Going Gray

This child of mine(Ryan) is going to make me gray before my time! He has taken to carrying large and/or heavy items up and down the stairs. If I try to help him by completing the move he throws a fit and immediately takes the item the opposite way on the steps. Jay says he is proving his masculinity and it's an accomplishment for him to do these [crazy] things. Man, I didn't think macho guy stuff kicked in until puberty! Boy are we in for trouble!

Thunder

Who do I write to to get these crazy-loud thunderstorms scheduled for a time other than bedtime?!

I love old movies!

They made such heartwarming movies back in the 50s. Pure and simple, no graphic love scenes, but the simplest kiss gives me goosebumps. A whole movie could lead up to one simple kiss and that kiss is more magical than all the graphic love scenes you could watch in more recent movies.

"Tammy, Tammy, Tammy's in love..."

Monday Already?!

The weekend flew by! My mom and I went to a baby shower for my cousin, Lynn, who has wanted a baby for a very long time. She and her husband are very excited about their pending arrival. The baby is due in early August.
My mom left yesterday. She and my dad should be closing on their house this week. I think they will like living in their own place again. They won't get to spend too much time in their new place before they are headed back up here for vacation:-) I like this whole parents-living-in-the-USA thing. It will be even better when they live in the same state!
Ryan just told me he needs a diaper change, so I'm off.

Pictures

Okay, better late than never. I added pictures to the zoo post.

Gosh, Crazy

This morning Ryan was trying to get some train tracks out of the closet and some fishing poles came out with the tracks. The line was caught on the tracks(don't worry no hooks). Ryan wanted to put the tracks together with some others and he was having a hard time with the whole mess. I went over to help him and he looked me in the eyes and said, "Gosh, cwazy." I'm not sure, but I think I saw a hint of an eye roll and a head shake.

Who-who, Moo, Tweet-tweet, Hee-haw, Rar

We went to the zoo today. They renamed it and they are revamping it. I like what they are doing with the animals now. It's always made me sad to see animals living in little cages that were not stimulating them. I know the zoo has tried hard updating and adding to what they had- giving the animals toys, etc. I'm glad that they have really vamped up their efforts lately. They are really doing a lot to help the animals feel more at home. They are making whole new areas that have more room and give the animals more to do. The new polar bear exhibit is a little puzzling to me. It's mostly brown dirt. I know they can't have real snow here year round, but it just doesn't seem right. The polar bears are always rolling in the dirt and they look brown. Oh well, I don't want them walking around on concrete all the time, so I guess dirt is what's best for them.
They closed the front part of the zoo for renovation. I don't know what they are doing with those animals, but if I were in charge I would have other habitats ready for them on the other side of the zoo before I closed off their section. We didn't get to see some of my favorites- tigers, gibbons(aka those really cool small monkeys), flamingos, peacocks. I had been promising Ryan tigers since we started getting ready in the morning. I'm not sure he noticed that we didn't see them.
Ryan had a lot of fun(when he wasn't sleeping). The cow in the petting zoo was right next to the fence, so we went up to it. The cow put it's nose right on the fence at Ryan's level. Ryan would giggle at the cow and come up while I was petting it, but he didn't pet it himself. He was being really cute smiling and pointing at it, so I backed up to take a picture. He ran backwards giggling all the way. I tried coaxing him up to pet it. He would take a few slow steps forward and then run backwards again. I decided to move on without my picture of the adorable interaction of cow and boy. We moved on and looked at some more of the petting zoo animals. I noticed the donkey was close to the fence. We went over and Ryan hee-hawed at the donkey. I held him up to the fence and he touched the donkey on the nose. He laughed and laughed then he did this scrunched-up-nose-exaggerated-breath thing he does when he wants to smell something...I'm not sure what that was about-draw your own conclusions. Then we went in the goat area and boy did he have fun in there! He counted goats, he petted goats, he climbed up logs to get to goats and he did a lot of pointing and laughing with glee. He really liked the tails. He thought it was funny when they wagged back and forth. He eventually did pet the cow- he almost went through the fence to pet the cow! He took a long nap, but I woke him up to see the giraffes. Then we went back through the chimpanzee house and saw the monkeys with long white tails, the lemurs and the chimps. Ryan loved the monkeys! During the whole trip Ryan was making animals sounds at the appropriate animals(hence the title). I think he especially liked the owls. He who-whoed at them a lot. He even remembered where they were when we came up another way-he pointed and who-whoed in the direction they were even though we couldn't see them from where we were.
The zoo has this new exhibit where you can go in a bird area with parakeets, cockatiels and some sort of parrot(I think). Zach got to feed the birds. He had some land on him. I think he liked it even if he looked really nervous. One parakeet tried to make its escape in my mom's purse. Zach also got to go to an animal show and at the end he got to pet a penguin. Zach of course has been to the zoo tons of times, so it wasn't as amazing to him as it was to Ryan who hasn't been since he was too young to really remember.
Pictures tomorrow.
zoo

