Happy New Year! and the Big Boy Bed

We are home from our New Years Party at Erin and Tom's house. What? Your New Year hasn't started yet? Well we had our official New Years toast and mine has started. We had a fun time. They are a great couple for us. Lots of common interests and similarities. We played some games. I rediscovered that I don't really like Apples to Apples, but had fun while I was playing it anyway. We played some Catch Phrase, which is a new one on our favorites list. We just generally had a really good time. Jay and I were talking about starting a monthly game night...Erin? So Happy New Year to all(even if you didn't have the toddler version of New Years Eve).

This new year is off to an interesting start. Ryan is going to sleep in his big boy bed right now. We set it up almost a week ago and every nap and bedtime we ask if he wants to go to sleep in his crib or his big boy bed. Every time he has chosen the crib(though he likes to show off his big boy bed). I had come to expect this answer and was quite shocked when he wanted his big boy bed. Jay is being the good daddy and sitting in his room with him to make him feel comfortable in his new bed right now. I was in there for about an hour, but he doesn't go to sleep when I'm in the room for some reason. I can't wait to see how this works out.

Christmas Favorites

Favorite moment- Too many to count, I'll just say watching the boys open their gifts and play with their new things and being with my mom, dad and brother for Christmas (first time in 6 years)

Funniest moment- My dad and brother boxing one handed with a pair of Zach's new socker boppers

Favorite gift given- Four pack of Orioles tickets including Opening Day to my grandparents

Favorite gift received- My sister-in-law made a scrapbook for me called "Jen is a Mommy" and my parents are giving me a really nice glider rocking chair (couldn't limit that to one either)

Favorite food of the day- Uncle Bob's twice baked potatoes

Merry Christmas and to All a Good Night

I love Christmas. It's so wonderful to see family and share time, love and joy. We had a really great day today, but it was pretty non-stop. I was up until midnight last night getting things ready for this morning. Ryan chose last night of all nights to be up until 10:45! It was not an easy night. With the help of my mom, dad, brother and husband we managed to pull off a pretty good Christmas day. I was up this morning at 7 getting stuff ready for brunch before the kids got up. The kids got up and we had round one of presents. Then Jay's whole family came over and since my family is all here we had all of our closest relatives with us for a good part of the day. That was really nice. I made a really good breakfast casserole(slightly modified) that I found on All recipes and I will post on Naptime Gourmet. We had round 2 of gift opening. Then spent some time with the family. Ryan didn't go down for his nap especially easily, so I used to opportunity to lie down with him in our bed and get some rest myself. In the evening we headed out to my spend Christmas dinner with my dad's side of the family while my parents and brother went off to spend that time with my mom's side of the family...that was a little weird, but we spent the whole day with them, so it was okay. We just spent a whole day with my mom's side 2 weeks ago for Cookie Day- my parents and brother couldn't be in town then, so it kind of makes sense. There we had round 3 of presents. We got home about 10:30 and now we can relax and reflect on the day. It was a good day :-)

There shall be more on Christmas tomorrow.

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve. It's hard to believe. It doesn't quite seem real. It has come up on me so fast this year. I wonder if that is a little bit how Mary felt on the eve of her baby boy's birth. When I went to the hospital to have Ryan it was a little strange to know that we would be coming back with a whole new little person. I remember it not seeming quite real. Can you imagine not even knowing where you were going to spend the night all the while having contractions?! That couldn't have seemed real. I would have been Fah-REAKing out! Talk about a stressful birth. I'm thinking Mary's trust in the Lord really paid off at that point. I wish I had her complete faith and trust.

Rockin' Star

Ryan was rockin' out to his Leap pad this morning. He had the music page out and he was playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." He was just dancing away. This has been going on quite a bit in the past few days. He has added some moves to his dance repertoire. He used to just bounce and move his arms up and down. Now he has some back and forth action goin'. It's really cute to watch.
Now that he can turn his Leap Pad on and press all the right buttons to get to the songs he plays them all the time. It can get quite annoying listening to the same song over and over... and over. And don't try to sneak and turn it off when he leaves the room, oh no, he will hear and come back to restart the dance party. At least when he is there dancing it's entertaining to watch.

Single Digits

I feel a little bit silly posting about the time I have left being pregnant again, but people the weeks left are in the single digits! Single digits! That means the longest I'll probably have to wait is now less than 10 weeks. I know some people go past their due date, but I'm not counting on that since Ryan was almost 2 weeks early. I'm getting really excited now. The baby closet is filling with pink, my tummy is reaching it's limits of hugeness, the day I get to meet my baby girl is getting closer!

and we still don't have a name!!!

Wow! 30 Weeks.

I'm 3/4 done with my pregnancy. My little ticker only has two more pictures until it reaches the end. I'm already starting to re-think my idea of having Sweet Pea hang on until March. Wouldn't Valentine's Day be a lovely day for a birthday? I can do indoor parties, right? Yes, if it means I can have this baby earlier! Amethyst is a very pretty birthstone too. I believe there was a very brief moment that I envied the February birthstone in middle school because it was so pretty and mine(diamonds) are so expensive. Violets and Irises are pretty birth flowers as well. I've almost convinced myself...anyone else have a great reason to be born in February?

