Koen's Birthday Celebration!! (Part 1)

As you know, yesterday was our sweet Baby Koen's first birthday! We had a birthday party planned for all of our friends to attend, but we had to cancel when Karson got really sick in the middle of last week. All three of our boys have been fighting a cold since Thanksgiving!!! (Isn't it February???!!! Come on now!!) They have all gotten better and then worse and the cycle seems to be never ending. Over the last month, their "colds" have turned into other worse problems. Kaleb got a sinus infection and is still on antibiotics and nose spray. Then Koen was the next at the doctor with croup. I still am unsure of that diagnosis though... because they just heard him cough and said he had it. I am sure all of you moms out there know what cough I am talking about... the barking seal cough. Well the problem is... all of my kids and myself cough like that any time we cough... so needless to say I wasn't (and am still not) convinced that he had it. Then moving on to Karson... he spiked a fever and started throwing up. Crazy huh??!! I thought I was about to be dealing with a whole new sickness... but I took him to the doctor and his pediatrician said that his cold was just affecting him differently. Karson has the world's weakest stomach... poor little guy. He throws up the most out of all of my boys.

Wow... that was a really long explanation of why we rescheduled the party... but I am back on track now! Haha! We will now be celebrating 3 times, (Yesterday, and next weekend for the family and then again with friends) so that is why this is part one!

Well we woke up the morning of Koen's birthday and the boys were all feeling great. We decided to load up and head to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium. The prices went up A LOT because the aquarium is brand new. That was a little shocking when we got their... but it was a special occasion, so who cares... right??!!

Before we left for the zoo we brushed Koen's teeth for the first time. Is that gross??? I never know the age you are supposed to start doing that. I figured he just got his 8th tooth... so it was about time. He sat pretty well in Matt's lap... but his little face said it all...



We got to the zoo loaded up the little boys up in our jogger stroller and headed in. Here is Kaleb and the boys when we first got inside.





We decided to hit the zoo first... not so sure that was the best choice considering how they behaved in the aquarium... but what can you do? The had absolutely NO interest in the birds... Macaws, Condors, Vultures, could care less. They did like the ducks and the flamingos though! Karson saw one pee and thought that was really funny!



Then we headed into the small mammal exhibit. It was *SO* hot in there... and crowded. Having a huge double jogging stroller didn't help with that. Here are the boys looking at the baby spider monkeys. They were jumping everywhere and scratching at their tails... so cute!





Karson decided it was time to get out and walk and he ended up walking the WHOLE rest of the way!! Such a trooper! He hasn't been to the zoo since he was too little to really get it... so this time was so much fun with him. He was asking "what's that?" and then we would tall him and he said "oh!" in such a cute little voice!



After the Rhino's we took a bathroom and snack break. The boys found a bench and Kaleb and I got some popcorn. They were being so good at this point in the day. Matt and I really got to enjoy the day with boys instead of wonder why we spent so much money just to torture ourselves. Haha... has anyone else ever felt like that?? Here are the boys eating their snacks.



Kaleb wanted to share his popcorn with Daddy.






Next we headed over to feed the giraffes. This was HILARIOUS!! Matt took the big boys up while I stayed with Koen... and then they wanted to go again, so I took them the second time. Kaleb was really surprised to see their L-O-N-G tongues! They were both laughing SO hard while dumping their little hand fulls of food into the giraffes' mouths. Here are the boys and I walking over to the giraffes.



Karson and Daddy.


Kaleb and Daddy.


Next it was time for the train to take us on our little safari! They were all very excited about the ride and sat so nicely to wait for the train to come back.


Kaleb on the train chewing his gum!


Karson on the train... it was sunny!


The train ride was one of Koen's favorite parts of the day! He was bouncing up and down on Daddy's lap and talking the whole time!


Matt and I!


After the train ride the boys spotted the playground. I really wish they didn't have that there... but I guess some people like it. The boys played for a little while and then we had to bribe them to move onto the aquarium. This is where the day turned slightly sour. They were NOT ready to stop playing.

Once we got into the aquarium they were a little better. They stopped at the first petting tank and got to touch starfish. (The camera didn't make it out for that photo opp.) Then we headed to the penguins!!! By far our boys' favorite part of the aquarium. They got to watch the penguins up on the rocks and then dive into the water to swim. Koen's other favorite part of the day!!





Then we moved on to the stingray tank. This is where Karson REALLY got excited! Kaleb was just fine peeking into the tank... but Karson would have jumped right in if we let him! They were so soft!!


That ended our trip to the zoo. We headed home for dinner and cake. It was a great day and a fun way to celebrate Koen's first!! Here are some pictures of Koen eating his cake! He was really unsure at first... but he eventually got the hang of it!!



















Sorry for the LONG post!! Have a great day!!