Kate's Birthday!

Ryan met his friend Kate when they were just little babies. He celebrated with her when she turned 1 and again when she turned 2, but then she moved away :( Well, he wasn't going to sit back and miss her big 3rd birthday, so we packed up the car and headed south to St. Marys for Kate's princess party!

Kate and Ryan: Then & Now


HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY PRINCESS KATE!

We woke up Saturday morning and immediately went to check out downtown St. Marys. We've seen it on the blog so many times and it was definitely as beautiful as we thought it would be.

Ryan just loved all of the scarecrows. He had to stop to see each one.

Then it was on to Princess Kate's big birthday party. Deanna definitely outdid herself again. Everything was wonderful. She is so creative and all of the kids had a ton of fun!

First Ryan decorated his prince crown.

Then he played in the castle for a bit

I think he was feeling overwhelmed by the number of princesses, so he did the only thing that he could. He made friends with Prince Philip! Prince Philip was nice enough to give him a ride in the wagon so Ryan thanked him by making him a snack.

Next was the Dragon Egg Hunt. Ryan immediately said "mommy, this is my favorite part!" He had a blast collecting all the eggs.

In true princess fashion, Kate's big present was a convertible waiting outside for her. She was nice enough to let Ryan take a spin in her hot new wheels.

This one's for daddy :)

After the party, we were all beat! We went back to our hotel to relax. The boys decided to take in some Bob the Builder.

When we figured out that there was no way Ryan was going to take a nap we decided to go back downtown and check out the rest of the scarecrows for St. Marys Hay Days.

Ryan's favorites were "Fireman Sam" and the dinosaurs.

And then Ryan, Lucas and daddy checked out the piers

Looking for Sea Turtles

This park was beautiful. Right on the water and so clean! St. Marys is now on the list of towns I want to live in!

On the way back to the car we spotted this guy. He was SO tiny! Ryan was excited because he had just seen an episode of Diego in which he rescued a giant sea turtle. So, Ryan decided this baby needed to be rescued. He picked him up off of the walkway and put him safely to the side so he wouldn't get stepped on.

When the baby sea turtle was safe and sound we went back to have a bbq. The kiddos got to play together and boy did they have fun!!

Kate is so good with Lucas. She is actually the one who had him smiling and then wanted to hold him.

On Sunday, we met Kate, Gabe, Sophie & Ava at the park to play before we hit the road to come back home.

Looking for sea turtles...again

Kate & Ryan threw all of their pennies in the fountain, but when they ran out they decided to go in and get their money back

Thanks Jon, Deanna, Kate & Gabe for a great weekend! We hope to see you all soon!

Barnyard Bash!

Today Ryan went to his friend Brianna's 3rd Birthday party. She had a petting zoo and pony rides. Ryan had an absolute blast! He wouldn't ride the pony, but he LOVED brushing and holding the animals. Of all the animals, his favorites were the baby pig and the chicks.
Happy Birthday Brianna!!

Ryan got some help holding the chicks from his favorite "daddy friend"

And he really bonded with this baby pig. He actually sat down and snuggled him until he fell asleep!

When we got home, we decided to use the Caramel Apple Kit Ryan got from Grammy. Not the ideal bedtime snack, but lots of fun!

Pumpkin Patch

Earlier tonight, we took Ryan and Lucas to the farm that we got to every year for Halloween. It's a cute little family farm right nearby that has a hayride, corn maze & pumpkin patch. And just last year they added Ryan's favorite part, the hay maze! For those of you who don't know, it's a maze for little ones made with hay bales.

First we checked out the pumpkins. Ryan said he wanted the "most giant one" and picked the one he was sitting next to.

Daddy & Lucas coached Ryan through the hay maze.

Ryan had a blast running in circles through the hay bales. He cheated a few times, but it's so tempting to just climb right over when you get to a dead end!

"Tada, I did it!"

After the maze, he was dying to try the duck race game!

Finally, before we left he got to pick out a pumpkin to take home. He picked a big one for himself and then asked if he could get a baby one for his brother. It was very sweet!

Scary Pumpkin

Yesterday I had to bribe Ryan so I could go to Michaels and get some supplies for his birthday party. I told him he could pick out a craft for being good. He searched the entire store and finally chose a pumpkin puff kit. He wanted to do his craft during daddy/son time tonight and Dave was nice enough to take pictures.

Concentrating on his project...

Applying the eyes with a steady hand...

And tada...I give you the creepiest pumpkin in the world!

As always, here's Lucas, happy as a clam in his favorite spot on the couch.

Happy Baby!

We should be on a plane to Boston at this very moment, but I decided to cancel our reservation(sigh) and reschedule for another time (sorry girls!) The past couple of days have been a little rough around here. For two days Lucas has refused to eat anything, has been acting really cranky and sleeping more than usual. Normally he eats 4 oz every 3 hrs. Sunday and Monday he would only take about an ounce of pedialyte every 4-5 hrs. His doctor has determined that it must be a stomach bug. It's been a challenge, to say the least.

Anyway, every single morning for the past 10 weeks I have been woken up by Lucas crying for a bottle. He literally opens his eyes, realizes he's hungry and immediately starts screaming his little heart out. This morning, I woke up to complete silence. After checking both boys (and doing a little happy dance) I made myself some coffee. Finally, I heard little noises on Lucas' monitor and went to check on him. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found a HAPPY baby! I guess he's feeling better! The little Houdini wiggled his way out of his swaddle blanket and apparently he was really happy about it. He was all smiles, kicking, punching and his new trick-cooing! Yes, I know, this seems trivial to most of you. But for me, it was a very good morning! Now, if he would just sleep through the night...

We've also discovered that Lucas' favorite thing to do is sit in the corner of the couch. He likes his swing, his play mat and his bouncy seat, but they all last about 10-15 minutes and then he's bored and crying. But, he loves the couch. We sit him there to read to him and he just loves it. It doesn't take much sometimes.