Ryan Meets Santa

Ryan meet Santa for the very first time today. We heard the fire engine coming and everyone around these parts knows what that means at Christmas time. So we hurried Ryan into his coat and got his still ketchup covered face out to see Santa. He walked right up with the rest of the kids to get a candy cane out of the bag. Of course one of the fireman thought Ryan was too cute and wanted to get a picture with Santa. I wonder if people will see the ketchup covered boy in the local newspaper and wonder what kind of mother lets her child out of the house like that. I was happy Ryan didn't get scared or cry. He didn't smile mind you, but be did manage to wave and say, "Bye-bye, Santa" as he rode away on the fire engine. He always seems more willing to talk when other people can't hear him. Honestly I think he was more excited about the fire engine than Santa, but that's probably because we don't really play Santa up in our house. Now ask him about the Holy Family. He will show you baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph in any manger scene and that's what's really important about Christmas. I'm sure as he gets older Santa will have increasing stock, but as long as he stays grounded in the truth about Christmas I think that's okay.

Oooo- A Candy Cane



Bye Santa

The Peace of Solitude

I went shopping today while Jay's mom watched Ryan. Somehow even Christmas shopping seems easier than any shopping with a toddler. I have to say I truly appreciate the Mom-to-be parking at the mall! With my leg hurting and carrying my current load plus 5 bags it was nice to be parked near an entrance. I still think there should be parent-with-small-infant parking, but I guess you can't have everything.

I went out to buy extended family gifts and one or two gifts for Ryan to even him up with Zach, but I ended up getting the boys more stuff and spending way too much money. Blast Target and their toy section! At least I had a gift card for a good chunk of it.

I rather enjoyed shopping by myself. It was easy getting in and out of the car. I could hit multiple stores and stay out for hours. I stopped and got some Chic-fil-a for lunch(mmmmm) and I didn't even mind sitting at the table eating alone. I used to always want people around, but I guess being a mom means I always have people around, so I welcome the solitude. I've noticed that even when I'm home alone there is a certain peace that only comes when I'm alone and it's quiet.

Little Einsteins

Ryan has a new favorite show, Little Einsteins. It's a great little show. He gets to learn about music and is exposed to art. Since I know nothing more about music than I learned in elementary school chorus class(which wasn't much) I can't teach him these things. Jay has lots of musical knowledge, but he has limited time with the kids and he doesn't tend to spend it teaching music lessons. By watching Little Einsteins Ryan and I are both learning. It really presents the music in a fun way. The 4 kids on the show go on an adventure every week- they follow the sounds of different instruments, help things go faster (allegro) or slower (adagio) by clapping to the beat and lots of other fun stuff. Did you like the musical knowledge I threw in that last sentence? I learned that from the show :-) Maybe every other adult out there knows these things, but like I said- no music lessons here. I can't even read music, but maybe I'll learn along with Ryan :-)
So how do I know it's Ryan's new favorite? He has not been going down easily for naps since his sickness. In a last ditch effort (I had tried everything I knew to do) to get him to nap yesterday I promised him he could watch Little Einsteins AFTER his nap. He laughed and said, "Little Einsteims!" I left the room and he went to sleep. Today I started with that strategy at nap time. He reacted in the same way. He went down for his nap with out a peep. Another reason I can tell he loves it is that he asks to watch it again as soon as it's over. He will sometimes ask for another show when one finishes, but he has never asked to watch the same thing twice in a row. This has been a consistent request when we watch it, so it wasn't a fluke. He also sings the theme song. So cute!

My Little Monkey is Back

Ryan had been sick for about a week and a half. He was like a different child. This was a miserable time for all of us, especially when he got an ear infection at the end. He was up several times a night all week. Most nights he ended up in our bed because he would just scream and cry unless one of us was with him. During the day he was impossible. I would ask if he wants milk or apple juice. He would reply, "No. Orange juice!" Okay, I can deal with that. "Here is your orange juice." Throws himself on he floor in fits and cries. Won't take the orange juice or anything else. This is pretty typical of all his behavior last week. He started getting better Saturday. He was great at Cookie Day even though he didn't get a nap at all. Well, he did sort of. He has been better during the days, but he is still waking up several times a night. I'll take it for now. Hopefully he will be sleeping better again soon. For now at least he is pleasant during the day again. That helps me not be as worn all day long. A full night's sleep would be better, but Sweet Pea doesn't seem to think that's a good idea either.

Cookie Day Pictures

Ryan and Zach decorating


Ryan decorating


Pop and Ryan


"Bwow"

Hooray, Hooray! It's Cookie Day!

