The One Where Ryan Turns 4

 Ryan turned 4 for real on June 5th. We tried to make it a special day for him and I think it was a success! The day before his birthday he helped me make a cake. No baking experience is complete without some taste testing of the beaters. The chocolate cake got a smile of approval from the birthday boy!

 He got a Thomas cake at his birthday party thanks to Grammy Pam. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted this time and he immediately said he wanted a Spiderman cake. It looks like our days of train obsession may be a thing of the past soon! On to super heroes! I was happy with how the cake turned out. He hasn't put that little Spiderman toy down since taking it off the cake. Worth every penny.

 The night before the big day I decorated the apartment with balloons and streamers. My kids get a kick out of decorations. Brady was in heaven when he woke up. Zach watched Ryan wake up and said he stood at the doorway a good 10 seconds, confused, before walking through and quickly making his way to the bathroom. Haha. Once he was coherent he thought it was cool.

 Ryan was excited about the cake! At first he thought the Spiderman was part of the cake. He was thrilled to find out it was a toy that he got to keep! He even pointed out that he was shooting a web. Mission accomplished.

 My mom sent a package of fun activities and Ryan's friend, Tucker, sent him a cute drawing. We opened those before heading to the post office to pick up a birthday package from Zach's Aunt Susie. Ryan was super excited to open all these fun birthday surprises. He is so lucky to have friends and family that think of him even when he is far away.

 I brought my camera this summer but left the charger in Utah. So I am making do with my cell phone camera which explains all the horrible quality pictures. It seems to do okay outside, but inside it's a blurry mess.

Thank You Aunt Susie!

We picked up a Spiderman "birthday boy" pin at Walmart. Ryan loved it and kept it on all day. Next we were on our way to the boys' first session of exercise classes. Brady has a Mom and Me class first. Ryan was really good and sat against the wall with another boy whose mom and little sister were in the class with us. Next it was Ryan's Fit Kidz class. He loved it and had a fun time.

 The classes are at the Walton Fitness Center right next to Zach's office. So after class got out Ryan got to go up to Zach's office and see where he works- a highlight of his day! Zach had a business lunch that he had to go to, but I took the boys to Panda Express for lunch- Ryan's choice! He loves the orange chicken and cleared his plate (!)

 We spent some time hanging out at home while Brady napped and got a little creative with the streamers. Party animal over here!

 As soon as Zach got home from work we headed to Red Robin for dinner. Ryan has been talking about Red Robbin since he first spotted it as we drove into town our first day here. We promised him we would go for his birthday. Dinner was good, but I was a little disappointed that they didn't make a big deal about his birthday. I mentioned it to the hostess thinking they would sing to him and bring some ice cream or at least a balloon- but they didn't do anything. I was not impressed. I thought Red Robin was a birthday-celebrating kind of place, but apparently not the one in Rogers, AR. Luckily, Ryan had no expectations so it was just Zach and I who were disappointed.

 After dinner we headed to the Rogers Bowling Center less than a mile away from our apartment.

 We were in luck. Tuesday is Dollar Day at the bowling alley. Games and shoe rentals were only a dollar each! Ryan bowled all by himself (with bumpers). In the past they have had ramps that he just rolled the ball down but we didn't see any ramps at this bowling alley. Watching Ryan shuffle down the lane in his bright green bowling shoes with his six pound ball was definitely one of the cuter things I have ever seen.

 Zach was happy to bowl with Ryan. Now that we know it's only a buck per game on Tuesdays I'm guessing we will be back again this summer.

 Finally we headed home to do the cake! Ryan had been anticipating this moment for days! He was super excited to blow out the candles and taste the cake!

This is the best my cell phone could do. Sad.

 I put a few presents aside at Ryan's birthday party for his actual day of birth. There were three presents so we told him each one was from a different family member. I got him a glow in the dark slinky (it was a hit!), Zach got him a Chuggington train and Brady got him a track for his new train.

 Brady earned some serious brownie points from Ryan for getting him such a huge present! The boys have spent a lot of time playing with the new track. It has been awesome.

Both boys slept well after such an eventful day. Happy birthday Ryan! I am so happy to have you in our family!