Ryan

Ryan is our explorer. He is in to everything. And, he's stealth. You really have to pay attention because he knows where he's not supposed to be and he's always looking for an opportunity to get there. He is as much explorer as Tyler is social. And, Tyler is very social!!

A couple of weeks ago I was having one of those days where everything goes wrong and causes more work. Even taking a 2 minute break turned into work. I was sitting at the kitchen table clipping coupons. All was quiet in the house. Tyler was outside helping Daddy and Ryan was playing in the living room... or so I thought. I must have heard something because I turned to look and found Ryan fully engulfed in potty play. Ahhhh! He had his whole head in there and was having a great time splashing around. He was soaked. A full sanitation was necessary. We now keep the door to the bathroom closed!

Unfortunately exploring can lead to injuries. In the last week Ryan has learned two valuable lessons. First, the oven door does open. Ryan managed to end up flat on his back still holding on to the oven handle. The oven wasn't on and didn't actually hit him, but it sure scared him. Second, cabinet locks don't prevent all injuries. You can still shut the cabinet on your finger and then the lock causes it to get stuck. Ouch!!

Ryan is very good with his hands. He can actually put a cap back on a water bottle and twist it on. His hand/eye coordination is certainly excellent. He knows just how far he's got to reach to get his hands on something. I may be looking for a Christmas tree this year with a really long trunk. I'm scared just thinking about all he could grab. Oh, and then there's the big bowl of water at the base of the tree. Ryan is going to have a field day!!

Wednesday, November 25th was our last day of nursing. I have been looking forward to that day for a long time, but in the end it was bittersweet. I already miss seeing his eyes roll back when he's tired. And, I miss him touching the tip of my nose with the pointer finger of his free hand or trying to put his fingers in my mouth and his laugh when I pretend to bite him. I told myself that I'd still get the closeness with bottles, but it just isn't true since he wants to hold his own bottle. Wasn't it just last week that he needed me for everything??

Ryan loves bath time. I usually end up almost as wet as he does. Here he is tonight getting ready for a cannon ball kick. Thanks Ry, I needed to change my shirt anyway. What a stinker!!

I have to share a couple of other funny items from the last two days. It seems that Dan has had a little trouble in the kitchen...

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we enjoyed it with Grandma and Grandpa C. It was a wonderful meal and I was quite proud that I had made the gravy. I even said something about it during our meal. So, imagine my surprise when Dan admitted that he made a mistake when cleaning up the kitchen and dumped all the extra gravy down the drain. AAAAAHHHHHH!!! Just when I thought we didn't need the jar of gravy I had for back-up. The leftovers just won't be the same. We didn't have leftovers tonight... I just couldn't bring myself to open the jar... too many bad memories...

Then, tonight Dan tells me he had another oopsie in the kitchen. It seems that he threw his change in the flour. WHAT?? Now, we have two white canisters next to the stove. One is larger than the other. They've been there for 7 years. It was just the two of us when we first moved in (sigh) and I didn't cook a whole lot. So, the smaller canister became the home for spare change. When I started using flour regularly I put it in the larger canister. I've had flour in the large jar for about 5 years. I didn't want to put sugar in the jar where coins had been so the smaller canister still contains change. So I ask, how did the change end up in the flour??

I guess we're all human, even Dan, my almost perfect husband.

Our Favorite Museum

Last Sunday, while Grandma and Grandpa W were still in town, we went to our favorite museum. This time was extra special because Ryan got to join in on the fun.

Here he is at the beginning of our visit have a ball!

It wasn't long before both boys were fixing Elmo's car. I have a feeling we'll see a lot of scenes like this in the future...

Here's Tyler serving up hamburgers.

And, the picture we take at every visit.

Ryan enjoyed hanging out in Big Bird's nest.

Mom and I escaped for 20 minutes in 80 degrees. Oh, and about 800 butterflies.

They were beautiful, but hard to capture with the camera.

The boys had a great time gathering eggs with Grandma. It was just Ryan's height.

Then you had to clean the eggs before testing them for size. Tyler really got into his work. I love how interactive this place is.

They had a full diner set up and Tyler had a ball serving Grandma.

