First trip to the Zoo this Year

Kaden and I got season passes to the Zoo for Christmas, and we hadn't used them...until yesterday. We went with my friend Melanie & Kaden's friend Carson to the zoo. We've been to the zoo several times but I think this is the first time the boys actually knew what was going on and enjoyed it. Sometimes Kaden impresses me with how much he knows. He knows lots of animals, and the sounds they make. He had so much fun seeing the elephants, giraffes, & monkeys. 

 We have a picture of the boys with these rhinos on one of our first trips to the zoo. I think we're going to take one every time we go, so we can watch them grow!!

 Carson is smiling cause he's happy to be standing on the log. Kaden is scheming on how he can jump off of that top log. I can see the wheels spinning in his head....

 And the giraffe. Kaden loved the giraffe! In fact, we went back twice to take pics. And I had to drag him away both times. This may be another picture we take each time to watch growth!

As always, we had fun with our friends at the zoo, and we look forward to going back soon!

McMahon Pool is Open!

Our neighborhood pool is not open, but as of today, the McMahon pool is. We kept the pool we had from last year, but when we brought it out for Kaden's party, we noticed it had a leak. Micah tried to fix it, but we didn't think it was going to make it. So, Sunday after church, we went with Uncle Ryan to his place of employment, and used his employee discount to buy a new pool! Yay for discounts!

After Kaden and I went for a walk this morning, we had dad inflate it for us. My plan was to fill it, and let it sit in the sun to warm up some while we did lunch & a nap, then play in the afternoon. That plan failed! As soon as I turned the water on, he was trying to climb in...shoes, clothes & all. 

Silly mommy...I should be smarter than that!

 While we were filling the pool, Dad decided to mow. And Kaden thought it was hilarious to chase daddy down with the hose!  

 Daddy is a good sport, and he let Kaden get him wet. Although, daddy is probably smart, because I'm guessing the cool water felt good while he was mowing!

 Little boy loved his new pool! It's a lot bigger, deeper & taller than his last pool. He has a little trouble crawling in & out...but that doesn't stop him!

  

 I'm not sure if he had more fun with the hose or in the water!!

 I love my little water baby! He loves the sun, water & outside! I am looking forward to having so much fun with him this summer!

While he was playing, some clouds rolled in, and it cooled down a bit. But he did not want to get out. We went straight in from the pool to the bath tub. His little lips were purple, so we warmed up in the bath. 

After daddy finished mowing, he sat in the pool with K. Kaden loved "swimming" with daddy. And, because mommy was apparently too dry, they ganged up on me to make sure I didn't stay that way! I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time in this pool this summer.

Choo Choo, Kaden's 2! {Train party details}

**WARNING: This post contains a lot of pictures!**

Between my camera, and our friend Serena's camera, we had about 850 pics. I narrowed it down to 23. You're welcome!

I was going to break his birthday post down into a couple different posts--decor, food, activities, etc. But let's be honest, I haven't been all that great at blogging lately, so I feel like I should just do it all at once. 

When I started to think about a 2nd birthday party a couple of months ago, it was pretty easy to choose what theme we were going to go with. There's no question about how much Kaden loves trains, and I thought it would be so fun to throw a train-themed party. If I could have, I'd have had a train there, but we all have our limits! :)

I ordered this set of party decor from Etsy. I wasn't sure which set I liked most, but this one was on sale at the time. So that helped me make my decision. I loved that it had everything I needed...invites, thank yous, banners, etc. There's a lot that I didn't use, but I liked having the option to print & use whatever I wanted. The lady that made it for me was super nice & fast too! 

I made this wreath for our front door. We had the party in the backyard, for the most part, so most of the decor was back there.

I did make a couple banners to hang inside. On this buffet, we had the gifts, and a box of wooden train whistles that I ordered for everyone. They were super cheap on Amazon!

Here's a closer look at the whistles. 

I also ordered, super cheap from Amazon, conductor hats for everyone. I didn't do party goody bags. Everyone took home a whistle, a hat & their train that they painted. 

