ho ho ho, scary Christmas

Poor Ryan was so scared of Santa when we went to get his picture taken tonight. I really thought he'd like him because he seems to like characters (like the Minnie Mouse we saw at Perkins on kid's night, LOL). I also talked a lot about going to visit him - told him he could ask Santa for a candy cane, presents, etc.

We tried, but we didn't want to push him too much - it's just not that important! He wouldn't even sit on the couch next to Santa and Katie. He also would not sit with Santa without Katie, or stand near him, or sit on a wooden present on the floor near them (a prop they use for older kids), or sit near him with Daddy, or on Daddy's lap. Would not could not. Not on a box. Not with a fox. Not in a house. Not with a mouse.

So, we have a picture of Katie smiling and looking happy as pie. I think she asked Santa for a few things for her brother :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ryan loved the cranberry sauce again this year (he would point to it on your plate, and kept saying "MORE!"), and that is almost all he ate - oh, that and 2 cupcakes :-) I couldn't be more thankful for my children and family and friends, this year and always. xoxox

jumping is very tiring

pea tea?

Apparently, peas are SO good that Ryan even wants to drink the water that they're cooked in ("in which they are cooked" sounds funny, but I guess that is what I should say??)

When he eats pineapple or mandarin oranges, he usually asks to drink the juice by signing "drink" or saying juice. Well, tonight, when he signed "drink" I thought he was pointing to Marc's glass, but he was actually pointing to the bowl that I had used to cook the peas!! He had eaten them all, so he expected to do the same thing that he does with the fruit. Too funny. So, we let him have it, and he did drink the pea flavored water. LOL. (for the record, I can only assume it was pea flavored, I'm certainly not trying it!!)

there was a birdnapping!

This morning when I opened Ryan's door, he said "Mama! Mama!" and was over by his bed - and then he signed and said "birds!" to tell me that his birds were missing! He was pointing to where they should be on his bed railing (the "birds" are on his crib soother). Awwww, it was so sweet. The batteries needed to be recharged, and he had been asleep when we got home last night, so he went up to his room and didn't notice they weren't there until he woke up.

This is a picture of his "birds" - the birds move and flap their wings and there are lights and music, and it also projects a light show onto the ceiling. He still loves it!

little sisters are pretty entertaining

This is Ryan's reaction to Katie jumping in the jumperoo this morning . . .



It was funny because he looked at me and said "more", so I told him to tell her, which he did. Well, I hope she learns what that means soon because when he got out of the booster seat, he went right up to her and was VERY insistent with his demands for her to jump MORE. Ryan needs a lesson on babies not understanding things yet ;-)

Happy Birthday to my precious little man!!!

I am so excited about Ryan's birthday! I can't believe my little baby is two years old :-)

I really need to go to bed (it's just after midnight) but I am tempted to stay up and go kiss him at 1:25am, LOL. He is such a sweetie, and I'm so thankful that I am his Mommy!!

I was wrapping presents tonight and was thinking about what we'll do tomorrow (well, today). I have a book that I'll give him in the morning so that we can read it during the day. I wrote a little note in it that he'll probably think is silly some day - sappy mommy stuff :-) We might go to the park or at least play outside in the morning before his nap. When Marc gets home we'll give him the rest of his presents, and then will probably take him outside to play with his new t-ball set. I am so excited to give him that - he's going to love it!

During his nap, I am going to try to make him a cake for after dinner - using this pan. I hope it turns out ok! I am trying to not make it too fancy because I have a lot of cake and cupcake decorating to do for his party on Saturday. We'll see how much time I have to decorate it! Dinner will be some of his favorites - chicken fingers, peas, and mac n' cheese, LOL!

Ok, I have to get to bed!!

some pics

Kate tried the jumperoo today for the first time :-) She liked it - but I think Ryan was more excited about her being in there than she was! We have to watch him VERY carefully when she's in there!! Her feet touch the floor - but just barely. I remember putting a pillow under Ryan's feet for a while, and then one time he pooped on it, LOL.