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my favorite dads. My own dad, who I've known since I was born or maybe sooner if he talked to me in-utero(I don't remember, hee). My husband, Jay, who is also a wonderful father. Our two boys(and any future children) are so lucky to have a father like him. Yay for loving, thoughtful, fun dads!

Happy Anniversary!

Three years today! Hooray for us:-) I am so happy to be married to such a wonderful man. What more could I ask for than a handsome, loving, fun, sweet, caring, honest, Christian man?! Well, I could think of a few things, but the trade off wouldn't be worth it ;-) I love my Jay and I am so happy to be married to him.
On our wedding day I couldn't have imagined loving him more than I did in those moments, but I do. It just keeps getting better and better...WE just keep getting better and better.

I love you honey!

Are you okay?

Ryan has been putting words together lately. He repeats some things we say like when he falls down he says "Are you okay?" He even puts together his own sentences now. Not grammatically correct of course, but we'll work on that. The other day when Jay was tickling him he said, " Daddy tickle! hehehe" He is even starting to get the meaning of things outside of himself. When someone else falls he says, "Are you okay?" This morning while watching Sesame Street he has been very concerned. Super Grover crashed into the lightpost and Ryan said, "You okay, Grover?" Later in the show Elmo opened his closet and a bunch of bananas fell out. Ryan said, "Are you okay, bananas?" ::giggle:: How cute is that. He was worried about the bananas.
He has been enthralled with this episode more than any other I've ever seen. It's all about bananas, I guess he likes bananas even more than I thought! Every time a new banana comes on the screen he says "manana" over and over until I acknowledge that there is indeed a banana.

Thank God for Big Strong Men!

I just spent the past two hours cutting our very over grown lawn. That's hard work! It doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but it was. I'm so glad Jay(my very own big strong man) normally does it. Now before you feminists start going buck on me you should know that part of me is all, "Mommy Power!!!", but the other part of me is definitely super glad to have a husband that does these things for me. My mommy power side is very proud of me for cutting all that grass(front and back), cleaning off the blades when the mower stalled(I told you it was overgrown!), doing it all during nap time and all by myself! The rest of me is just tired and glad I don't have to do this every week. Almost all of me is screaming for a cool shower...the last little bit of me wants a bath so I can sit down.
If there is still a feminist out there thinking I am taking a giant step backward for being glad men are made the way they are... Well, you can come cut my grass for me next time!

Weddings are nice **edited**

Janet, one of my best friends from high school, got married this weekend. It was a lovely ceremony. She looked so happy:-) I'm going to write more later, but Jay just came home and I think I'll go spend some time with him for now.

Me, Janet and Christina

Me with two of my best friends from high school. I miss them:-(

**Janet married her high school sweetheart...yes that means they have been dating for 10 years! Wow. Beautiful girl, beautiful dress, beautiful wedding.
I really need to keep in better touch with these girls! Every time I see them I realize how much I love them and how little we actually talk to each other. We made a pact at the wedding to at least call each other once a month. I really hope we can all stick to it.**

Almost 3 Years!

It's less than a week until our 3 year anniversary! We are closer now than we have ever been. I guess that's how it should work, but it's still cool. I don't really have much to say, but that has been on my mind lately. I wanted to have it here to remember how good it feels to be married to a man that I can't wait to see every day when he comes home.