My mom's family has a tradition. Every year two weeks before Christmas the whole family gathers at Mom-mom and Pop's house and we make Christmas cookies. Some cut the sugar cookies and put them on trays to be delivered to the decorating table. There people paint(with food coloring), sprinkle and otherwise decorate the cookies. Then they are taken to the kitchen to be cooked. When it's all over everyone gets to take some home and some are left there for Christmas. This year was really fun. We planned on leaving at 2 so Ryan could get his nap, but we were all having so much fun that we stayed. We were there until after 7:30. That is one long day for a toddler, but Ryan was awesome(except for a few painful diaper changes, but you can't blame him for that). We even ended up playing this fun game I've never seen before with a big group of people. I really need to find out the name so we can get it.
Ryan liked having some other babies around even if they were both younger and not really mobile. He also liked the attention he got from every direction. He and my Uncle Tommy always have a great time together. They crack each other up coming up with new and entertaining games to amuse the rest of us. The game of the day today was Ryan putting his hand on Uncle Tommy's mouth, saying "Bwow"(blow) then Tommy taking a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks and blowing. Ryan also had some really nice moments with my Pop(short for Grandpop or Pop-pop). I saw him a couple time just sitting there in Pop's lap snuggled in listening to Pop explain one thing or another. Then telling Pop his thoughts on the matter.
Gosh, I could go on and on about today. So many things happened- cute, memorable, sweet. It was just and all around good day.

I'm Back

Well, I'm just old and fat;-)
3 hours and a $50 copay later I know that I indeed have varicose veins. No blood clot. They took me back right away to get a sonogram on my leg, but once they found out there was no clot it took a long time. Basically with the extra weight of the pregnancy and carrying Ryan everywhere is taking it's toll on my body. They gave me some stylish white support hose. Ugh. At least it's winter and I can wear pants over them, right!
So, basically I got a very expensive pair of medical hose. I wonder how much they cost in the store.

Hi ho, Hi ho. It's off to the ER I go.

I'll post the results next week when I get out of the ER. I really don't want to go, but the OB says I need to. It seems like a bit of an over-reaction to pain at the top of my calf and purpleness that looks like broken blood vessels. Why can't they just have the stuff they need right in the doctor's office to do lab work and the like?! Annoying I tell you! Wish me luck and a short wait.

Zach

Anyone notice Zach's counter today? He is 7 years old. It automatically updated to the next year's counter. Boy is it weird to see that 8 at the end of the line!

Snow Pictures

We played in the snow this morning before Zach went to school. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

hugs

playing

Zach

Ryan

I found a reason to LIKE Teletubbies!

They do this little dance thing and every once in a while they do "big hugs." When they do Ryan runs over to me, says, "Big hugs!" and gives me a great big long hug with lots of smiles and giggles:-)

It's Snowing

Well, it's barely a flurry now, but I'm already thinking of snow day activities for tomorrow. Looks like I won't get to go to my Bible study tomorrow :-(

I must be crazy

This morning Ryan was climbing out of his crib. He has never really tried this before. He often climbs in to get to his personal trampoline, but not out. Knowing he gets in by pulling and pushing himself up until he can get his head and upper body over the bar then crashes over, head first, into the mattress I decided letting him figure a way to climb out may not be wise. So I gave him step by step instructions on how to climb out of his crib. That's what my parenting magazines say to do, but I still feel a little bit crazy for teaching my child how to climb out of his crib.
Little did I know he would want to test his new found skills with the grocery cart(a little duh moment for me). So after insisting on the car cart (which sucks- btw) he decided to climb on it in every known fashion. He climbed in and out the doors, in the front window and/or into the riding basket every time I stopped the cart. Of course I saw most of his shenanigans and made sure he was safe. Then the boy scared me half to death. I was looking at some frozen foods and Ryan was sitting in the basket right in front of me. I decided what I wanted and opened the freezer for 5 seconds and as I backed out noticed the boy was STANDING BEHIND ME! I have no idea how he climbed down so fast and silently. I can only hope he used my safe climbing out of crib instructions. Oy, who thought shopping with a toddler could be harder than shopping with a baby?!

Girls' Day

Yesterday my mother in law came to watch Ryan for me so I could go out. Usually I just end up taking these opportunities to go grocery shopping by myself, but this week my wonderful husband went to the grocery store for me. I got to use this precious alone time to hang out with Erin. We still went shopping, but it was not for food. Before we went I was feeling a little weird about not getting our boys together to play too. Once there I was glad to have the time without worrying about the kids. We were out for like 4 hours. I think that is the longest time I've spent "out" since Ryan was born(not counting our one night getaway to Williamsburg for our anniversary). With Ryan's nap right smack in the middle of the day and Zach's bus right after that it's kind of hard to go to more than one store at a time. It was fun to chat while I was shopping too. It makes shopping way more fun. I don't even care that I didn't make a huge dent in my Christmas gift list. So thanks Mrs. D. and Erin for a wonderful afternoon!

