Crawling!

We're in for it now... Ryan is crawling! Last night Dan and I both saw him put one knee in front of the other and go about 4 feet. Then, this afternoon he tried it again and hasn't stopped since. He must have been eyeing up the glass sliding doors on our entertainment center for a while because it was one of the first places he went. Stinker!

I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of this...



He's proud of himself... as he should be! Go Ryan!

This week was an eventful one for our little man. On Tuesday he stood up in his crib at school. Usually they don't tell us when he has firsts, but this was a potential safety issue if we hadn't already lowered his mattress at home. Then, on Wednesday I noticed that both of his top teeth came through. And, he's feeding himself! I'm happy and sad all at the same time.


Did you see the feet on these pajamas?? Too cute!

We've kept Tyler entertained throughout Ryan's milestones. Friday night was story hour with Curious George. "George" will always have a special place in our house.

Then his school had an open house Saturday morning. Tyler thought the clown was hilarious and insisted on riding the big pony! Two years ago he wouldn't ride a pony at all... last year he would only go on the small one... but now he's almost 5 and big enough for the big pony! Go Tyler!

Saturday afternoon we went to a Wildlife Festival at the Power Vista. We got to check out all of the displays on energy, saw quite the view of the Niagara River and saw all sorts of creatures including a bald eagle!

Here is Tyler using some of his energy to create energy.

And, Ryan... along for the ride again. Yup, I'm still here mom... Can we go home now?

Here was the view from the balcony at the Power Vista. Very Cool!

And, on to the creatures... this was an interesting bug... I hope we don't run into this again... yuck!

And, the mighty bald eagle...

Today Tyler went to a friends for a play date while Ryan practiced his new moves. Phew! It is time to sit down!

Winnie The Pooh and The Great Escape

Tyler has been on a roll this week. Last weekend he came out of Ryan's room with one of the few things that is Ryan's and has always been Ryan's... Winnie The Pooh. Tyler held him up and said "Mama, I don't think Ryan likes this because his name is kind of stinky." Nice try Ty, "Poo" is Ryan's and you can't have him! Hopefully that is as close as we'll get to potty humor for a long time!

Later that day Tyler had been told to dress himself so that we could go out for the day. Tyler was stalling, as usual, so Dan and I were encouraging him by saying he had better hurry up or we were going to leave without him. In true Tyler style, he quipped back "Have you ever seen a little boy home alone while his mommy and daddy go out shopping? No, I don't think so!!" Well, he's right, this little boy would never be left alone. Bluff called.

We enjoy him thoroughly. He is a great kid. This morning Tyler completed his first real homework assignment. Last year he had to fill the Letter Can with items starting with a certain letter, but this is an actual paper and pencil assignment! He completed it with enthusiasm and pride. Only 13 more years of homework to go...

I had to share this picture of the boys together. I think it pretty much tells it's own story. They really enjoy each other.

This picture makes me smile as well. Poor Ryan was so tuckered that he just laid down in the living room and drifted off...

Ryan is really close to crawling. He wants to move so bad. Luckily at school he has access to a walker and yesterday he attempted to escape! We are told that the gate was off the door briefly and within seconds Ryan made a break for it! Off he went, legs running... head swinging... laughing... he made it through the door, but his intentions of cruising the hallways were thwarted... oh well, maybe next time...

9 Years on 9/9/09

Today is the ninth anniversary of our wedding day and it happens to fall on 9/9/09... how cool is that?

Unfortunately the day started at 2:00am with Tyler screaming. He ended up spending the rest of the night in our bed which means none of us got much sleep. This morning I held his face in my hands and said "I need to return you." He answered "you can't. God made me and didn't give you a receipt!" He didn't miss a beat. Trying hard not to laugh, I then told him "I need a boy who can sleep through the night in his own bed," to which he replied "I do lots of nights, just not this night." He's right on all counts... as usual! He can make me smile even when I'm mad at him.

This kid is just too smart for me and he knows it. This picture was taken last night, but this is the face I was looking at this morning. You can't stay mad for long.




Dan and I took some time off of work today for a nice lunch alone on the lake. It was so peaceful. Here is the view from the restaurant.

We then did a wine and beer tasting after a drive along the lake. Yummy! I discovered that pumpkin beer exists and I like it.

Much to Dan's dismay, I made him pose for this picture. My intention was to post a picture from our wedding, but my attempts to get an electronic version failed. So, here we are on September 9, 2009.

We've come a long way in nine years. I could never have dreamed this life, but I sure am grateful for it.

And now we're enjoying a bottle of wine we received on our wedding day. Cheers!

Labor Day Weekend

I can't believe what a beautiful weekend we're having. After such a cool and wet summer this doesn't seem possible. We're enjoying every minute so far... and there is still a whole day left! Woo Hoo!

This afternoon I wanted to test out the timer function on the camera. It worked! Unfortunately Ryan didn't understand the concept and kept turning around to look at me. Here's the one and only shot we got of him looking forward.

Yesterday we went to Corinne's first birthday party. She's only 2 months older than Ryan so I know it won't be long before we're celebrating the same milestone... I'm already a little sad.

Here is the beautiful birthday girl.

Tyler spent the entire time we were there in the pool. That means 3 1/2 hours with only one potty break. And, he did not spend the whole time glued to the ladder. I'm so proud of him!

See, no ladder in sight!

Last night Grandma and Grandpa C invited us to the Fireworks Extravaganza at the Genesee Country Village. It was quite the extravaganza... an hour long show where they narrated significant events in the history of our country and then had choreographed fireworks to music for every segment. It was quite a treat!

Here is Tyler preparing for the show with his glow stick.

And, Ryan enjoying being tossed in the air by Daddy. Isn't the sky cool??

I am so excited that my camera takes pictures of fireworks! I have no idea what I would ever want with fireworks pictures... but, I can take them!

My New Toy!

That's right, this time I got the new toy! I'm so excited...

Since I take pictures every day, I decided I might as well get some decent equipment... I'm now the proud owner of my first DSLR camera... and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! This thing is really complicated. Dan laughed when he saw the owners manual. It's really thick and the print is tiny!

I'm having a great time playing... I have to be more selective about the pictures I post because each file is 6 times as large as those from our regular camera. Unfortunately they don't look as good posted here as they do on the computer.

Tyler and Dan ditched me tonight and Ryan can't run so guess what... I have lots of pictures of Ry!

I was trying to focus on one subject and have everything else blurry. I liked this picture because of the drool coming out of his mouth.




Check this out. I love how it is in focus up close and then gets more cartoonish in the background... I'm going to have a ton of fun!

I think Ryan's expression in this one is funny. I can see Ava here. He's hanging out on the swing waiting for a push.

I did manage to get Tyler before he went racing out of the driveway.

This is from the morning. Tyler doesn't mind posing for this camera... I hope it lasts...