Our Weekend

We finally had a weekend of nothing! And we truly did nothing... sort of. Dan started siding the garage while the boys and I hunted for an entertainment center. Who knew it would be so difficult to find a simple console made from solid wood?? Unfortunately the chores still needed to get done. My usual 3 loads of laundry on the weekend exploded to 5! Ugh! I've still got laundry going and if everything goes perfectly, I won't be done until 10:15pm... way past my bedtime.

Oh, and it finally happened... the milk avalanche claimed a victim! Luckily it was me. I was digging out some meatballs for dinner last night when I got clocked in the head with 10 ounces of frozen white gold! Ouch!

So, it wasn't really a weekend of nothing, but it's as close as I hope to get in the next 18 years.

It was a beautiful weekend. Here's Ryan yesterday ready to shop! He's one cool dude!


He really is too cute! ...no, we haven't abandoned the carrier yet. Bad mommy! Once it is gone I'm going to be a slave to nap time and I'm not ready for that yet. I keep telling myself that he hasn't officially been weighed over 20 pounds so technically we're not in violation yet...

Ryan has been on the verge of rolling over for weeks. He gets right up on his side. This is his usual look. Unfortunately he's figured out that by contorting himself in all sorts of directions he can see everything he's interested in. Between that and his girth, I don't think he's ever going to roll.

Check out the hair. Poor kid!

Tyler wasn't very cooperative this weekend with the camera.

This would have been a good picture... oh, well! We make these sacrifices for fun.

Ok, we're going to try the video thing... This one shows Ryan's girth and you get to hear Tyler's whining in the background. I can't remember what he wanted, but at the very end you can hear his new trick... "I love you." Yeah, right! He's got schmooze down to a science! I'm ready to be past this stage.

If this works I'll try to get the giggle! And, one of these mornings I'm going to try and get him first thing. He'll stay in his crib talking to himself for about 15 minutes and he gets so excited when I walk in his room. It's a great start to the day!

Happy Easter!

We have had a wonderful Easter with the exception of a couple of upset tummies! I had a rough Friday night and Grandpa W had a rough day today. No fun!

Yesterday Grandma W and I took the boys to the Botanical Gardens for the Easter Egg Hunt. What a mad house! We did manage to get a good picture of Tyler with the Easter Bunny! (He knew he'd only get that lollipop if he let mama get the picture she wanted...)



It was quite chilly yesterday, although the sun was shining brightly. Tyler waited very patiently for the hunt to start.

He was having a grand time playing peek a boo around Grandma's leg. Here's a shot where I won!

Hurray! Tyler found some eggs!

This morning we had another egg hunt at home. The Easter Bunny did a great job hiding all those eggs!

This was the most difficult egg to find. Tricky Bunny!

Tyler had a ball.

As I was putting this together I realized I didn't take very many pictures of Ryan this week... oops. But, I did get one... here he is with his first piece of mail! Doesn't he look thrilled?

Welcome to Spring... Maybe?

When we woke up this morning everything was covered with snow! Ugh! It was only an inch or two, but still... isn't it spring? Needless to say, Dan is not pleased.

Here was the view out of the kitchen window after work.


Ryan is officially 5 months old today. I can't believe it. He's growing up and out so fast. Here he is this morning before school. Unfortunately he didn't make it home in this outfit.

Tyler is still enjoying having a brother. Here they both are enjoying Ryan's activity mat over the weekend. On the way home from Grandma W's a couple of weeks ago he told me that he wouldn't spend a week away without Ryan. I hope it lasts when Ryan starts grabbing Tyler's toys!

Here is Mr. Ryan before school yesterday. He is one smooth dude in his Tigger vest.

The past Saturday we went to our favorite museum with Grandma and Grandpa C. You would think that we'd spend less time there each visit, but you'd be wrong! We were there for almost 6 hours!

The big exhibit this time was Mr. Potato Head.

Here's Tyler with his own Potato Head Sunday morning. We got extra parts and pieces so now he can make all sorts of "heads."

I just had to get a picture of this guy. It's Veggie Head! He was huge!

This table was really cool. It had every imaginable piece with mounted potatoes. Tyler and Grandma had a good time here.

This was Mr. Potato Head's scuba adventure. Tyler seemed surprised to look up and see the potato looking down on him.

Ryan was very cooperative as usual. There was a lot for him to check out.

Tyler loved the space potato. It had all sorts of gadgets for him to check out. Here he is posing for me.

This museum is incredibly interactive. They do an awesome job. Here is one of the many exhibits that Tyler and Grandpa checked out. I think you could spend days at this place and not do everything. I see a membership in our future...