Another favorite is the magnetic Mr. Potato Head. Here's Ty with his creation.

Daddy and Ty took time out to draw some pictures.

Ty was quite pleased with his drawing.

I enjoyed watching Ryan play in the sand box. They have really weird sand. It's some sort of plastic pellet. Ryan was really getting into it... I didn't realize how much until Dan changed his diaper and it was full of pellets!! The shirt he was wearing snapped on the bottom so I'm still not sure how that happened?? We're still finding pellets around the house.

I'm surprised that Ryan wasn't scared of this guy. But, here he is.

Daddy and Tyler also made a wizard hat. And, I didn't get a picture of it, but they made a Popsicle stick raft. It was quite a crafty day for the two of them!

Here we are hanging out in the crab.

It was another great day at the Museum of Play!!

The Big Party

After months of planning, the big day finally arrived! Tyler's 5th Birthday Party!!



I had visions of grouping kids together for the games and having them take turns nicely before getting their prize. I should have known as soon as I walked into the pavilion and Ryan discovered the echo that we were in trouble. A large room, plus lots of tables, plus a few games, and 10 boys equal chaos!!



Here's Ty and a couple of friends who agree to pose for me.





I managed to take a picture of one of the games. Here was our version of Pin the Nose on Rudolph. We also had a Christmas Tree Beanbag Toss and a Cotton Ball Snow Shoveling game. I learned a valuable lesson. You cannot have organization with multiple children.



Tyler and a few friends...

We had a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus!! Tyler must have been good this year.

The visit with Santa started with checking the Nice List to make sure all the boys were included. Luckily they were all there, although I think it was close for a few!

And then Santa shared some pictures of the Reindeer. They're resting up for the big night so they were unable to join us today.

Here's my boy. He sat on Santa lap and asked Santa if he remembered the green race car he brought him last year. Santa did so Tyler proceeded to tell him that one of the wheels is stuck so he needs another one. Yup, that's my boy... he wants to cash in on the Santa warranty.

Smile!

This is funny... can you see Santa back there?? He's there... look close...

Ryan wasn't so sure about Santa.

But, Grandpa W liked Santa just fine and was sure to put in his request... a 2010 Crimson Red Automatic Corvette with T-tops. Nice try Grandpa! Here he is making his request.

We took a family shot as well. (Yuck)

As soon as Santa headed back to the North Pole to get ready for his big day we moved on to cake.

The Jet Car cake was a big hit. Most kids wanted a piece of the fire. It was a trick, but we managed to get fire on most pieces.

I'll have to remember to ask Ty what he wished for as he blew out his candles.

This is what it looks like when you try to take a picture of a birthday boy unwrapping presents. Tyler, are you in there??

We all had a great time. But, I am sure glad it is over. I hope Tyler enjoyed it because we're going bowling next year...

6 1/2 Pounds and 4 Years Apart

Both boys had doctors appointments yesterday. It was a much feared event as we knew Tyler was due for 4 shots and Ryan had 2 along with the dreaded finger test. But, we made it through with lollipops for both boys and a pumpkin donut incentive for Tyler.

Ryan tipped the scales at 28 pounds and 4 ounces!! He's still on the chart in the 95th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. Tyler, on the other hand, weighed in at 35 pounds, putting him in the 20th percentile for weight. He'd better watch out. Ryan has been steadily catching up over the last 12 months. I'm taking bets on when he takes the lead...

Picture Day

I've been looking forward to today for a while. New pictures of my boys!! We didn't print all of these. Enjoy!

Poor Ryan. His big brother loves to tickle.

And tickle!

You've got to have a standing up picture when you're one.

Isn't he sweet??

I can't believe how old Tyler looks here.

All the boys.

And, the whole family.

I'm off to order our Christmas cards...

Ryan Laughing

This is truly a simple pleasure. Ryan thought it was hilarious to pick up a paper towel and throw it at me over and over an over again. He was doing this for a good 5 minutes before I decided to get the camera. Isn't this the best laugh??

Love it, love it!!

