Turning Two with a Train

Since Austin's birthday party wasn't until a week after his actual birthday, we wanted to do something special for his actual day. We knew he'd flip for a train ride, but we also wanted to do something new too. So what better way to celebrate than with a train ride AND a pony ride! After a breakfast of birthday pancakes, we headed off to Irvine Park for a day of fun!

Austin was, of course, in heaven on the train. He just quietly observed everything around him and would happily give out a "choo-choo" every once in a while. Irvine Park is beautiful! It has a wonderful lake you can take paddleboats out on. The train, itself, wasn't anything spectacular, but it was everything it needed to be to make our little guy happy!



Such a cute little conductor!



After the train ride, we took Austin to the pony rides. Honestly, I didn't know how that would go over at all. I really thought he would be too scared and we wouldn't be able to get him up on the horse. I was absolutely wrong. He was a little nervous at first, but took to it like he'd been riding all his long two years. Daddy showed him how to pet the horse and how to gently give it a kick and tell it "giddy-up!" Fortunately, we play a lot of horsey-ride (or Momma-ride/Daddy-ride as Austin calls it) at home, so he's fairly familiar with the commands. He was allowed to ride it twice, mainly cuz I could tell after one time that he was sooo not ready to be done! He probably would have sat on that horse, going around in circles all day if he could have!



Documenting that, yes, McKenna & Momma were there to celebrate our favorite little guy!


After lunch we took Austin out to eat to BJs in Tustin. He was very pleased when they brought him a skillet cookie & ice cream for his birthday, but he didn't know what to think of us singing to him. I LOVE the look on his face as he gets all shy. He's also a little confused how his candle got blown out. Daddy demonstrated how to do it as little too well!



The restaurant just happens to be across the street from where Brian and I got married, The Irvine Ranch. We drove by very briefly to see how the lot has changed over the last 8 years. The gazebo is still there, but the rest of the property is pretty different. There's now a library there too, in place of the little building we used as a staging area. Still, it was fun to see where our life together started out as we celebrated our little man's big day.

And when we got home, Austin got to open his birthday present. A bike! He was so excited and knew just what to do with it. He's a little too short to reach the pedals yet, but he's getting closer. (Also, his pronunciation of the word "bike" needs a little work, but it cracks me up. The "i" is more like a short "u" and the "k" is more like a "t". I get funny looks as he's excitedly telling people about his bike!)


Happy Birthday again, Little Man! You make life so much fun! May every year be as enjoyable as your first two!