Peek-a-Boo I *Really* See You

My dear Ryan is a very strong willed little boy. He is also very strong physically. Recently he had a couple diaper rashes which have made him a very unwilling participant in diaper changes. He actually managed to find this cross legged, head raised position that I can not defeat physically. I can get some parts, but not be sure he is all clean. So in a moment of divine inspiration I said, "Where's the stinky?" and BOOM his legs popped open and he giggled hysterically. Thank God my stubborn little strong man loves games! It has worked every time since, too.

Irony

I ordered a maternity top in 'chastity pink'.

3rd Trimester

It's hard to believe I'm in my third trimester. I guess in some ways it goes faster when you have a toddler to take care of 24/7. My tummy is really getting big. People keep commenting about how fast it is happening. Just today I got, "You are getting bigger every day, girl!" Last gymnastics class one of the ladies said to me, "Wow, you really...uh...popped. Seriously, you look a lot bigger than last week." I'll have to remember to take some tummy shots this week. I've been meaning to do it for a while now. I had an OB appointment yesterday; everything looks and sounds good.

How I Know Daddy Changed Ryan's Diaper this Morning...

Ryan is playing with his legos in the kitchen. I hear him talking about a stinky. I look over and realize that he is talking to his Bob the Builder Lego guy. This is how his conversation with Bob went.

"EW!ew!ew! You hab(translated-have) a stinky! I hab(translated-have) to change your diber(diaper)"

Now Ryan does actually have a stink himself. So he tells me and heads up the stairs. By the time I catch up to him he is placing his little lego Bob on the changing table(heehee). He tells Bob, "Inona(I'm going to) change your diber(diaper). Wait for Mommy."

I put Ryan up on the changing table and he tries to sit up to get Bob, so I hand him Bob and the closest thing I have to a diaper within reach, a baby wash cloth. He lays Bob down next to him and then proceeds to "ew.ew.ew." some more and wipes Bob and wraps him in the wash cloth. The wash cloth covers Bob's whole little body, "There you go."

PS-In case you were wondering the 'Ew!ew!ew!' was the tell tale sign of daddy:-)

Home

We're home...11 hours on the road...going to bed.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all those we couldn't be with today.

It's a sunny 68* here at my parent's house. So much for the nice sweaters I packed to wear for Thanksgiving dinner. The kids are having a great time playing with their grandparents. I'm going to go help with dinner now. Hope everyone is having a nice day.

This Stinks!

The diaper genie is FULL and it's POURING outside. I hope Ryan doesn't have a stinky this afternoon.

Observant Little Guy

Little kids notice the most remarkable things. Things that we don't notice for whatever reason, maybe we are too busy with life or the things seem unremarkable to us. It's cool to stop and marvel at the world with a child. Ryan notices noises outside and he gets so excited to tell me "fire engine" or "Zach playing outside." He will wake up from a nap and tell me exactly what kids are playing in our front yard. The other day in the store he said, "helcoper" and this lady said, "Isn't he smart to hear that." I hadn't noticed the sound myself and when he first said it I just kind of acknowledged that it was a helicopter. After the lady said something I guess I realized how amazing he was. Today he heard a lawn mower and he told me, "Hear grass." It actually took me a second to realize that he was talking about someone cutting the grass because I hadn't noticed the sound myself. Is it odd to be amazed by your own child?

26 Weeks

I'm 26 weeks in to my pregnancy today. That means only double digits of days left! Still 98 days seems like a long time.
Maybe if I think of it like this: Christmas is fast approaching. After Christmas I only have to wait 2 more months. Nah, still seems like a long time.
Perhaps I'll try this: Things I need to get/do before baby is born- get new crib mattress, set up toddler bed for Ryan, transition Ryan to toddler bed, get loft bed for Zach, move Ryan and Zach into the same room, establish girl wardrobe(started, but not nearly complete), clean up newborn toys, get bassinet, get glider chair, arrange babysitting for boys and dog during delivery/hospital stay, settle on a name... Okay, that did it! There is no time to lose. I need to get started. This baby is coming soon!

Ryan's First Crush

I think Ryan has a crush on one of the girls in his gymnastics class. He loves watching her do things and we always seem to end up doing the same things she is doing during free time. What really clinched it for me was when he tried running across the room at circle time. When I caught him and pulled him back he said, "Want girl!"

You Decide

Before you think I am mean, Jay wanted me to post this.

Last night Jay was going to run to the store for milk and bread. This is what he had on. He couldn't understand why I was laughing so hard. He kept trying to explain that he used to always wear wool hiking socks and Tivas and how cool that was. Somehow I just don't think his black dress socks with shorts and Burks(or any shorts, socks and sandals combination for that matter) looks cool. You decide.

Sandal Boy

"What? Black and brown go together."

Video

Feeling inspired today I picked up the video camera (that I charged last week since it was dead last time I tried to use it). I wanted to try to capture some precious moments of Ryan's toddlerhood. Now I remember why the camera has been in the closet for months. He kept coming up to the camera to look at himself and friend Ben(?) in the picture. So I turned the viewer around in a feeble attempt to get him to stay in front of the camera. I haven't checked out the footage yet, but I'm pretty sure I have a bunch of close ups of Ryan's nose and finger. I did manage to pry him away from the camera for a few minutes. He even did a forward roll and some log rolls for me. I have to upload the footage and see if there is anything worth sharing.