The airplane is still Tyler's favorite. I think I have this same picture from every visit.

Daddy also had a good time. Here he is at one of the craft tables... be sure to notice that there isn't a kid in sight...

I wasn't going to blog about this because I try to keep identifying information out of the blog, but it still makes me smile so here goes... For the purposes of the blog, lets say I work at "McDonalds." One morning last week I was wearing a McDonalds shirt. Tyler pointed to it and said "Mama, that says McDonalds." Then he said "Mama, I want to be a girl and work at McDonalds." Ha! He cracks me right up!

Too Funny!

I have now heard the laugh that goes with this face twice and both times Ryan was laughing at Tyler. It is the best sound in the world and I can't wait to hear it again. Unfortunately you can't make it happen.



Tonight the four of us were eating dinner together in the kitchen when Tyler called Ryan "buddy." I thought it was funny so I repeated "buddy" out loud. Then Tyler said "boys are buddys and girls are honeys"!! Ha! I almost spit my food across the room. Where does he get this stuff from??

After dinner Tyler wanted to take some pictures. I was more than happy to comply! Here they are together. Doesn't Ryan look like a tough guy? You'd better watch out Ty... Ryan is catching up fast!


Tyler took this picture all by himself. I liked the angle.

Ryan's girth cracks me up. Don't you just want to poke him like the Pillsbury dough boy? This is a 12-month outfit... it is certainly not loose!

First Food

Ryan has been getting a bit fussy in the evenings so on St. Patrick's Day we decided to give cereal a try. Maybe living on milk is getting a little old for our big boy!

Here's Ryan before his big event...

Here he is during... either he was really confused by what was in his mouth or he was wondering why his mom had a spoon in one hand and the camera in the other!

Hmmm... what am I supposed to do now?

All done!

He did really well the first night, but things have gone down hill since then. We're going to keep trying, but I think Ryan might not get into the food thing until he can have some fruits and veggies at 6 months.

Oh, and we figured out what the fussiness was all about... it seems that 9 month clothing doesn't fit our 4 month baby any longer! One day last week he literally grew out of an outfit as he wore it. I put it on him in the morning and didn't notice a problem. That evening Dan told me he left the shirt unbuttoned after a diaper change because it seemed tight... I went to check and tight was an understatement! Needless to say, last Friday we moved him up to 12 months clothes.

Four Months

Ryan's four month appointment was this morning. I was so excited to see how much he weighed... 18 pounds 14 ounces! This means we've got one more pound to use the infant car seat. That should take us through next week. He's in the 95th percentile for weight! He's 25 1/2 inches long which puts him in the 75th percentile for height.

He is quite the roly poly bundle of smiles. Last night I was trying to get all the lint out of the rolls under his chin and discovered that he's ticklish! He's got the sweetest giggle. I love it!

A Poem for Tyler

One day last week Tyler had mail waiting from Aunt Toni. Ty loves getting mail and this was more than just a letter... there was something in the package. It took him some time to get it open, but then he saw his surprise... a blue Lego car just like the orange one he already had and bubble wrap! How exciting! And, there was a poem with it... here's what Aunt Toni wrote:

Just this morning, don't you know,
I poured my cheerios in a bowl!

Something else came out of the box,
It wasn't a cow and it wasn't an ox!

No it was a car all fine and blue,
And that little car made me think of you!

I know you like cars, just like your dad,
So I'm sending it to you, now aren't you glad!

I hope you have fun, with your car of blue,
When you play with it, think of me too!

I thought that was very special and got a kick out of it myself. What a great poem! This is going in Tyler's box of treasures for sure!

Here's the whole fleet. He's got the original orange, the blue one from Aunt Toni, a red one and a black one. We've got one more box of cereal to go. When I went to the grocery store this weekend, there were no more boxes with cars in them... thank goodness! I cannot eat any more cinnamon toast crunch!

I still think these are very cool. He can make all sorts of cars from all the different pieces. They all mix and match!

On Sunday we went to a birthday party and Tyler got some soda. Here he is with his treat!

He held up fairly well. Here he is on the way home. And then...

Crash! Out like a light!

Here's Ryan after his bath yesterday. I have a new hobby... cleaning lint out of the rolls under his chin just to here him giggle. He's ticklish! What a great sound!

Check out the legs on this kid! Thunder thighs! Not only does he have rubber band wrists, he's got rubber band ankles too!

Don't you just want to squeeze him?? Now that I'm looking at this picture, I can sort of see a dimple on his cheek. But, I don't think he really has them... I think he's just got so much chub that there isn't anywhere else for it to go!

I love this picture... so serious!

I love these boys!