Ryder’s turns Two and Father’s Day!!

Sunday was such a BIG day for us!!  We celebrated Ryder turning 2 and Father’s Day.  We met up with some special friends at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia SC and had such a fun time!

I can’t believe Ryder is TWO!!!  Holy Time…slow down!!  I truly feel like he should still be a little bitty baby!  He is such a JOY to our family….he is a handful but he is constantly making us laugh!  I am going to do a separate post soon on just him and who he is as a 2 year old!

When we were buying our tickets to get in…we had a nice surprise.  Father’s got in FREE that day!!! Yay!

Ryder LOVES to “ride” things!! I’m pretty sure he got on every animal statue at the Zoo!

Kendall and Ryder were so cute walking in. Sweet friends!

Kendall is just the cutest!!  She and Ryder are 3 days apart and we were leaving the hospital the day we came in! 

Maddox likes to “ride” the animals too!

My Boys on Father’s Day!!!

I got a little worried when we first got there….the kids were more interested in playing in the bubbles than seeing the animals!

Notice the toy in Ryder’s hand….he carried it with him the whole time!  It was the toy of the day!

Maddox loving on the iguana!

I’m pretty sure the gorilla’s are my favorite!!

Giving Daddy loving!

Riding the elephant!

Giraffes are such an interesting animal.  I enjoyed standing and just marveling over their creation….thinking how detailed our God is!!

The Garden!

Ooops….Maddox…you aren’t supposed to pick the tomatoes!

We took the stroller for Ryder and he refused to ride in it.  Kendall loved pushing it around and Maddox enjoyed pushing Kendall in it!  So cute!

My boys are beyond blessed to have Chris as their Daddy.  He is an AMAZING father!!  He always puts family first!  I m so thankful that he is a praying Father and leads are family guided by Christ!  He has had a tremendously hard year but his faith is so strong he leans on it to get thru everyday….and you know it is only by God’s strength.  Thank You Chris for all you do!  You amaze me!!  We love you!!!

My family!!  (I had no idea until I saw this pic…that my shirt is a little sheer!)

We of course made a visit to the Gamecocks bookstore and Chris was in heaven for about 30 minutes!

When we got home I set up a little birthday table for Ryder.  We sang to him, he blew out his candle and we all enjoyed birthday cake!

Opening his present!

Such a fun day!!!  My heart was overflowing all day celebrating Chris and Ryder!!!  I am so blessed to have them in my life!!

My Boys!!

Maddox you are now 3.5 years old! 

You are a sweet boy!  You are getting better everyday about playing and being kind to Ryder.  You are a great big brother!!  I know you will always look out for Ryder and I know he will always look up to you!

You are very smart and you love going to school!  You are currently learning to write your letters, learning to sound them out and you are working on your coloring skills of trying to stay in the lines!  Your imagination is HUGE!! You have no problem sitting in the floor and playing with all your trucks and equipment and you are just talking away while you are playing!  In your own little world.  We hear you say Unc Kev a lot….too cute!

You know all the different makes of tractors and can identify them by color.  Your favorite song is Jason Aldean’s Big Green Tractor.  You sing it several times a day! 

You love riding your new tractor, even when it is super cold outside!! You still sleep with your pappy and blanky and Mommy is OK with that b/c I’m not ready for you to give them up yet either. 

You love to lay in bed with us at night to wind down….you have to have your pappy, blanky, chocolate milk and a piece of cheese and you currently love watching Super Why and Sid the Science Kid.  You also like to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Duck Dynasty!

You shock us everyday with how much you know….you say the cutest things!  You are becoming more and more independent and it does make it a little easier but I also want to cry wondering where that flash of time went that you were a baby and toddler.  You have a sweet heart and I look forward to seeing all the GREAT plans God has for you!

Ryder…oh Ryder….where do I even start with you? 

You will be 19 months on January 16th!  You are a little ham! You are sweet and cuddly yet independent and PURE BOY!!