Imagination at Work

I am constantly amazed at the sophistication of Ryan's play. He is into imaginary play. He will get his cars or trains and have them talk to each other. It's not uncommon to hear him tell his trains to "Be fareful"(translated- be careful) or have one tell the other, "I coming." He also give his smaller toys rides on his bigger toys(especially his ride on train). It's so cute to watch him interact with his toys. I hope some day he is able to interact with his peers as well as he interacts with his toys! Sometimes he is great with friends, but we still need to work on sharing toys. I guess it's easier to play with the toys because they do what he wants them to do.

Cool

Jay had the day off yesterday for Veterans Day, so yesterday kind of felt like Saturday. We had a nice relaxing day. We did some shopping in the morning. We actually went shopping to get Ryan a winter coat. Sears was having a great sale and we got him a whole snow suit 1/2 off. We happened to pass the baby section and I was commenting on all the cute girl clothes, so Jay said, "Why not get started buying the baby clothes now?" So I did:-) It was so fun!!! All the sweet little rosebuds and frillies were so cute. I could see this becoming a problem. We are going to need lots of tights because I just love the little dresses. I got to take a nap and a nice unhurried shower. Jay and the kids played outside in the leaves. It was so nice to not have the day packed with plans. All that relaxing was great. The best part is this morning I didn't have to get up and rush off to church. We get to have one more relaxing day this weekend. Well, mostly. The boys and I have to vacate for about 3 hours this afternoon so Jay and his small group can watch the new Star Wars movie together. Tomorrow we really have to kick it into gear. We have church at 9 then a birthday party at 11:30(that is about 40 minutes away) and Jay has a leaders meeting in the evening. Somewhere in there we have to make sure Ryan gets a nap and the kids get fed 3 good meals.

Thanks!!!

Happy Veterans Day! Thanks to all the guys and girls who have ever served in our military and their families. Especially my dad(Air Force), my mom(military wife) and TJ(Air Force).

Holy Cow

I passed this house in our neighborhood this morning that had the funniest thing on the lawn. There are a bunch of wooden cows(57 I'm guessing, but I didn't count) covering the whole lawn. In the middle is a big cow holding a sign that says, "Holy cow, big [name] is 57!" It's hilarious. I should drive by and get a picture so you guys can have a full appreciation. Someone went to a lot of trouble. It was nice to get a little giggle on my way out of the neighborhood this morning:-)

$2.14

I got gas for $2.14! Yay, I'm so glad the prices are going back down, especially since we are going on a long trip soon.
The unfortunate part of getting said gas is that I got it at Wawa. I have nothing against Wawa, quite the contrary...I love Wawa. I just can't stand inconsiderate Wawa customers. I sat waiting for a pump for about 5 minutes...there was no line. Just people who left their cars at the pump while they went shopping. It's also annoying to sit behind some guy talking on his cell phone at the pump, not pumping his gas mind you, just sitting in the driver's seat talking. There are parking spots that do not block gas pumps for these things people! Be considerate of others.

Expanding?

We are thinking of finishing our garage. If we do we will probably make the half bath into a full bath and add a bedroom. The rest of the space will expand our family room. We are wondering if it will decrease the value of our house to get rid of the garage. We never use our garage for our car. We basically only use it for storage, but I remember thinking it was good to have a garage. What do you think? Is a garage a big selling point over another bedroom(on the entry floor) and 2 full baths (instead of 1 1/2)? It would definitely work better for us at this point, but we are not sure if we want to stay in this house much longer. It is a big expense to undertake without being sure it's definitely what we want and it wouldn't depreciate the value of our house.

Cars and Trucks and Things that Go

Is it any surprise to anyone that this is Ryan's favorite book? He loves to point out the different trucks. He has learned quite a bit about some things and always wants to know more. He likes to find the silly cars like the pickle car or the carrot car. It's just all around fun.

He had also begun to ask for A Special Something more lately. It is a book about a mommy and what is in her big tummy. It's fun and sweet. Ryan really likes to do the page where it asks...Is it an alligator? Noooo! or a hippopotamus(which sounds a bit like Christmas)? Nooooo! Is it a monkey? Noooo! etc.

I love story time!

A Good Sign

Ryan just came over, rested his head on my tummy, put his arm around it and patted it with his hand. Then he did the cutest thing. He said, "I lub you, baby." Now if we can just hold on to that sentiment when the baby actually comes we will be in good shape.

Monday Mornings...

Stink. The weekends never seem quite long enough. At least Jay has Friday off, so next weekend will be a long weekend. I'm sure not long enough, but it's better than nothing.

Wow, Tuesday?!