Memories

I'm carrying on Erin's meme about favorite things:
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Wondering About...FAVORITE THINGS What are the things that you consider special? A teddy bear that you've had since you were three years old? A pair of shoes that make you look fabulous? A ring that a lover gave you? Whatever it is that you hold dear...
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So here are some of the things that mean a lot to me. I, like Erin, assign sentimental value to things very easily. I have old ticket stubs from ball games, concerts and movies. I have my parking pass from high school and college, every card anyone has ever given me, notes, park maps, wedding programs, play bills, childhood toys and stuffed animals...I could go on and on and on. I like to save things so I can remember moments or because I feel bad about throwing it out because I feel like it means something. I have quite a collection of stuff- most of it is packed in boxes that will probably never be gone through again. [Be QUIET, Jay!] I will share some of the things that are really easy to get to.

Two of my favorite things

I guess this one is a given- it's a picture of Jay reading to Ryan last night.

Jay teaching the boys the finer points of football during a play-off game.

Here is one will all my boys.

shelf

These things are actually out on my shelf. From Left to right- a pottery piece I did in high school, it's a self portrait of sorts; a mug with Gene Kelly and some other things from the 50's, this is because Gene Kelly is one of my favorite actors; a 25th anniversary bell from Disney World, from one of the trips I took to one of my favorite places; another piece I made in high school pottery, it's a bell- a dog going down a hill after his bone with a trellis over top for the handle; and a Singin' in the Rain plate my parents gave me because they know it's one of my favorite movies.

flowers

These are all dried flowers I've kept from special events- The bouquet on the left is from Erin's wedding actually. The single rose is from Jay, one day when we were dating and we wouldn't be able to see each other because I had a dinner or something Jay came by my house and left it on my pillow with a nice note:-) The red roses are the ones Jay gave me on our first fancy date. The white roses were the last clue in the scavenger hunt he set up on Christmas Eve that lead to my engagement ring:-) I have my wedding flowers too, but white sweet peas don't look very pretty dried. The basket is the one Erin used for the wedding shower favors she made for us. I still have some of those too.

old and new

Another shelf in my room. Has a wedding cake topper, an embroidered cloth that I think was my mom's, a little figurine my mom-mom gave me and a picture my Aunt Renee gave me from our wedding.

wedding dress

My wedding gown. 3 years and it still isn't preserved. I think this is actually the first time I've had it out of the bag since my wedding! It's been hanging in my closet ever since. I really do need to have it cleaned- we had an outdoor wedding.

graduation gowns

Both high school and college graduation gowns, again in the closet.

prom dress

Prom dress also still hangs in my closet.

special dolls

My 'My Child' doll, who is coincidentally names Carolyn Jennifer and was born on April 18th. I still have her baby book to prove it. These are the dolls you can order to look like you with specialized eye color, skin color, hair color etc. I loved this doll when I was a kid. There is an afghan my mom-mom crocheted for me when I was a baby that I then used for my dolls. On the right is a doll dressed in a Christening gown with a white blanket all made by my mom-mom. I still have an afghan my grandma quilted for me when I was a baby too. It is in a box right now, but I love it too. Ryan has a few afghans crocheted by my mom-mom and some blankets quilted by my grandma too, but this post would get REALLY long if I included the special things I am saving for Ryan.

'my friend' dolls

'My Friend Jenny' and 'My Friend Becky' no one else seems to remember these dolls, but they were two of my favorites.

dog tag

This is Marbles's dog tag. She is the dog I had from the time I was a kid until after I graduated college. She was a great dog. I keep her tag on my key chain.

Joshua

This is not mine at all, but I'm putting it here so Jay won't give me such a hard time about all the stuff I keep. It's his bear from when his sister was born.

Carry it on with pictures of your own and don't forget to leave a comment to tell me you did:-)

Army Baby Gear

If I ever know someone in the army having a baby they will get this!

Camping

We went camping this weekend for Jay's birthday. I think he really liked getting out in the woods and sleeping again. Jay's brother, Ben, camped with us which was nice because we barely get to see him. Saturday Jay's sister and BIL, Elizabee and John, came out and we all took a hike through some really beautiful areas. On the hike we went through woods and meadows then ended up at a river. We had a campfire that night...hooray for camp fires:-) I did forget to bring the marshmallows and graham crackers, but I don't think anyone noticed.
The poor people in the campground got to find out what it's like to have a baby who doesn't sleep through the night...well sort of- they didn't have to get up and get him, then have him crawl all over them in their sleeping bags. I really hope our next one is a sleeper! If it's not I may not survive the toddler years.