Ryan was so excited to put this hat on Katie :-)

Here is Ryan eating an apple from his great grandfather's tree. He LOVES them and is always saying "apple" and grabs them out of the big bag we have.

teeth brushing funny

The other night, we were both in the bathroom when Ryan was brushing his teeth. He does pretty well on his own, so we just help him a bit at the end to make sure he didn't miss anything. He will say "ahhhhh" when he opens his mouth wide and "eeeee" with his teeth together when we brush the front of his teeth - he seems to have fun with it!

Anyway, he had done well but didn't brush his back molars. So we said something like "don't forget to brush in the back" and he proceeded to take the brush out of his mouth, and brush the back of his diaper, LOL. It took us a second to realize what he was doing before we burst out laughing. He laughed with us but was very confused about our odd request :-)

open mouth, insert foot

literally, LOL. Yes, Katie has finally gotten a taste of her toes :-) She was such a cutie with her foot in her mouth for the 1st time yesterday, 9/29. She has also been enthralled with her hands. She'll hold her hand up in front of her face and just stare and slowly move her fingers. It's so much fun to watch!

Ryan has been LOVING his GeoTrax - an early birthday present from Mommy and Daddy. He is obsessed. We got him a small set to start with and he's having a blast playing with it. Marc had showed him some videos on youtube and he kept saying "more choo choo" every time he got near the computer. So, on Sunday night, we went out and got him some since I'd rather he play with trains than watch them on videos! It turns out that this is a good learning opportunity since he has to control himself and deal with the disappointment of not being able to be attached to the GeoTrax 24/7. We have done a lot of time-outs lately, LOL.

He's so funny playing with them - he actually loves pushing the train without it running on the batteries - and I love watching him carefully walk around the track, sometimes going on his toes to avoid stepping on it or knocking anything over. Today I told him to push the button to turn the train on (he forgets and wonders why the controller isn't working) and he said "no" and then (nicely) took the controller and put it all the way across the room so that I wouldn't use it :-) We spent quite a lot of time rearranging track today - and I heard a lot of "no no no no no no" if I tried a configuration he didn't like, LOL. He is already really good at putting the pieces together even though he doesn't quite get the elevation parts and makes things that don't quite work at times. It's also been fun to talk to him about the train - practicing words like "down," "bridge," "under," etc. We are having lots of fun enjoying this with him! I'll have to post some pictures or video - we love watching our little engineer. (You know, a person that runs a train. Hi Russ.)

unfortunate toddlerisms

Today, as we were having some mini pizza bagels for lunch, I was trying to help Ryan say "pizza." Well, the first syllable of pizza sounds like pee, so his attempt at the word (since he knows it is two syllables but he can't quite say "zzzzzzza") is "pee pee." Now I'm all for having affectionate nicknames for pizza, but this is not one that I can embrace, LOL!

Mommy: "pizza"
Ryan: "pee pee"
Mommy: "peeee - zzzzzzza"
Ryan: "peeeee - pee"
and on and on . . .

Then Kate was sitting on my lap and Ryan decided she should have a lesson too, LOL! He was so adorable pointing to the pizza on his plate, getting right in her face, eye-to-eye, and saying slowly and repeatedly - "pee pee."

Hmmmm, I wonder if this is going to interfere with potty training somehow?

our little man is growing up so fast!

Ryan peed on the potty for the first time tonight!!! We were sitting at the table eating dinner, and it seemed like he was going, so we asked him if he had to go "potty" and he signed "potty" - so Daddy got him out of his chair, and they both went into the bathroom. Daddy took Ryan's diaper off, and he sat down on his little potty and went - we were so excited and proud of him!

mirror mirror . . .

I think Katie is pretty sure about who is the fairest of them all, LOL. She LOVES talking and smiling at the adorable baby that she sees in the mirror above her swing. If she is in her swing and not sleeping, she is almost always gazing at her reflection in awe. I guess I can't blame her :-)

sprinkler fun

Ryan spent a good part of the day helping Daddy outside - raking, watering, digging, and all sorts of other fun toddler activities :-) Despite all the hard work that Daddy did, I think both boys had quite a lot of fun! Here's a video of Ryan playing in the sprinkler - he was completely soaked!

And here is a picture of him with an ice pop to cool off before his nap (and before his trip through the sprinkler in the evening)

footie pajamas = bathing suit?