Has it really been that long since I posted?! I guess I've been busy, so busy that I didn't even notice how long it had been. The good news is I got a lot of laundry done and the house is recently vacuumed. Unfortunately Ryan has just informed me that he has a stinky and needs a diaper change. This is a problem that has been plaguing me since Tuesday coincidentally. Lot's of diaper changes and extra laundry from those pesky leaks that come from toddler tummy troubles. I guess it's hard to blog when you are changing 50 diapers and 3-4 outfits a day on top of everything you normally do. Well, I'm off to relieve the poor stinky child.

Ryan Do It!

I think I have birthed the most independent child ever. Ryan wants to do everything himself. From opening the juice bottle to putting on his clothes- he wants to do it himself. When I start to do something he starts to fuss and says, "Ryan do it!" If I don't let him he breaks down into this horrible crying like I smacked him upside the head or something. Then he sticks his lip out and looks all pitiful. Sometimes he even plops into a lump on the floor. To those who are not involved in the interaction directly I must look like the most uncaring, awful mother ever! It's so hard to do the right thing sometimes.
Oh wait, did I say he likes to do everything...there is one exception. He likes me to carry him. I'll ask, "Do you want to walk or do you want mommy to carry you?" He says, "Mommy carry you." about 9 times out of 10. Sometimes when I put him down to walk he will put up his arms up and say, "Mommy carry you." It's kind of cute, but it's going to break my back one of these days.

Maybe it's because he is 2 years-2 months-2 days old today.

Well I had to get in on the Halloween fun too. Here are some pictures from yesterday. We had a great time at Trunk or Treat.
I kind of ruined this picture by looking funny, but it's the only picture of Sweet Pea's costume:-) It was dark, what can I say?
A pumpkin, a Pooh pumpkin and a Scooby Doo

Zach

Pooh (Ryan)

Incredible Weekend

We saw the Incredibles: Disney on Ice show this weekend. It was great. I thought it would be more a Zach thing and Ryan would just be along for the ride. I was wrong. Ryan LOVED it! He was interested the whole time. He even used his bracelet to help save Mickey and Minnie. The show was much better than I expected it to be. I thought the show would be a sort of recap of the movie, but it had it's own plot and it was entertaining. The acting- not so good, but the show over all was really fun. Basically the Parrs(aka- the Incredibles) take a vacation to Disney World and try to blend in, but it doesn't work out quite that way. They were able to incorporate some of the Disney attractions including the parade(that was my favorite part). It was a good time for all. Jay thought it was a good plug for Disney World-maybe I'll be able to get him to go sooner now;-)
The show was great fun, but the best part of the day for me was getting the memory box for Sweet Pea. I went to the Discovery Store where Jay got Ryan's box for me. I looked everywhere and couldn't find another one. I was so disappointed. I asked a guy that worked there if he knew anything about them. He said they had been marked down. He pointed to a sign that said 50% off. He told me he would look around and see what he could find. He started looking around the store. This did not make me hopeful. Then he went to the back and come out with a box! The last one in the whole store. It was the new design. Apparently the Discovery Store(which is awesome, by the way) bought the company that makes the boxes, so the ones with the old packaging were being discounted to get rid of them. I was just happy to have the box, I didn't care if it wasn't the discounted old model. When he rang it up it did come up on sale though. I got it for $15!!! Have you ever felt like God lined everything up for you? The last box, being in the back where it would be bought until I asked about it because I wanted one so much and to top it all off on sale 50% off! I can't find a link for the box, but it's similar to this frame if you imagine no hinge and a box part behind it. It is by far my favorite keepsake keeper. I've never seen one anywhere else.
Yesterday was nice. We had a good sermon at church and got to talk to some friends while we were there. The rest of the day was just pretty relaxed. That was nice having come off a busy week. My uncle Tommy came by to bring a boat he made over and he set it up for the kids to play on. He also brought his girlfriend, Alice. This was the first time I met her. She seems nice. They are pretty cute together. All lovey dovey :-) They remind me of Jay and me(except without the fighting ;-) ).
The SS Minnow 

Uncle Yoyo/ Tommy

What's Up

- OB appointment yesterday- Everything looks fine. I still get excited to hear her little heartbeat even though there is no doubt she is in there practicing her soccer moves and doing her best impression of a ball. [On a side note- I couldn't believe how much I weighed. I was really worried until I read my pregnancy calendar today and it said I should have gained at least 15 pounds by now. That seems like a lot to me at this point, but I'm right on schedule.]

-Ryan's speech amazes me every day. He comes up with the funniest things. Jay and I were hugging one day and Ryan wanted in on the action. I picked him up and he pointed to Jay then me saying, " Daddy and mommy...are friends." This of course caused much laughter and now he does it all the time. Most times he will point to everyone in the room, "Mommy, daddy, Zachary and Ryan are friends."

-Ryan's gymnastics teacher asked me how old he was exactly. When I told her she told me how well he was doing and that he is really keeping up with the older kids. Apparently he is doing the same things that kids 6 months older than him are doing. It really feels good when other people realize what you've known all along- Your child is the greatest ;-) Don't tell me you people don't think that about your own kid(s).

-Zach had a field trip this week on a boat. He got to do one of his favorite things- read maps.

