Four!

Kyler celebrated his birthday in Gulf Shores, Alabama again this year. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time!

One of our first days there, we decided to check our their little zoo. It was much better than we expected for a zoo of this size. There were two options to pay a little extra and have an animal encounter. We gave Kyler the option to hold a baby kangaroo or a snake since it was his birthday weekend. As much as we tried talking him into the kangaroos, he insisted that he wanted to hold a snake. Even when we found out it was an 8 foot boa constrictor he didn't change his mind. In fact, he loved it. Unfortunately, a parent had to accompany him because of his age. Brett gave in and did it, and he was definitely more afraid than Kyler! He was able to hold a baby alligator and a turtle as well.

We had a lot of great beach days. It was much less windy than last year and the temperatures were great. The only rain we saw was on the day we drove from the airport to the condo. Kyler kept very busy in the sand.

We invested in a puddle jumper to give us a little more confidence taking him out into the ocean. He did really well with it in the pool as well.

We took the ferry to Dauphin Island. Kyler thought it was really cool that we could bring our cars on the boat. It was a first for all of us.

While there, we visited the aquarium. Kyler was able to pet some rays and skates.

As we returned to the beach one night, Brett found a crab running through the sand. We took it back to the condo for a few pictures. Kyler had found a shell for it to hide in and really made his little container into a home. Unfortunately, we didn't know how to properly care for him so we set him free under the bridge.

On his actual birthday, we asked Kyler what he would like to do. He wanted to play somewhere. Luckily, Papa had spotted a really neat playground earlier in the weekend. It was a lot of fun!

We had a birthday lunch at Lulu's. It's a fun place for the kids and we were there for his 3rd birthday as well.

We sat in a booth on a deck that overlooks the channel. As soon as we sat down, Kyler spotted some dolphins in the water. We also watched some sailboats cruise by. The best part about Lulu's on your birthday is the amazing chocolate cake and ice cream they give you. Yum! Kyler has been into taking goofy pictures, so here he is on his fourth birthday being a goofball.

We had ice cream cake again at the condo with the rest of the gang. It was a fantastic birthday, one that most kids would be very jealous of (except for that snake he held!).