Apparently Ryan thinks so :-) This morning, after getting me up by saying "mama" about 20 times he of course ran to Katie's door and was so upset when I wouldn't let him wake her. Speaking of him calling me from his room - sometimes he'll actually get down on his belly and put his little mouth right by the floor and the door - so that he is talking under the door. It's so funny - I don't know where he got this idea. I guess he knows that is the opening, so it makes sense. I'll go in and the carpet will be all wet from his face being there - right by the door.

Anyway, moving on to the footie pj story - he then ran into our room and into our bathroom where Daddy was getting a shower. Ryan loves showers - so he got right in and pulled the door closed behind himself - pjs and all. He was so happy though he did seem a little disturbed that his feet were getting wet. He was NOT happy when I took him out!

When we got downstairs and I got him in some dry clothes, he was having fun running around and was really jumping for the first time. He has been loving jumping lately - but this was the first time we saw him really able to jump with both feet at the same time instead of one foot followed closely by the other. Hopefully I'll get the jumping on video soon - he's pretty cute and is so proud of himself!

maaaaaaa maaaaaaa

I have quite an adorable alarm clock. "Mama, mama, mama, maaaaaaa ma . . . . . daaaaaaaaaaa." LOL. It's so sweet to hear him calling me. Of course the snooze button needs some work. It's highly intermittent, and using it is at my own risk. I have found him in his room with his pjs unzipped a few times lately (once with his diaper also open), so it's usually in my best interest to get him promptly. So far he hasn't really made a mess, except for needing a bath one morning.

**I am editing this because I forgot that one morning he greeted me at the door completely naked - not even wearing a diaper! LOL, how did I forget that? Anyway, usually the pjs are still on, but just unzipped :-)

This morning as soon as I opened his door, he started saying "Dtee teeee, Dtee teeee" and ran across the hall to Katie's room. She had been making noise and he was so excited to see her. He ran right over to her crib and put his arm through to touch her hand. I actually put him in her crib with her, and after giving her a hug and kiss, he was very happy to look at her crib soother toy (we call it her "princess lights"). He has the same kind of soother, but his are birds and is more gender neutral - they both play music and have little things that move with lights - and shine a light show on the ceiling. They both LOVE them!!

a few new pics

a common sight - me grabbing for Ryan grabbing for Kate :-)

last chance summer activities

Sunday before Labor day we went to the drive-in movies. I was kind of panicked to do some last minute summer things before it was too late. We missed going to see the local baseball team, but at least we got to the movies. We saw Horton Hears a Who - Ryan loved it. We really should have gotten Horton (his stuffed animal that also visited the drive-in) in the picture! Speaking of his Horton toy - Ryan thinks his trunk is some sort of vacuum cleaner, LOL. He will use the trunk in his room along the floor and baseboards while making a vacuum sound - so funny.


So the picture above is from August 2008. Below is Ryan at the drive-in movies in July 2007. Where did my baby go??? Awwwww! Of course, Ryan got bigger, but the popcorn got smaller :-) This year we went to a different place and they didn't have the big tubs.


This is the best picture that we managed to get of Kate with the popcorn - poor girl :-)


Continuing with our summer activity theme, we went to Rita's on Labor Day - somehow we managed to not do that all summer! Here is Ryan with his Rita's - doing his best baby bird impression. Rita's is GOOD and it was worth it for him to let us feed him our flavors in between shoveling it in himself. He couldn't say "more" fast enough. I really need to piece together some of the video from that night - we have a good one of a brain freeze reaction.

He didn't turn out nearly as red as I thought he would!

get all your ducks in a row

Ummm, I mean BLOCKS :-) When we first got these blocks, all Ryan wanted to do was stack the columns end to end until they would topple over. Lately, he started lining up blocks like this - usually only the triangles, though every once in a while a half circle will be lucky enough to be included. It's interesting to watch because he's very particular about what goes where (Is perfectionism genetic? We are REALLY trying not to teach it!!) - he'll arrange them and switch a few blocks back and forth, turning them, etc. He also gets them lined up in a pretty straight line. Then he'll drive a car over them and pushes them all around and starts again.


Yesterday morning we did a fire department tour - Ryan loved it, especially the hat. Click here to see more pics.

Here is a picture of Katie this morning, playing in her brother's "Little Monkey" outfit - a favorite of ours :-)

does she look thrilled?