-Zach is doing really well in school. We will get to know how well next week after his parent teacher conference.

-Jay is busier than ever with work, leading a middle school small group, his other small group and buying/selling computers.

-I am trying to keep my head above water. I'm finally going to have a chance to get to the grocery store today(we have not had milk or bread for 2 days!). I even get to go alone! Jay's mom is coming to watch Ryan and Zach this afternoon.

So, everyone is growing up and/or out. And I am just trying to take it one day at a time.

hm

Will I ever get to do all the things on my to do list? Why is everything about being a mother and cleaning a house something that you'll just have to do again the next week, the next day or the next hour? I feel like I'm walking on a treadmill...I'm moving, but not going anywhere.

Quote

Ryan quote of the day:

"SWEET! It's a truck."

That's daddy's boy.

Blogworthy

Ryan, Jay and I were riding in the car yesterday. Jay and I were having a conversation about something that happened at his job. From the back seat we hear, "What are you talkin' about?" So I explained to Ryan that we were talking about a lady where daddy works. Jay and I go back to talking and we hear again, "What are you talkin' about?" I explain again that we are talking about someone daddy sees at work. The question comes again, I answer. Then it comes again and again in rapid succession. I turn around to see a huge grin on the face of my son who has his fingers in his ears. When I turned to see him he burst into giggles. I have to say that I'm quite impressed with his toddler humor. Laughing myself, I told Jay what he was doing. Jay laughed and said, "Now that's blogworthy."
I don't know what's funnier, Ryan's clowning or Jay immediately thinking of my blog :-)

Just for Kicks

Daddy finally felt the Sweet Pea kick last night. Usually she stops when he puts his hand on my tummy to feel. Not this time! There were a couple small kicks and one couldn't-miss-it kick.

I should be ashamed of myself

But I'm actually kind of proud. We went to the mall today to pick up the pictures from Thursday. I wanted to get a little, dare I say it, Christmas shopping(okay I admit I have fallen victim to the Christmas machine) done while we were there. I know it's not even Halloween, but I figure I should get an early start. Especially this year with the baby due in February. Who knows how much I will want to go shopping with people bumping into my wide load and my back hurting from all the weight of the bags, the boy, the winter coats and the belly. The more I write about it the more I just want to order everything from the internet and have it come to me! We did pretty well. We got a huge bag full of toys for the boys and only spent about $75. That's decent in my book. I thought sure it would be over $100. I was dreading the total. That's a decent start to the holiday shopping season. The boys are easy though. Now I have to really start looking for extended family. Then there are Kris Kringles for the extended-extended families, but we don't even know those yet, so I can't start thinking about those. I also have to update our wish lists and add one for Sweet Pea. There is this really sweet bear snuggly outfit that mommy saw at Old Navy that Sweet Pea(read-mommy) really wants. It's so cute!

First Pictures...well sort of

Did I ever post pictures of our ultrasound? Well, here are some profile shots.
baby girl

A Good Idea After All

I wasn't sure how I felt about that Laps for Learning thing. Now I think that it is definitely a good idea for the school. It was hard for us to ask people to support Zach's run/walk, but people were very receptive. Given that Jay and I were both hesitant to put people on the spot we only asked Zach's family. People were so generous and didn't seem to think it was imposing. The total pledged for Zach's walk was $200! We have never sold that much worth of stuff when the school does those fundraisers. The best part is that this way 100% of the money goes directly to the school. A little bit goes toward prizes for the kids who participated, but there were also some great donations for prizes. I think the prizes motivate the kids(or parents) to raise money too. The people coordinating it are all volunteers and they are using the school track, so they don't need to rent a space. I don't know how other kids did with their fundraising, but from our standpoint this fundraiser was a huge success.
Thanks mom, dad, Mr. and Mrs. Dunning, TJ, Elizabee, John and Ben for supporting Zach and his school! You guys ROCK!

It's a Jammie Day

It's raining and cold...blah. I plan on making the best of things by spending the day in my warm jammies. We were going to play with Erin and Ben today, but Erin is spending the day in her jammies too.
I'm a little disappointed that we don't get to play, but it's almost a relief after the day I had yesterday. We were home in the morning long enough to get dressed. Then we went to gymnastics and the store afterwards. Came home for lunch and Ryan napped. I spent nap time cleaning up so Jay could have his meeting in the evening- I didn't finish. Woke Ryan up early from his nap to get his new clothes on and ran out the door with both boys(Zach had a half day). We zipped through the mall to Picture People so I could get my last free sheet out of them before my membership expires. We were a little late, but it didn't seem to matter. It went fairly well. No fussing, but no huge smiles from Ryan either. I have not seen the pictures yet, Jay and I are going to look at them together this weekend. After that we decided to get dinner out because it just seemed easier. I let Zach choose-we went to Pizza Hut. We got there just before 5 and didn't get out until 6 and there was only one other family when we got there. [Note to self- No Pizza hut when time is short.] We rushed home to change for the bonfire pack meeting. I finished cleaning up as best I could before Jay's group showed up. Then we were off to the bon fire. Lots of fun for the boy scouts, not so much fun for me and Ryan. Ryan was saying "All done" after about 15 minutes. He did manage to entertain himself for the rest of the time with a little help from mommy, but he was not very quiet. We left before it was over(8:30) because Ryan was getting tired and so was mommy. Zach didn't like that, but he had fun while he was there. So the result of yesterday is one tired mommy with a sore back and legs(mostly from carrying Ryan so much) and two happy kids. Not too bad...I'll recover.

