happy birthday, ryder!

saturday we celebrated the third birthday of our spunky second born, ryder!  we learned that ryder does much better with a smaller group of friends for his party.  he invited a few little boys that he sees regularly, to jump, collect bugs and eat cupcakes with him.  ryder had so  much fun that he wanted to know where all his friends went after the party.  FINALLY we threw a party that he truly enjoyed!  yay!

this year ryder asked his friends to skip the presents and hook him up with some cans for funny house(a house that we LOVE to drive by 365 days a year!  they go all out with their christmas decor and the boys love it.  they accept can donations for an organization called interfaith.  when the boys caught on to the fact that some people don't have food, ryder was all about the cans for his birthday!).  he was pretty excited to collect the cans as his friends rolled in.  ryder loaded the box with pride(picture of the delivery at the bottom of the post).   to be totally honest, we are NOT in NEED of anything in our house.  we are well fed, well clothed and have a warm house.  we want our boys to know how fortunate we truly are.  i hate that i have to remind myself of this fact... often!  

totally his pick on the theme!

the day of the party this character decided to walk.  he has been cruising with a few steps, but saturday he kicked it up a few notches.  looks like someone doesn't want to be left behind.  watch out world!

our can collector.

showing off his alien tattoos.

sawyer showed up with a bag of cans(thanks, friend!) and a candy cane for each brother.  he knows what these boys like... sugar!

baby cooper, one of the youngest party people.

ryder requested an alien bug hunt.  what's that?  good question!  it's a  regular bug hunt.  

stew played a game with the boys, throwing them into the jumpy over and over again.  the kids were elated and the moms were holding their breath.  this might have been ryder's favorite part of the party.  i love that i can always find my husband playing with our boys.  stew has his faults, but he's one hell of a dad(husband too)!  i am so grateful!

the first attempt.

he might have spit a little:) 

saturday night we headed to funny house to make the drop.  the owners of the house came out with candy canes for the boys and shared with us about their connection to interfaith.  the mom and her daughter have worked with this organization helping people get back on their feet. 
 as it turns out they almost didn't decorate this year, but their college aged daughter insisted!  so glad!  we would have had two very sad boys.





ryder,  you are a truly your own person.  you love to make us laugh and you love to try daring things that make me gasp.  you have really come out of your shell.  you talk about your friends and look forward to seeing them.  you could spend all day outside running, jumping and collecting bugs.  it thrills me to see you be kind to others.  i love when you notice that baby asher is in need of a toy and you share.  you love to tease your brothers!  your favorite color is orange and you remind everyone else of their (assigned)favorite color.  tomatoes are an absolute favorite of yours, along with most other fruits and vegetables.  you are willing to try most foods and aren't too picky.  you seem to pick up on other peoples feelings, even in movies and want to know the why behind them.  "why?" is your favorite question.  when we talked about funny house collecting food for people without anything to eat, you were concerned.  you have spent most of the past few months reminding us that there are people without clean water and food.  even at 2 you are teaching us to think about others.  you are a pistol with a tender heart.  i look forward to seeing what God does with your enthusiasm and fearlessness.  i love you so much and am so proud to be your mom!