Sawyer and Ryley are pretty much always going to have to share their birthday posts. Their birthdays are only two days apart and fall the week after Thanksgiving, the same week as our anniversary too. I do try to make their birthdays as separate as possible so they have a day to call their own but they will probably never have a birthday blog post of their own. I doubt they really care though. They probably don’t even know that Mommy blogs occasionally.
Sawyer’s birthday is first so we’ll start there. I can’t believe my little baby man is 3! *sniff, sniff* He had been watching the three Toy Story movies CONSTANTLY for about a month so I figured a “Buzz Lightbeer” cake would be right up his alley. Buzz is wading, knee-high, through the very thick cake galaxy. Yeah, kind of a cake fail. I couldn’t find a smaller Buzz and the only way I could get him to stand up is to stick him all the way through. Luckily the birthday boy is only 3 and didn’t really notice that his mom is a really cruddy cake decorator.
His royal cuteness waited patiently for Mama to bring him his cake.
I have no words for these other weirdos. Except, Maddie is taking a video of us singing to Sawyer and him blowing out the candle.
He liked his Buzz Lightbeer cake! Ignorance is bliss. :)
I cannot even explain how much I love this little man!
Finger-lickin' good and then your weirdo brother photobombs ya.
Gracie likes cake!
Snowflake even showed up on his birthday bringing a special birthday banner for the birthday boys.
Then it was present time!
It was a very Buzz Lightyear birthday for this Toy Story obsessed kid. Last year it was all about Elmo. Wonder what he’ll be into next year. . .
And then it was time for the spankin’ machine!
We have had a very hard year and I have spent many, many hours worrying over the effects of our (the parents’) choices on him and his siblings. He has definitely had a rough time with all the change and being displaced as the baby. He’s doing well though and has figured out this big brother thing pretty quickly. He is so sweet with Grace it makes my heart melt. He and Emily are a different story but they’re so close in age, it’s to be expected. Here are a few other stats for our little man at 3:
- He is quite the kid. Very similar to Ryley at this age but still with his own little personality. Ryley is his idol. They play SO well together and Ryley is incredibly patient and helpful with him. (Not really with anybody else but I’ll take what I can get.) They love to wrestle with each other and play Legos and cuddle on the couch after nap time. Ryley usually gets Sawyer up and gets breakfast for him in the morning too. These boys are two peas in a pod!
- He still takes a binkie at nap time and bedtime and it still not potty trained. I think we could take the binkie away without too much effort but I’m hesitant to take away his one little comforting thing with so many changes going on around here. He shows absolutely no interest in potty training and so I’m not pushing it. I waited until Cash came to me to be potty trained (at about 3 1/2) and it was a BREEZE. Seriously. All I did was stick that kid in underwear and he never had any accidents - even at night. I pushed Ryley and it took forever. I’m just gonna wait Sawyer out and see if he gets it on his own. Maybe by the time he’s ready, Em will be ready too. He is sleeping in a big boy bed now though and doing very well. He still naps for about 2-3 hours everyday.
- He went into Sunbeams shortly after turning 3. NOT fun. He is so young he could really use another year in nursery! He’s doing better though. I’ve figured out that bribing him with candy works miracles.
- He really started talking this past summer. We still have a hard time understanding most of what he says but he talks nonstop, all day. He says the cutest things too. I love this age!
- He has recently started liking to watch TV. He is a pretty active kid and rarely sits still for anything but he’ll sit through an entire movie now. He likes to watch the same movie over and over and over again. He’s also figured out how to use the Roku remote to turn on Netflix and I’ll often find him upstairs watching some random show on Netflix. Thankfully, he usually doesn’t make it past our queue, which has appropriate shows.
- He has become quite the little cuddle bug since we came home from China. He was never one to want to sit on my lap or let me hug and kiss him much. Being displaced a little bit has changed his mind now. He wants to be held more and hugged and kissed more and will even offer hugs and kisses now. (He was pretty stingy before!) I really try to make sure he’s getting enough Mommy and/or Daddy one-on-one time. I’m glad to see this sweeter side of him come out a little more though. :)
- He still loves to run and play outside. It’s definitely his favorite thing to do. He loves to jump on the trampoline with Ryley too.