Siblings

Why must they tease?!

Nothin' much

I don't really have anything to post about, but I didn't want the posting Nazis coming after me telling me to update ;-)

So I'll ask a question...What are you doing for Father's day?

Okay I have more questions...
Does anyone else think that Father's Day doesn't seem to get the same attention Mother's Day gets? If so- why do you think that is? I have a couple theories of my own, but I want to hear other people's thoughts.

When will I learn...

that my little Ryan is *not* a spectator? He wants to be in on the action. He can't just stand by and watch while something happens in front of him. He needs to get right in there, no matter what it is. I re-learned this lesson this evening when I tried to water the flowers in the front garden. They were in desperate need of water. I asked Zach if he wanted to help me. So the three of us went out front and I started watering. Ryan was holding on to the hose right near me "helping". I guess he decided that helping was not enough action, so he started trying to touch the water. I managed to keep the stream away from him for a while. I even told Zach that I would have to do the watering until Ryan stopped trying to get in the water because I was afraid he would accidentally get wet. I didn't think it would be that hard to keep a child from getting wet with a hose. He managed to get the back of his head right in the water as I tried to dodge him. I thought "He sure got a shock, that water is cold. He won't try that again." I was wrong. He did it again, and again, and again! I gave up trying to keep him out after the second time he got his head soaked. He didn't seem to mind that the water was freezing, the air was cool and the sun was behind the clouds. I told Zach he could get wet if he wanted to. He went through the stream a couple times. He seemed to think it was fun too. I guess sometimes I'm going to have to let loose a little bit and just have some fun with my kids that doesn't make sense to me. They sure were having a good time and no real harm came from it. They weren't wet for long...as soon as we were done I took off Ryan's wet clothes, got him inside and wrapped him in a towel. He is now in warm jammies and doesn't seem any worse for his cool shower. Zach just changed into dry clothes and went to play with the neighbors.
It's so hard to let them do things like that! I think I might be a little tightly wound!

Memorial Day in Washington DC

Our trip to DC was fun. It was a long day, but it was fun. We started with a walk through an art garden. I just don't get modern art. There were a few things that were cool. A sculpture with spinning cubes and a house that changes perspective although our resident artist, Benjamin, had to ruin it by pointing out that the window sills wouldn't be visible if it was coming toward us;-P It was still cool. The garden was beautiful and the fountain in the middle was pretty too. It had a duck ramp for the ducks to walk up over the wall. Last time I checked ducks could fly, so they really wouldn't have a problem getting over a 1 foot wall into a fountain if the really wanted to. I guess it's really for baby ducks, but it is funny. Then we headed over to the Mall. We went to the Air and Space Museum. Zach wants to explore the universe now. Ryan didn't like the space part as much as he liked pulling his stroller shade down and playing peek-a-boo with me and his Uncle Ben. But he really lit up when we went to the air plane side. "Plane, plane, plane" It was kind of like going down the road next to a forest and Ryan pointing out every tree. He actually seemed excited about each one. He liked reading the letters and numbers on the sides and wings of the planes. Jay got super excited about the air craft carrier model. Maybe one day someone we know who has access to such things could take him to a navy base so he can actually get on a carrier or at least see one up close. I'm really excited about the idea of taking Ryan to an air show now. He was so excited just looking at the planes. Maybe if we are ever in the area we could see a space shuttle launch or land for Zach...this I think is a little less likely, but we can always think about it. We wanted to go to the National Zoo, but it started raining, so we settled for stuffed animals at the Museum of Natural History. We saw the dinosaur wing and the mammal wing. Then we got hungry, so we went to the only other place I know to eat in the Mall...the cafeteria in the American History Museum. It had closed at 4. What's up with that?! So we had a snack to tide us over and then looked at the science area of the museum for Ben. I would have chosen the TV section, but we didn't have time. I also like to look at the old toys, but I end up feeling old because they have toys I played with when I was a kid in there. I'm guessing they now have toys I played with as a teen- Pogo ball, Skip Stick, etc. I wonder if they have Atari and Nintendo 64? I guess we'll have to plan another trip to see because the museums closed and we hit the Metro to go home. It doesn't really sound like a long day, does it? Hmmm...it seemed like it at the time!

Here are some pictures from our day in the capitol.
Washington DC trip