Outside I had a table set up for kids to paint their own train. We actually had more adults than kids, but all the kids that were there did paint. Some more than others! And some got a taste of the paint! :)

Here's our food table outside. Above was a "Happy Birthday" banner. My favorite part was the train food server I made. It's the only thing I really wanted to make, and I had a hard time finding boxes that were the right size. But, when it was finally finished, I loved it. It had 5 cars: 2 produce cars (fruits & veggies), 1 coal car (mini Oreos), 1 log car (long pretzels), and 1 gravel car (Gardettos). We had an afternoon party, so we just had lots of snacks. 

Another "Happy Birthday" banner & balloons inside.

 This is ice tea. We also had a "water tower" inside. 

 My mom made this train shaped cake! It was SUPER cute!!

 Our inside food table. 

 We had kids ranging from 1-6. When I started to think about planning his party, I would never have imagined I would have trouble having a water party in May...especially in Texas. Who would have thought that a cold front would come through the first week of May in south Texas?!? But...it did. We still had the water toys out, but initially it was pretty cool. It didn't keep the kids out of the water, but they were cold. The wind was chilly. By the end of the party, the wind had died down, and the sun was pretty hot. So the kids were in & out of the water the whole time. 

They also played basketball.....

This was one of Kaden's new birthday toys!

 And when they weren't freezing, we couldn't keep them out of the water. 

 And they painted trains. 

 Some just painted the top! :)

 We sang & blew out the candles...

 And opened presents...

 Lots of Thomas presents!

 The kids weren't the only ones wearing conductor hats! Actually, most of the *little* kids weren't interested. But the big kids wore them.

 Kaden loved sliding being slid down the slip-n-slide. 

 For just a few seconds, Cameron rocked his conductor hat so I could take a picture. 

 And I do believe the dad's had fun playing too! They had a friendly competition between who could make the biggest bubbles and who could best throw the washers. 

 And I'm not sure we can call this the favorite present, but it's at the top of the list! His legs aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals all the way around, but he had fun riding it around the yard. He thinks he's big stuff!

I think it's safe to say that his party was a huge success!! We had a great time! I had fun just planning it! Thanks so much to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Even as I write this, I'm in a little shock & denial that we had a 2 year old! It goes by so fast!

Fire Station #7

Today we had a "Mommy & Me" play date with our MOPS group. We went to one of the local fire stations. They gave us a tour of the fire station, talked about fire safety, and then let us explore the fire trucks. Kaden was a little young, but he loved seeing the fire trucks!

And climbing all over them...

 He did not, however, like when I put him in the firetruck with a fireman, and walked away to take his pic. He definitely follows the "stranger danger" rule, and does not like when I'm too far out of reach!

 Again, there are no smiles, because the fireman to the left is closer to him than I am. 

 This fire truck is almost 100 years old, and the men are working to restore it. Kaden got to "drive" it & ring the bell. He thought he was big stuff!

As we were leaving the station, they got a call, so we got to stand outside and watch them all jump in and head off. Lights, sirens, the whole bit! That was probably his favorite part...that, and the cool hat they gave him. He's normally not a hat wearing kid, but he wore it around the station. When I loaded him in his seat, I took it off, but as I was driving away, I looked back, and he had put it back on. Then he wore it through Target as I grabbed a few items. We had fun with our MOPS friends & the nice firemen!!

The Circus

 A couple of weekends ago, a friend invited us to go to the small circus that had come to town. I'm not sure when the last time was that I went to the circus. I don't remember it at all, but I know I've been. So that tells you it's been a while. We weren't sure how Kaden would do, but he loved it. He sat & watched the whole time. 

Before the circus started, they had animals out that you could ride. We put Kaden on the horses. He thought he was big stuff!! He loved it!

 My mom & sister, along with friends from church went with us. I think everyone enjoyed it. 

 I know he enjoyed chowing down on this corn dog!!

 This is his buddy Estela. He say "stewa." He pronounces his "Ls" as "Ws"

 My silly little boy loved the acrobats, animals & motorcycles! 

 And even the big kids had fun!!

I'm sure we'll be going to more Circus shows in our future!!