A little scared maybe? She is definitely saying "Mommy, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Awww, they have the same lips.

sleepy girl

It's after 9:30am and Katie is still sleeping - since about 10pm last night. I have heard noises from her on and off, so I know she's ok - and I just went to check on her. I was thinking I'd get her up, but she looked so happy that I let her sleep. Here is a picture of her - the noise from me going in and out of the room a few times made her start actively sucking on her hand but her eyes remained shut tight - so sweet. She hasn't been willing to take a pacifier much - apparently her fingers are much better!

brotherly love

Ryan is so sweet with Kate. She gets lots of hugs and kisses. This morning, she got razzberries, LOL. Marc will do razzberries on Ryan's arms, so Ryan was doing them on Kate's arms and the back of her hand. It was hilarious because she was closing her eyes and turning her head as he was getting a fine spray of spit all over her. The really cute thing though, was that then, he put the back of his hand carefully to her mouth, so that she could take a turn and give HIM a razzberry. OMG, so cute!

all girl

snug as a bug in her brother's "baby boy" sleepsack :-)

making calls already

I was having a rough time with Ryan's diaper change this morning, so I handed him my cell phone to keep him occupied. He opened the phone and was pressing some buttons and then put the phone to his ear and was talking away. I thought I heard a voice and took the phone to hear Marc talking to his son from a bus on the way to Manhattan - "hi buddy!" Ryan made the call totally on his own - so funny! I think he actually used the speed dial number to do it because there was another "2" on the screen (I can't assign the number 1 because it is hardcoded to voicemail). Ryan seemed thrilled to talk to Daddy and had lots to say, and then hung up after a few minutes. Marc had mentioned that he was going to sleep on the bus so I shouldn't call if possible, but maybe a call from his little boy is an exception :-) Next time he'll have to tell Ryan about his plans too!

Happy 22 month birthday to Ryan!!! Only 2 months 'til the big 2 :-)

what a difference a year makes . . .

(you can click on the picture if you want a better look)

Especially that FIRST year :-) Is that really the same boy just one year later??? I can't believe how much he has changed. These pictures were from Marc's company picnic (last year it was my company picnic too). It's been an amazing year and we feel so lucky to have watched him grow. I miss the cuddly, sleepy, little baby that he was, but I have all of those precious memories, and I love him more each day. I can't be too sad about missing my newborn when I now have a toddler that runs into my arms to give me a hug and a kiss because he's so thrilled to see me! Life is good.

I remember my mom always saying that she wished she could "freeze" me because I was at the perfect age. She said this OFTEN as I was growing up, and I was lucky to always know how much she adored me. Now I find myself feeling the same way about my children. Every stage brings so many wonderful new things, and it's so special to be a mom and experience all of that. Right now we are enjoying watching Ryan learn and discover so many little things each day, and we get to see the world through his eyes and share in all of that wonder.

I am so blessed to be able to go through another babyhood with Kate, and I'm trying to soak it all up before she too is running into my arms. She is already getting so big, but her being less tiny and new brings smiles and coos and so many other gifts. Marc and I watched Ryan's 1 year montage last night or the night before, and we were reminded of all the things that we have to look forward to with Kate :-)

"boo boo"

That's what Ryan says instead of "peek-a-boo" :-)
Here is a cute video of him playing with Katie.

our little princess smiling

Kate is such a sweetie - I have to be better about taking more pictures. Here is a cute little smile from her tonight. She has also started cooing back at me when I talk.

the new fashion in footie pajamas

This is how I found him this morning when I went to his room. He was quite pleased with himself! This was shortly before he tried to add to the look by putting on his sandals over his PJs - he thought he might be able to go to work with Daddy if he just had his shoes on :-)

Since this shows his new haircut pretty well, here are the "before" pictures. His haircut was on Sunday (only his second one in 21 months) and he threw such a fit that he almost ended up with only half of his head done.

cheez-its and strawberries

That is what my son had for dinner tonight. That's what happens sometimes when Ryan and Daddy are left unsupervised for an evening :-)

I'm starting this blog because I've failed at updating our web site with any regularity. Besides sharing new pictures, I had always wanted to say a little bit about what is new with the kids, so maybe this will work - we'll see! Mostly, I hope this serves as a kind of journal to help me record some of the little things that I don't want to ever forget.