We had a wonderful birthday party for Ryder on Saturday! It was 2 weeks before his 5th birthday but we planned it that early so that his new little sister's arrival wouldn't interrupt any festivities held closer to the real day! My mom arrived from California the Wednesday before to help us with the party and to be here when her new little granddaughter arrives :) In the picture below, Cora is helping me wash the storm door before Ryder's friends arrive :) She really loves to help! We were all so excited, but none more than the birthday boy himself :)
Here the boys are filling up water balloons for the water balloon toss later that day...
So excited!!!
He wanted a "sports" themed party this year, so here are the cupcakes ready for his guests!
When the kids first came in, we made door hangers with their names on them for them to take home and hang on the doors to their bedroom...They had fun, but this lasted about 10 minutes since we already had each of the letters for their names in a little cup ready for them when they sat down. Then it was on to another favorite of Ryder's..."Pin the Tail on the Donkey" which none of them had played before and they had a blast as you can tell from the picture below...
Here's Coley taking his turn...
Next we had pizza, grapes and carrots for lunch and I was shocked at the amount of boy that turned down grapes! One friend had 4 pieces of pizza! I love boys :) My favorite part, however, was when each of them wanted to take turns praying for lunch and most slipped a little something in there about a present they wanted to receive for their birthday coming up :) How easily they approached the throne-room of heaven though...so comfortable in taking to God. It really was beautiful to hear.
Ryder picked out Hi-C juice boxes too...kind of a treat in our house :)
After tummy's were filled, we were on to opening presents! Each friend sat next to him as Ryder opened their present....can you see how excited he was? This is Ryder with Levi, our neighbor from down the street...
Nolan, his best buddy from pre-school :)
Mady, his friend from church :)
Jacob, another buddy from church :)
After all the presents were opened, it was time to sing to the birthday boy and eat cupcakes! (outside :)
After all swimsuits were on, Daddy led the group in a water balloon toss...this was adorable. it happily turned into a water balloon fight which was way more fun for everyone!
Then we reached the moment all the kids were waiting for the whole time (and kept asking me when it would happen)...free play with the slip 'n slide and pool!
Ryder got to use the big water gun the whole time...he was in heaven :)
Here he is dousing the 2 girls as they have their pool time separate from the boys, per request!
As you can see the boys were having fun being rowdy in the pool and one of the girls said, "Everyone needs to settle!"
We had a wonderful time and it was the perfect 2 hour party to celebrate my biggest boy turning 5! I absolutely loved seeing Ryder enjoy time with his friends and get to see them interact on their own. They are such sweet kids and it was especially fun to have them all on their own, giving their parents a little time to run errands with one less kids for a couple of hours :) Seeing Ryder interact with his friends for a couple hours was so much fun. They had a blast but were so respectful and creative with each other! A few of the boys didn't know anyone one else but it didn't seem to matter at all. They quickly interacted as if they had known each other for ages. I'll comment more on Ryder in a post near his real birthday coming up, but for now, I am thankful for the community of friends God has given our boy to grow up around. I'm also thankful to my mom who helped John and I give the perfect party for the most precious 5 year old boy in our house :) What a great day to celebrate Ryder Daniel!!!
Happy Birthday Ryder!! C actually sent him a birthday card early (with a sticker club invite) and now it won't seem so early. Ry is getting to celebrate for weeks, I love it. I so enjoyed your walking us thru the 2 hours of your party. I have started to think about Caeden's party in October and I've been going back and forth on food.... parents there or not... and activities... love all the details! Love that he has good friends out there to celebrate with! Hugs to all of you!
Happy Early Birthday Ryder! Sounds like a fun party. Praying everything goes smoothly over the next couple of weeks with the new family member.
So cute! I loved the cupcakes! Very crafty!