Ryland's 3rd Birthday Party - Trains!

Ryland is all about mighty machines.  He loves construction vehicles, planes and trains.  Therefore we decided on a train theme for his 3rd birthday.  I found some cute ideas online and Pinterest for the cake/food/decor and we rented a barrel train for the activity.  The kids had a blast and we had one very happy 3 year old.

The evite:

All Aboard!  Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

The birthday train is coming fast

Climb aboard, we'll have a blast!

Ryland's 3rd birthday is already here

Let's celebrate another big year!

Confirm a seat with Conductor Christina (RSVP)

Cake and light refreshments will be served.

Express Kids Train will arrive at 3:30pm for rides!

At the entrance to the house we staged the goodie bag items.  I had engineer hats and train whistles in baskets for the kids to choose from, as well as giant Thank You lollipops.  I skipped the arts n crafts this year as we had a train to ride.

I had the cake and cupcakes displayed on the island in the kitchen and all the snacks were set up in the breakfast nook.  I especially liked our food train.  I found some toy engines (Thomas and another train) from Ry's game room and set them up pulling tin loaf pans.  I even attached Oreo wheels to the pans with icing.  In each loaf pan we had a different snack:  cheese balls (boulders), mini corn dogs, chips, grapes, blueberries, pretzels (logs), animal crackers and carrots.

The birthday boy!  Ready to party 4/19/2014

He really wanted those cupcakes, it was hard distracting him while we waited for his guests.

cake and cupcakes

My first time making a number cake

Food train and other snacks

Train plates and napkins (also had matching paper cups, not pictured)

The real fun was outside.  In the backyard we had Ry's birthday gift, his new playscape!  Plus various other toys for the kids such as a basketball hoop and cozy coupe.  And of course there was the main attraction, the train!

Blowing out the candles.  Happy Birthday!

birthday boy and mommy

The train was a big hit, we rented it for over and hour and half and they rode it the entire time.  We waited until the very end to open gifts.  Ry definitely knew what he was doing this year.  All the kids would gather around him as he tore off paper and pulled items from bags. As soon as he unwrapped a gift he'd put it off to the side in a pile and grab the next gift.  I thought for sure Ry would crash as he didn't nap, but he was happy and probably on a sugar high and stayed up until 10pm!  A huge thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated Ry's birthday with us.

Engineer hats and train whistles - orientaltrading.com

Cake and food ideas - Pinterest

Plates, napkins, cups, plastic utensils and lollipops - birthdayinabox.com

Loaf pans - Walmart

Express barrel train - local

Rylie and Ryland

Dana and Emily

Decker and Baba

Lexie and Jenn

Kim, Jenn and Moni

Jackson and Ryland

Brooke

Blake and Ryland

Connor

Cora and Isabella

Karen and Jackson

6 Months

My baby girl turned 1/2 year old on April 28th!  I can't believe how much Carsyn has grown.  Her personality is really starting to show.

6 Months Young (26 weeks) - 4/29/2014

At her 6 month wellness appointment she weighed 15 lbs 3 oz (31%), measured 25" long (16%) and her head circumference was 43.6 cm (86%).  She's firmly in 6 month clothing, although I think some 6 month pajamas aren't long enough for her legs.  Go fig since she's obviously on the tiny side!  She had a good 2 pound weight jump this past month which I'm sure is due to rice cereal and stage 1/2 baby foods!  Yup, we started her on pureed baby food about 2 weeks ago and she's been eating like a champ ever since.  Carsyn is even drinking water from mommy's cup!

grunt

As you can see Carsy has mastered sitting up.  She loves to sit on our bed in the morning while we get ready for work and she likes to sit on the couch or the floor with some of her toys.  Anything is better than lying down!

siblings 3/29/2014

All dressed up 4/4/2014

We're thrilled that Carsy is now sleeping through the night. About 3 weeks ago we changed up her feeding schedule.  During the day she only takes a 4-6 oz bottle, but at night we beef her up.  She now eats cereal and/or a stage 1 food around 6 pm and has her last bottle (a whopping 8 oz!) around 8:30 pm.  This works out perfectly as she falls right asleep and stays asleep until 6-6:30am.  Ahhhh, so nice to sleep through the night again!

