Baby Ryan

Callie is very excited to present her new baby cousin Ryan Kilden. He was born on Saturday August 27th which seems fitting since Callie and Kristen were both born on the 7th and Carter was born on the 17th. We went for a visit on Sunday and baby and family are doing fine. He was a couple weeks early but this works out well for us since we leave for our cruise on Tuesday.

As soon as Callie found out he was born she was obsessed with all things Ryan. After dutifully teaching Carter the babies name she got right to work making a friendship bracelet for him. I don't think she was quite prepared for just how small babies are though since when we got to the hospital to visit the first thing said was "I think I made it too big". Callie will also have to start teaching her cousin Kristen the ins and outs of being a big sister. So far the best quote we've heard from Kristen was "Put it away." to her mom when she was holding the new baby. (Carter may wish to teach Ryan a few self defense techniques as well.)

Ryan's Mom and Dad are also still looking for help with the middle name. 'Oilers' is apparently not an option.

Callie's Birthday Party

This year we had Callie's Birthday party on a Tuesday evening. Since she's a summer baby we try to avoid the weekends as people often have plans to go away and it's difficult to find dates where everyone can come. Callie had decided she only wanted to invite 5 kids which suits me fine. Even with only 4 kids showing up you still have parents and siblings and the house fills up fast. Callie had decided she wanted to have a constellation themed party. This is not your typically party theme so Kerry and I were left scrambling to figure out what to do. In the end we decided star related items were the easiest to find.

Since constellations were the theme Callie had decided she wanted everyone to wear their pajamas. (I'm really not sure where she gets these ideas.) We included many of the typical party events including a craft where the kids got to decorate wooden door hangers. It almost didn't happen as Kerry painted them black and Callie wanted them to be blue. In the end Callie decided it was okay because the colour was Blackberry and she felt they smelled like Blackberries. They really just smelled like paint but who were we to argue. We also had our annual scavenger hunt. This year the kids had to find constellations and match them up to the animal they represented. The party was capped off with a water bottle rocket that uses baking soda and vinegar. I only filled it half way as I had no idea what would happen and I just barely managed to get my hand away before it launched. Another successful birthday party complete.

Callie's Real Birthday

August 7th is becoming quite an important day in our family. Not only is it Callie's birthday but it's also my cousin Yvonne's birthday, Callie's cousin Kristen's birthday and Captain's birthday. (My in-laws dog) We're starting to get quite a routine going for this date as there is often a lot to fit in. We start the day with Callie's request for breakfast, this year was eggs and toast, and then proceed with presents. Callie was quite good at giving us hints. (Well actually she just flat out told us what she was expecting.) It included a scooter, a star map and a garden ornament to be a companion for the rabbit she got from her Grandma. At 9:00a there is also a phone call from a special bear. Disney does character calls and Pooh Bear hasn't missed one since she was four.

At some point in the day we typically head over to cousin Kristen's. This year we were invited over for lunch where both girls get to wear their birthday girl crowns and exchange gifts. We got Kristen a Roo doll. The Winnie the Pooh franchise does very well in our family. After lunch we quickly headed home to decorate Callie's cake. She flip flopped a few times deciding which party would get the cake. In the end her real birthday party ended up with the "Constellation Cake". The constellation was Leo which is her birth sign.

For dinner we headed to White Spot with her Uncle Ronnie, Uncle Corey, Auntie Carmen and Kristen. There was more flip flopping here as we were originally going to go to Olive Garden but Callie decided she wanted to get a chocolate coin. After dinner we headed home for cake before going to sleep after a very long day.