Ryan's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Ryan's 2nd birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese this past weekend! Despite the early party time (9:30am - yikes!), it ended up being the perfect time to have a party. We practically had the place to ourselves which allowed the kids to run around without getting lost in a crowd.

Ryan loved every minute of his special day - here were a few of his favorites. . . .

1) Eating PIZZA at 10am in the morning! You can't beat that!



2) Eating yummy cupcakes afterwards. . .



3) Celebrating with friends and family





4) Of course, playing games. . .







5) Sitting in a money pit with his Daddy . . .



6) And presents galore. . .



Thank you to all our family and friends that came out and celebrated Ryan's birthday. You all made it so special for Bobby, me and most importantly Ryan.

Family Lake Outing!

Ryan and Mommy had our first outing on the lake since last year. Of course, Bobby's been out there many times since it's become warmer. . . much warmer! We chose to go out there around 5pm so the heat was somewhat bearable. Ryan loved climbing all over the boat but found his favorite seat to be in his Daddy's lap while he drove the boat. We had to quickly teach Ryan that he couldn't jerk the steering wheel when Daddy's driving. YIKES!

Ryan wasn't crazy about getting in the cold water (I don't blame him!). But, he rode the inner tube like a real pro.

As we were driving home, Bobby and I both agreed that it's much easier to have a third adult with us. One adult to drive the boat, one adult to wake board and one adult to watch Ryan.



About a year ago, Ryan was all decked out for the lake.














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Weekend Fun!

We had family and friends over for dinner on Saturday night. Bobby grilled up some yummy mahi mahi burgers and we all sat outside and enjoyed the nice weather.

I couldn't resist getting some pictures of Ryan and Lauren playing together. As of a week ago, Lauren has started to walk. Ryan was very gentle with her and would hold her hand if she got close to the grass or flower beds so she wouldn't fall. So cute!

Check Out This Place!

First off, our new Nanny (Mrs Sally) is just wonderful. She's been with us for 2 weeks now and we are so impressed with the amount of things that she has taught Ryan in such a short amount of time. We feel so blessed to have her!

She does a great job scouting the area (online, networking, etc) to find fun things for them to do throughout the week. She offered to take him to a place in Carrollton called "Going Bonkers". The name alone kind of describes our Ryan! They spent 2 hours there and she told me Ryan played constantly. He made several friends who helped him get from one level to the next when he wasn't tall enough to make it on his own. Several parents made the comment to Sally that our boy has no fear - of course, that's something we already knew!

We love discovering new places for Ryan to play and learn especially when they can help give him a nice long nap in the afternoon! He slept 3 hours that day!

Pick And Choose My Battles!

I've learned sometimes it's best to pick and choose my battles with my 2-year old. One good example of this happened last night while we were getting ready for bathtime. He insisted on keeping his sunglasses on. Also notice the bubbles that I too also chose to ignore. . . . What a little ham!

Piccadilly Circus

Bobby and I debated for weeks if Ryan would enjoy the Ringing Brother's Circus. Wasn't sure if he would sit still long enough to watch the first act. Would it be worth the money?

Then, we started seeing advertisements for a much smaller-scale circus coming to Allen -- The Piccadilly Circus. It was a fraction of the cost of the Ringling Brother's Circus plus it was practically in our backyard versus driving all the way downtown.

We ended up buying VIP tickets which got us front row tickets to the show and access to some really cool kid activities -- elephant and pony rides, petting zoo and face painting!

Ryan sat mesmerized throughout the whole 1.5 hour show. He clapped after each act and would dance in his chair when they would play music. We had such a great time!


Feeding the animals. . .







Pony Ride - I promise he was having a good time. I just could never get a picture of him smiling!





Ryan: Mom, can I ride this one next?





Face painting time! ROAR!





Intermission Time - Ryan loved eating kettle popcorn and looking at all the fun toys especially the blow-up Spongebob!





Just to show you how close our seats were!

No Caption Needed!

Yum! Noodles!

Ryan certainly had us entertained over dinner tonight. He was eating a very bland meal due to some digestive issues (AKA diarrhea) and we quickly found out he isn't so quiet when eating noodles.. . . . .