This is my happy face 4/5/2014

watermelon! 4/12/2014

Carsyn loves to eat!  We started her on stage 1/2 foods a couple weeks ago as we noticed she always wanted what we were eating.  So far she's also tried pizza crust, watermelon and mashed potatoes.  She really didn't eat the pizza crust, mainly just chewed on it, but oh how she loved that watermelon!  I haven't seen any teeth yet, but I bet they pop up in the next month.  Ry's first 2 bottom teeth came though when he was 27 weeks.

Happy Easter 4/20/2014

Got my bunny slippers on ;)

Our little girl is all about noises.  She squeals, laughs, coos and grunts all the time.  Just the other day Malek swore to me he heard her say 'mama' on the way to daycare.  I'm sure it was a fluke and she was just making random noises. 

looking up to big brother 4/24/2014

I'll protect you

Carysn started day care this month.  Her first day was Monday 4/28, the day she turned 6 months.  So far she's having a ball.  I watched her all morning on the live video feed, the teachers love her and can't put her down.  ;)  Her first day they sent us a video of her playing with her toys and smiling.  I'm excited to see how much she will learn from the other babies.  

mafia girl 4/25/2014

Carsyn is a happy little girl with an infectious smile and gorgeous brown eyes.  I love her reaction when she sees me after daycare, she gets so excited she almost knocks herself out!  Ry and Carsy are quite the pair, they make my heart melt.

Cheese! 4/29/2014

5 Months

Carsyn 5 Months Young - 3/28/2014

Our petite baby girl turned 5 months young on Friday 3/28.  Carsy weighed 13 lbs 7 oz and fits comfortably into 6 month clothes, although we can still stuff her in a few 3-6 month sizes.  She also started sitting up on her own a week before she turned 5 months.  Unfortunately she's still not sleeping through the night.  We have started her on rice cereal so I'm hoping that will help.  My guess is we need to be better about giving her more food at her last feeding to push her though the night.  

sitting up all by myself!

mischievous

muhahahahaha

We've received many compliments on our little girl.  People love her eyes and tiny feet.  One night while out at dinner we had a couple of restaurant employees inform us that she needed to be a baby model!  Proud mama right here.  ;)  Ryland would get the same compliments about his eyes and hair.  Of course baby girl needs to grow some more hair to catch up to her big brother.  She doesn't have enough hair for me to use barrettes, so instead mommy has fun dressing her up in hairbands with giant flowers or bows.

rice cereal! 3/8/2014

Got milk?  I decided to stop pumping/nursing after 4 months, however since I was able to freeze a ton of milk Carsyn was still drinking breast milk until the day she turned 5 months.  :)  She's now fully on formula and takes up to 6 oz per bottle, although sometimes she'll only eat 4.  We've also started her on cereal!  

A couple weeks ago we started putting Carsyn in a sit-up position.  Lo and behold she maintained her balance for about a minute!  She likes to keep her arms up in the air so she will easily fall over.  Practice, practice, practice.  We've also been able to sit her in the highchairs at restaurants and she can support herself in an upright position on the floor and in her pack n play.  You go girl!  Work those abs. 

Sitting pretty 3/25

This little lady is STILL not sleeping through the night.  At her 4 month appointment the Dr told us to start breaking her from the middle of the night feeding.  I think that has only happened twice.  Even if we max her out on food at 9 pm she'll still wake up at 2:30 am like clockwork, after a bottle she'll go back to sleep until ~7 am.  Carsyn has also starting rolling over a lot during the night, she now prefers her stomach.  We still swaddle her so when she rolls to her stomach she looks a bit squashed against the mattress.  I worry about her breathing when she does that, so nerve racking!

Happy St Patty's day 3/17/2014

Carsyn is finally interested in her toys!  She loves her OBall, rattles and plastic rings.  Any toys that make noise cause her to open her eyes wide in amazement.   She still prefers to be close to mommy and daddy and can only stand to be in her bouncer or playpen for 15 mins if we're lucky.  At least she likes her swing again, which really helps to coax her into a nap.  Carsy is also chatting up a storm!  She squeals with delight, giggles and chatters away at us.  Our little girl is just a bundle of joy!

jump jump jump! 3/20