We just love this little guy so much!
Two mornings later, we started off Ryley’s birthday with donuts!
Sawyer definitely enjoyed his.
Ryley talked us into doing presents after breakfast. We made him shower first though. Haha!
A Pokemon DS game and another little surprise at the bottom of his bag.
Some spending money!
I made him a special dinner of lasagna and he asked his neighbor friend to join us for cake and ice cream.
We enjoyed our cake and ice cream and that was pretty much it! Not a very exciting day for him, I guess. I knew we’d end up partying some more with the Smith side so we didn’t plan much for him. Granny and Pops did come over and bring Sawyer and Ryley their presents and to tell them happy birthday. Ryley got some more moolah, with which he was able to buy some roller blades. He and Maddie have been skating through the culdesac quite a bit.
And party with the Smith side we did. Eventually. Between ice storms and surgeries and sicknesses it took us a while but we finally got together one Sunday. Sawyer decided he was not taking off the Captain America costume on this day. We even went to tithing settlement before heading over to Brianne’s.
Then it was present time!
Maddie and Sadie made some bonnets out of the tissue paper.
While the boys all gathered around the table to watch the Lego-building.
I think it’s fun spreading out the birthdays and I didn’t hear the boys complaining any!
Eleven things about Ryley at 11:
- He is turning into a very nice young man. He is very respectful to his Scout leaders and other teachers. He is helpful and friendly to everyone (except his siblings, sometimes!) He has really taken the role of big brother to Sawyer seriously this past year. Watching them together warms my heart! He is also usually pretty good about doing chores around the house without complaining. Out of all the kids he is the most like his father in the non-complaining area. Josh is NOT a complainer and Ryley usually isn’t either. He’s a good friend to everyone and doesn’t care (or even know about) being ‘popular’ or ‘cool’. He is just a genuine kid and happy with himself. He’s a cool kid and doesn’t even know it!
- He still loves Scouting and is especially excited to start Boy Scouts now that he’s 11. He is an outdoor kid, for sure. He loves to run, jump on the trampoline, play ball, go on hikes, roller-blade, and climb trees.
- He still loves video games and especially playing on his DS. He beats most games within only a few days of getting them. (He has bought several with money he has saved himself, too!) He really likes playing Minecraft on the iPad too.
- His favorite subject in school is still math. He can add numbers in his head quicker than anyone else I know and will still often add numbers he sees just for fun. Weirdo!
- I’m seeing a lot more creativity in him lately. He is drawing more frequently than he has before and creating more things on his own with Legos. He comes up with some pretty creative comics too. It’s fun having a couple of older kids as they are developing their senses of humor. He often cracks me up with some of the funny things he says just because they’re so unexpected! He is still pretty literal though, too. I often have to explain why things are funny to him but then, once he gets the concept, he’ll run with it and try to make jokes like that of his own. He is one smart kid.
- He likes watching shows like Kickin’ It (Disney channel) and Studio C (BYUtv). He’s never been much of a TV watcher but he’s liking it more and more.
- He started playing basketball and is doing really well. He’s liking it and it’s been good for him to play something that’s been a little more difficult for him. Athletic-type things usually come very easily to him but he’s had to work at this one a little. His team name is the Allen Bullets and he’s had fun. He wants to do it again next season too!
- He is still taking piano lessons and still enjoying it for the most part. He has started to complain a little bit about having to practice but once he gets playing he enjoys it. Sometimes he’ll sit down to play just because he wants to. He’s doing very well and lets me help him without any drama. I hope he keeps up with it and doesn’t totally refuse to play someday!
- He lost a mouthful of teeth this past year! Three or four of them in China. He looked pretty strange for quite a while with only his four front teeth and four bottom teeth. It was a little hard to eat and bite through things too. Thankfully they’re growing in now so he doesn’t look so toothless. He racked up the tooth fairy money though - when she decided to show up. (We have the biggest loser of a tooth fairy.)
- He is growing like a weed and his feet are about to surpass mine in size. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. He probably inherited his father’s giant feet.
- He is a sweet boy with a good heart and lots of energy. We love him so much and are so thankful he’s part of our family!
I love all my boys!
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