Ryan's First Birthday

Yes, as much as I can't believe it, we celebrated Ryan's first birthday this weekend. Wasn't it considerate of both boys to be born on a Friday so that their first birthdays would be on a Saturday? It works out very well for me!!

This first year was so slow and super fast at the same time. At two and/or three and/or four in the morning I long for the day when he'll sleep through the night. But then I look at Tyler and wonder what happened. Tyler's first birthday seems so long ago. Friday night I didn't want to go to sleep because I knew Ryan's first year would be over when I woke up.

This weekend also marked the accomplishment of one year of nursing! I stopped pumping on October 16th and we're slowing reclaiming freezer space, but I've still got enough stocked up for a couple more weeks. Nursing continues during non-work time. I know I shouldn't distract him, but I love seeing him smile when I pretend to eat his fingers. Soon he'll discover that drinking from a cup is much easier and our special time will be over. Once again, sad and exciting at the same time. This next couple of months is going to be rough... he's starting his transition out of the infant room at school this week... sob...

Here's Ryan yesterday on his actual birthday enjoying the 60+ degree weather! He's thinning out, but still has his rubber band wrists and dimple knuckles! I love his baby face and belly laugh. He's got the best laugh I've ever heard.


And, here he is today playing with Tyler under the table. They have so much fun together.

We had a party today and Grandpa C got caught pushing two boys on the swings. He kept up quite well. Higher Grandpa!

Here is my attempt at a birthday picture. Ryan wasn't understanding the hats. I guess I can't blame him. It is an odd thing to do when you really think about it.

When Tyler discovered that there were three hats, he proclaimed that one would be for Uncle Tom! How did he know it would be a perfect fit? Tyler's very pleased with himself.

Uncle Tom was a big hit with both boys.

Ryan had his favorite meal today. Lasagna and chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Mmmm. Ok, so he's never had chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting before... but it is his favorite now!

Ryan was a good sport yesterday and spent part of his special day at Tyler's first soccer practice. Here's Tyler with a few of his friends. His team is called the "Purple Tornadoes!" How fitting.

Before soccer, the boys and I stopped for pumpkin donuts. Tyler was taking his time with his milk so I asked him if he was just about done. Tyler sighed and said "Mama, this milk takes me back." I asked him where it takes him back to and he told me that "it takes me back to night time when you ask me if I'm done with my milk." Where does he get this stuff?

His proper use of words inflection and tone shouldn't surprise me any more, but it still does. A few weeks ago I was out of town for a few days. As Dan was loading the boys into the truck for school Tyler said "Mommy isn't home, but her car is here. This is unusual."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!

Halloween

It's been a long week with Dan out of town so I'm just now getting to write about Halloween. I was worried, but the 40 mph winds subsided just in time for trick or treating. We would have had some disappointed little people (and some big people) if the weather didn't cooperate. But, luck was with us and we headed out. Poor Ryan... back in the duck. Doesn't he look thrilled?



We had a large group of costumed characters this year including Bob the Builder! Ryan was very interested in all that was going on around him. Tyler had a tough time with his costume... the mask itched, the cape pulled on his neck and the belt was too tight. So, we had a maskless, capeless, beltless batman. Oh well, he had a great time and brought home an overflowing pumpkin full of yummy stuff.


Run, run, run!!

Here he is enjoying a cup of cider at the fire hall. Tyler said this was his favorite part of the night. I didn't believe him, but now that I see this picture I think he might be right. He had just enjoyed pizza with friends and was halfway through trick or treating with more to go including more play time at the neighbors since it was a Saturday night. He drank cider and ate donuts while surrounded by fire trucks. I think he was right. The fire hall was the sweet spot of the night.

The next day, Ryan discovered the candy. I intended on letting him have a small taste of my milky way, but the next thing I knew he had most of it in his mouth. Doesn't he look pleased with himself?? We might have another chocoholic on our hands.

On Sunday (yes, the day after Halloween) we finally got around to carving the pumpkins.

Tyler drew the face for daddy to carve. He didn't want any help.

And, the boys with the final product!

Boo!

At least we lite the pumpkin this year. Maybe next year we'll carve it before Halloween and light it! That'll be a first!