You think its funny to hit!  But you always follow up with the sweetest hug b/c you know hitting is wrong.

I’m pretty sure all the dents and scratches in our new floors are from you. Instead of throwing balls like Maddox did at your age…you like to throw trucks!!

You are starting to stand your ground with Big Brother!!

You love playing outside!

You are a Mommy’s Boy!! You melt my heart!

You are shy to people at first but you quickly warm up to them.

You mainly love everything that Maddox loves right now!  You kinda skipped all the baby toys and moved right on to trucks and tractors! 

You love to use the sock em boppers!

You sleep thru most of the nights. You currently have been going to bed around 10 and get up at 8.

You love to put on hats of any kind!!! And you are obsessed with putting on shoes!

You have 12 teeth…8 completely in and 4 molars are half way in at this time.

You eat good sometimes and sometimes not.  I would say your favorite food is pasta!

And I have to be completely honest….you are in a bad stage of picking your nose!

You now love to be read to.  Your favorite books are the picture books that you point to what we ask you. 

You also love airplanes right now…and looking at pictures of them!

Your nickname around here is Denise…aka Denise the Menace!  That face is full of mischievousness.

You are a climber!!! Whatever you can climb and stand up on…you do!

You are already learning to use the iphone.  Your favorite app is the Talking Tom Cat! 

You are a mess and keep us laughing.  Me and Daddy are constantly looking at each other and shaking our heads!!

At times, I think you have already hit the terrible twos.  You have learned how to throw a fit!

But, you usually get over it really fast and your right back to your fun little self!!

We have the sweetest, smartest, cutest, most precious boys ever!!

Everywhere we go strangers tell us how handsome you boys are!!  You already make us so proud!!

We Love You Forever….We Like You For Always…As Long As We Are Living…Our Babies You’ll Be!!!

Ryder is ONE!!!!

Saturday June 16th, my little Ryder turned ONE!!!  This has been the fastest year EVER!!!  It blows my mind that his first year has done come and gone.  One thing is for sure…I have enjoyed every second of it.  This little fellow has my heart and the joy he has brought into my life is unspeakable!

This is a pic from last Monday.  He opened his gifts from his party.  Somehow, we didn’t get the gift opening part fit into the party before everyone left. 

Me, Chris and Maddox woke him up singing Happy Birthday to him!!

Maddox giving him a birthday kiss!!

Getting ready to head to the zoo!!

On our way….

Maddox’s boo boo!!  He fell before we left the house and it caused some major drama!!!

Ryder’s new face he makes!!  It cracks me up!!!

We’re ready to see all the animals!!

The penguins were great!!!  We got to watch them get fed!!

Lunch time!!! Sweet Potatoes with apples and french fries!!  Anything goes when it’s your birthday!!

The kangaroos!!

Looking at the giraffes!

Maddox milking a cow!!

A sweet lady asked if we wanted a picture with all of us….it is such a blessing when by passers offer to do that!!

We took a little tour thru Columbia to check out all the Gamecock facilities!!  Chris took me by the baseball field, the stadium and we even stopped at the bookstore!  Ryder was worn out and fell asleep as soon as we got in the car…Bless!!

When we got home…we celebrated with pizza and cake!!  The birthday cake from Maddox and Ryder’s party never got cut.  I don’t know how that happen either!!  We had cupcakes so most everyone that wanted cake ate a cupcake and my Mom had brought another dessert.  So we wrapped each layer up and froze them….we are breaking them out this weekend for their actual birthdays!!

I threw a table display together last minute.  I remember I did this with Maddox when he turned ONE and wanted to do the same for Ryder….even though I’m sure he could care less.

Ryder wouldn’t keep his hat on for anything.  He loved the hat though…he would just laugh at it!!

What a fun memorable day we had celebrating Ryder’s big day!!!  I pray his second year goes by a little slower!!