Taking them out for a spin

After cake and presents the boys headed outside to enjoy the last of the sunlight and take some of their new presents out for a spin.

Ryan would have swung all day long if he could have just found someone to push him... :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Boys!

I think I might have mentioned that we might have celebrated the boys' birthday a few times didn't I? We picked up these little stuffed cookies to celebrate with at home. So we lit the candles... And sang Happy Birthday, again. And watched them huff, and puff.. And blow all the candles out. We had also let the boys pick their own balloons for their birthday. Ryan picked a butterfly. And Connor picked one with brightly colored flowers and butterflies, too. So tell us, again, "how old are you?" Ryan: "THREE!"

After cake we brought out the presents.

The boys wasted no time at all before playing with their new toys.

Big Boys Now

We had been planning to move the boys to big boy beds for a while now. We had thought we would move them straight to twin beds, but they just looked so tiny and lost and them. Not to mention that whole having to get the other room ready... :) And Ryan's plea to just go back to his "green bed." So we finally made the leap this weekend. While Kevin entertained the kids I pulled out the directions and the rails and converted the boys' cribs to toddler beds. We decked them out in the Lightening McQueen and Buzz Lightyear toddler sets my mom had given them for Christmas along with matching pillows I had picked up for them a while ago. The boys were super excited and couldn't wait to climb right in and lay down to take a nap. Well... after getting all their stuffed animals settled back in of course.

We were a little nervous as to how they would actually do given that they could be up and out in no time flat. But they were so excited by their big boy beds they they laid right down and went straight to sleep. Way to go boys!

After they were out I snuck back up to take a peek. They have never been particularly still sleepers, and moving to a big boy bed hasn't changed that one.

Nope.

Not one bit. :)

Birthday Dinner

We took the boys to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner on their Birthday. The boys thoroughly enjoyed all the animals. Until the storm started the first time that is.. :) We were seated in a booth right next to the gorillas. The boys weren't quite sure what to think when they started moving and talking. They continued to keep an eye on them and the other animals around the restaurant in case they started moving or talking.

Connor's favorite by far were the elephants.

After we finished our dinner they brought out mini ice cream sundaes for the boys and sang their version of Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday

It's amazing what a small world it is. I have dozens of stories to prove it. Including this one. When I was pregnant with the boys and visiting my doctor practically on a daily basis I would run into Janell. We both worked for the same company and until quite recently had even worked on the same program team. She was due in late February and seeing the same doctor I was. Over the last 6 weeks or so of our pregnancies we would run into each other time and time again in the waiting room of the doctors office. Me with a few weeks to go, and her having seen her due date come and go.

After we delivered the boys I even remembered thinking that I should stop by the nursery and see if by chance she might have finally delivered as well or ask the nurses if they remembered her. I would later learn she had delivered her son in the same hospital, by the same doctor, probably in one of the rooms next door just a few hours before the boys were born.

And when the boys were two, her son, Jadon started going to the same school as the boys and became Connor's best friend. So this weekend we helped Jadon celebrate his 3rd birthday as well.

Happy Birthday, Jadon!

Birthday Party at School

The boys celebrated their 3rd birthday with their friends at school on Friday.

Given they were going to have more than their share of cake before this whole birthday celebrating thing was over I wanted to do something a little different. My original plan was to do bullseye donuts (chocolate iced donuts with whipped cream and sprinkles in the middle) at morning snack. Unfortunately school vetoed that plan with some nonsense about too much sugar so early in the morning. Plbbbtt!! So we decided to do a cookie cake instead.

We arrived just a few minutes before their scheduled snack time to discover that they were taking a late nap. When they woke up and found us there they were super excited to see us. Several kids in the class were excited about the "pizza!" we had brought as well. Apparently several folks really enjoy delivery. :)

So as the kids sat down for their snacks they sang Happy Birthday to Ryan and Connor and then dug in to their cookie cake. It was the first time the boys had ever had it. And I am not sure they knew what to make of it at first.b

Chocolate chip cookies, frosting, and cheese. YUMMY!! At least Connor thought so. :)

Afterwards the kids headed outside for afternoon play time. We stayed and watched them play for 20 minutes or so before heading out.

But not before grabbing our goodie bags on the way out the door. The boys were super excited to get theirs. Connor picking a Buzz Lightyear, and Ryan a Rex the Dinosaur. Surprisingly we made it all the way to the car before they managed to pull out the lollipop, tried to drink out of the [empty] bottle, and insisted their figurine be removed from its packaging while they pried open the snack cups to see what was inside.

Surprise!

And discover it they did. Though if it had been a snake I am fairly certain it would have bitten them. How they could overlook something so large upon setting foot in the back yard I can hardly imagine. Ryan ran straight to the swing. His swing. The yellow one. The one we picked just for him. Connor on the other hand went straight for the tire swing. And then of course they had to check out every single possible way to the top. Including the 7ft tall rockwall.

I held my breath. Though they have climbed taller ones before they have never done it without me standing just behind them ready to catch them if they fell. But they survived. Without a single misstep.

And when they shot down off the end of the slide to land abruptly, rudely, in the grass on the behinds they giggled, popped right back up and went to do it all over again.

A huge swing set!

The boys got an early birthday present... A HUGE swing set! Which thankfully came with it's own installers. When the boys and I left for school and work there was no sign of the transformation that was going to happen. No truck in our drive way. No giant stacks of wood. No power tools. Nothing.

But while we were away it went from a pile of pieces to this, to that, to finished all in a morning's time. So that by the time I got home at lunch it looked like this.

And by the time I got Connor down for a nap it was completely finished. What? Where was Ryan? At school. And why wasn't Connor at school? Because school called. He has the worst case of pink eye I have seen.

So we didn't show him the swing set. We waited until Ryan got home so they could discover it together...

The Human Gerbil Ball

I happened to be wandering around in Walmart the other day when I came across this ball. On clearance. Yes - we needed it. And no - I have no idea where we are going to put it. But the boys loved it. Even if it did take them a few minutes to figure out how to get it moving. But once they did they were human gerbil balls spinning all around the yard. And they loved it.

And they even took turns without complaint.