My [Current] Favorite Ryan Things

Ryan will say something and just crack up laughing, so much that everyone in the room starts laughing too. He must think he is a great comedian.

"Daddy's home!" said when he hears the door open around dinner time or when he sees daddy
"Mommy's home!" followed by a big hug, said randomly throughout the day or when I come home.

Giving hugs while saying "awwww" or "I'n glad a see you" [I'm glad to see you]

"I wub you"

"Wuhoo!"

"I got it" followed by him getting or doing something he wants(getting a stool and turning on the light for example)

full body hugs

asking for hugs/kisses

saying letters that appear on an object followed by "spells [insert object here]"

jumping up and down and/or clapping while giggling when he gets excited

"A clue, a clue on the [object]" whenever he sees a pawprint- the pet aisle at Target is fun:-)

"inNASTICS"- forward rolls, hanging on the bar and laughing himself silly because he's so proud of himself for staying up

"Was that fun?" and/or "That was fun" after we do something special

"Aaaaaahhhhh, pkkkkk" as he crashes two cars(or other vehicles) together

This list is abridged- I didn't realize it would get so long so fast!

We are so Blessed

There has been a lot of stuff going on around Jay and around me lately. Sometimes hearing what other people go through makes me feel so blessed. It's easy to get caught up in our lives and our problems, but it's good to really look outside yourself and realize that there are lots of people who have much worse problems than yours. God has blessed this family.

Laps for Learning

Zach's school has an interesting new fund raising idea. It's along the lines of the MS Walk. Zach gets pledges to jog/walk around the track at his school as many times as he can in 45 minutes. Other parents seem to be excited about the idea because they don't have to sell anything. The school is excited because the get 100% of the profits. I'm not sure what I think. I've never been very good at asking people for money, especially when they don't get anything for the money. I walked the MS Walk in high school and I put up the entry fee myself. I didn't ask a soul to sponsor me. Lame, I know. I did want to contribute, but I just didn't know how to ask people for money. I guess I am a horrible fund raiser. It's funny because I was in charge of fundraising at my old job. I was good at finding things for other people to sell/do to raise money. It's just the selling I have a problem with I guess.
So what do you think? Good or bad idea for a fund raiser?

Family is Nice

My parents came to visit this weekend. They came up for my dad's high school reunion. My 10 year is this November. I can't decide if I want to go or not. I'm leaning toward not. It's so complicated to do things out of town when kids are not invited. But, I digress. I was speaking of my parents' visit. It was nice to have them. The kids love it when they stay(and not just because they bring really cool toys;-) ) Even the dog loves it when they stay with us! Everyone gets lots of extra attention. I'm hoping my mom will want to come stay and spoil the boys when their little sister comes...hint, hint;-) It would be cool if dad could come too, but I know how hard it is for him to get away from work.
We had lots of fun spending time with them. We all went to the YMCA's family fun day. I love these little free events! I was planning on paying for stuff, but it was cool to find out it was all free when we got there(except food, of course). We stuffed a scarecrow and played some games. Jay chased the kids around this cute little hay maze that they had set up. Jay and my dad climbed this awesome tower thing. I was quite impressed with how well they did. It's one thing to climb a stationary object, but to climb up something that is swinging from two ropes above...whew. They both made it to the top and neither one of them took the easy way that everyone else was taking. It was a fun day.
I have pictures, but I'll have to post them later when I get downstairs to use the desktop. You can find them in the October Album if you want to go look.

Pumpkin Pictures

Here are the pictures of Ryan's latest adventure with friend Ben.

little pumpkins


Ryan insisted on pulling the wagon. It was a bit frustrating, but very cute:-)
pulling the wagon


This is what he did with his pumpkins when he got home.
Pumpkin Express

Picture Catch Up

It occurs to me that I have not posted pictures in a while. I've been using the laptop in the living room mostly and it's hard to get downstairs to use the desktop(where I have all the pictures) for any length of time. So I sat here picking some favorite moments out of the things we've done recently to share with you. Of course I had a toddler climbing all over me most of the time, but that's how it goes. I was determined to get these pictures up! Enjoy:-)
For more pictures you can check out the albums to the side. I'm going to upload the pictures now.
Open House at the Fire Department
Fire Truck

on the fire truck with daddy


Open House at the Police Department
first time on a horse

Ryan just loved the big trucks

driving the "big truck"


Corn Maize
corn maze


Zoo
The goat was nuzzling Ryan right before this picture.
the goat likes Ryan

At the zoo