn play pretend really well together and they come up with some great games.  They really are best friends, and I love their relationship.  I know it's going to probably change as they get older, but right now I am just loving watching them play, learn, and grow together.  Sawyer and him like to wrestle and fight over toys.  Sawyer picks on Ryder quite a bit and really likes the toys he is playing with so we get lots of brotherly love happening on here right now.

In general, Ryder is a pretty good eater.  He is usually willing to try everything, at least one bite.  He loves Mac and Cheese and Pizza.  He still hates potatoes but just recently started eating french fries as long as they are covered in some sort of dip.  His favorite vegetable is red peppers, and blueberries are his favorite fruit.  He thinks he loves chocolate but seriously any dessert will do!

His sleep has been a little inconsistent this year, as he has started giving up naps.  We usually have a the older two in bed between 7:30 and 8:00.  When he does nap, he typically doesn't fall asleep until at least 9 sometimes 10...yikes.  He does lay in bed and look at books or play with his mean guys, but I'm asleep before that usually!  If he doesn't nap he falls right to sleep.  Either way, he is usually up by 6:30.  He could go without a nap, but we (Tyler and I) are definitely not there!

His 3 year check-up went great and he is a healthy 3 year old.  He is in the 75% for both height and weight and is meeting all the developmental milestones for his age.

Ryder is a big goof ball and full of energy.  He loves making people laugh and just enjoys life to the fullest.  He even still snuggles his mama a lot!  We are so blessed he is ours!

This is his 3 year old birthday interview.  It was a lot of fun and I did video tape it, but Sawyer was shrieking through most of it so not that fun to listen too!

How old are you?

3

What is your favorite color?

blue

What is your favorite show?

Monster one no pirates

What is your favorite book?

Jake and the Neverland Pirates….dolphin one (Whale book he got in NC)

What is your favorite place to eat?

Red Robin

Where do you live?

In the mountains

What do you want to be when you grow up?

airplane driver

What is your favorite toy?

playing a fox

What is your favorite animal?

lion

What is your favorite song?

I Know a Chicken

Who is your best friend?

Sawyer

What do you like to take to bed with you?

mean guys, motorcycle, spiderman, bear, and penguin

Who is your hero?

Spiderman

What are you really good at?

getting presents

If you had 1000 to spend what would you spend it on?

my piggy bank

If you could have a wish what would it be?

a star - wish upon a star - a book

North Carolina

At the end of July, we (with most of the Deckers) went to North Carolina for a beach vacation.

It was our first big vacation with the kids, and our first time flying with the boys.  I think the kids were the most excited to get on the airplane.  Unfortunately, we missed our very early morning flight.

But, we were still able to get out that day, and the kids all loved the airplane.  Considering it was like a 20 hour day, the older two were great, and Sawyer was fine with lots and lots of distractions.

Obviously, we spent lots of time at the beach.  The kids all LOVED it and never got tired of being there.  Ryder and Rilyn are both little fishes and would have spent every waking second in the water.

We even did a little crabbing one night with Grandma.

We had lots of after dinner popsicles with the cousins.

We got all dressed up for Tyler's cousin's wedding, which is why we actually went to North Carolina.

We took a couple day trips.  One was to the Wright Brother Memorial, which was really interesting. It was pretty hot and there was lots of walking, but other than that we had a good time!

Ryder liked reading all the signs

We also visited a lighthouse.  Again, it was really hot...seriously as soon as we left the water I was hot ha.  I had never been to a lighthouse, and was excited to get to the top.  Unfortunately, no kiddos could be carried and they had to be over a certain height so only Rilyn out of the littles could go so we had to take shifts.  Ryder was pretty sad he was too short, but Grandma Decker made him feel better by letting him pick out a book in the gift shop.

That is Yvonne waving from the top

It was such a fun trip and the kids are still talking about it almost daily.  It was nice spending so much time with family and watching the kids experience so many new things.  I loved watching them try new foods and experience all the loveliness of North Carolina.  We would love to go back and both Tyler and I realized how much we love traveling even with littles.  It was tons of work but so worth all of it.  Also, Tyler and I have adopted a new attitude called "Vacation Anna and Tyler."  Because we love how awesome we were together on vacation.  Hopefully, it lasts us until the next vacation.