I like stickers

Ryan and I were doing stickers on a sticker page. I thought it would be cute to put one on his hand. I guess he really liked that idea. He took his shirt off and started decorating himself. This is the result. Cute with stickers, but let's hope he doesn't like tattoos!

sticker boy

Zoo Pals

We went to the zoo with Erin and Ben today. It was fun, but definitely tiring. Corralling two toddlers who wanted to be up and about and two strollers was an interesting endeavor. The boys loved running around some of the less crowded areas. They seemed to really enjoy each other. Ryan was very excited when I told him we were going to pick up his friend Ben. He seemed to really want to be near him and keep track of him at the zoo too. For the most part before it seemed like Ben was just there. I think the play dates were more for the mommies at the beginning:-) I think Ryan is fond of Ben now and he looks forward to play dates.

constant motion

I guess I should have had my camera on the motion setting!

What type of Blogger am I?

Your Blogging Type Is the Private Performer

Your blog is your stage - with your visitors your adoring fans. At least, that's how you write with your witty one liners. And while you like attention, you value your privacy. You're likely to have an anonymous blog - or turn off comments.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

I don't know about the witty one liners or the stage part, but the rest seems pretty true. Food for thought anyway.

Another Post?!

I know, crazy huh?

Well, I just had to write about this...
Ryan found the bubble stash and really wanted to blow bubbles. Not wanting to disappoint my little monkey, yet wanting to keep him(and me) out of the hundred plus degree heat I did what I had to do. I filled up the bathtub and we blew bubbles. A bubble bath of a different kind you might say. It was great fun. A bonus with the bath is when the baby is wet the bubbles don't pop when they touch his skin. They also spread out on the surface of the water for a while, but they are still popable if you try hard enough. Bubbles that pop are key to toddler fun with bubbles. I'm definitely adding this to my how to stay cool on a hot day file with a note about doing it in the pool if it's not this stinkin' hot.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Colin Phillip and congratulations to the proud new parents, Lynn and Dan! My cousin, Lynn, had her baby this afternoon(?) I have not seen my newest little cousin yet, but I'll be sure to post a picture of him when I do! "Little" Colin weighs in at 10 lbs 11 oz! Phew, I thought 8 lbs 2 oz was big for a first baby...you go girl!!! Congrats again, I can't wait to see you all:-)

Vacation Pictures

We started our little journey with a trip to Chic-fil-a. As luck would have it it was cow appreciation day. Ryan got to go in his first moon bounce and pet his first cow. He thought both were great. He giggled when he touched the cow for the first time. Zach got to play games, moon bounce and win prizes.
1st moon bounce

Then it was off to Pennsylvania and Dutch Wonderland the next day. We sure discovered a jewel in PA that is only an hour away! we will definitely be going back.

Little Driver

train

That night we left for Connecticut. The next day we went to the aquarium there. It was fun, but our's is way better. I did like the Beluga whales:-) They also had some "interactive" picture ops that ours doesn't have. Zach got to hold birds and an alligator.
birds of a feather

Monday was the Children's Museum in Boston(sorry Christina, we had no time to visit:-( ) There were just too many good pictures from there to choose only a couple, so I am making a collage.

After that we were off to Vermont to join Jay's parents at the Trapp Family Lodge. We hiked Mt Mansfield, toured Ben and Jerry's and went swimming. The rest of the family went bike riding on a trail that I've heard is incredible, but I needed a break. Zach went frog catching and heard a children's concert.
Hiking in Vermont

Apprentice Climber

Highest point in VT

Bubbles with Daddy


After that we went to visit Jay's brother and sister at the camp where they are working this summer in New Hampshire. I didn't get out the camera because it was more about visiting than pictures, but I regret it now. The camp is really great. The views are fantastic. We did have a good visit. The boys all went sailing on one of the camp's boats. We played on the beach and had a few meals together.
I'm glad we had a chance to do all those fun things, but I'm really glad to be home and getting back to a normal schedule. You can check out the rest of our vacation pictures in my July album located in the side bar.

Articulate

Last night Jay mentioned how articulate Ryan is getting. It made me think about how well he is communicating now. He is growing up so fast. It seems to pass me by sometimes. I guess since I am around him so much of the time while he gradually gains skills that I just don't notice how amazing he is sometimes. He is communicating whole thoughts now. Full sentences. It really is amazing in less than two years he has gone from not being able to do anything but cry to speaking full sentences. Wow!
I think he has even decided his favorite color. I've noticed that he likes things that are yellow and orange. I kind of figured he was partial to those colors, but I was careful not to indicate my opinion to him. Today we were watching Blue's clues and Blue shared her favorite color, blue of course, and then asked about the viewer's favorite color. I looked at Ryan and said, "What's your favorite color?" Without hesitation he said, "Yellow." There was nothing yellow around to make him think of that color last or anything, so I think he really means it. Interesting. I totally didn't expect an answer. If I got one I expected him to repeat Blue or something. He understands so much!

There's No Place Like Home

We're back and all is slowly getting back to normal. I'll write of our adventures later. Right now Ryan wants to play Thomas and there really is no peace at my computer when Ryan wants to play Thomas.

Stowe-Re-Me

I'm sitting here in beautiful Stowe, Vermont at the Trapp Family Lodge. You may have heard of the Von Trapps. The did a little singing and escaping from Nazis in their day. Sitting in an arm chair looking out the window at a beautiful mountain morning is so peaceful. The birds are singing and all is pretty quiet- Ryan and I are the only ones up.

[side note-Ryan just came over and asked for a kiss and hug- what a sweet morning.]

Yesterday we went through the lodge and looked at some real family photos of the Von Trapps. It's funny, I guess I have a picture in my head of Maria looking like Julie Andrews. She doesn't! She is a much harder, tougher looking lady. It was almost surprising with every new picture. I kept looking for a resemblance to the petite, beautiful Julie Andrews- it wasn't there. If someone made a movie about me I wonder if I would want someone who looks similar to me to play the part or if I would want someone who is very beautiful and risk people being disappointed when they saw a picture of the real me. Then I got to thinking for Maria the voice was really the most important part. That is definitely not the case for me! I guess for a movie it doesn't really matter what the real people look like as long as you capture their essence.

Ryan would like to read a story now and I would REALLY like to change his diaper now, so I will have to stop thinking of my life as a movie- hehe- and get back to reality.

Finger Painting and Other Creative Things with Paint

We got out the finger paints today. Ryan was very worried about keeping his ands clean at first, but he really got into the spirit later- painting his body as if he was a warrior or hunter preparing for battle/ the hunt. He had lots of fun stacking the pots, taking the lids off and putting them back on and mixing the colors with his fork. Why did he have a fork? Well, he asked for one. He was rather persistent about it. I figured as long as he didn't eat the paint what harm could it do. Plus it's creative. I don't want to stiffle creativity :-) So he mixed paints and painted with a fork. Needless to say he went straight into the tub. Now he is clean and happily eating cookies for snack.
Painter

Alphabet Pal

Does anyone else have the Alphabet Pal from Leap Frog? We've had it for a long time and I've never been able to figure out what all the songs it plays are. I finally Googled 'Alphabet Pal Songs' and found a list. I always assumed that the name of the song went with the letter of the alphabet because all the ones I recognize did. I guess I was wrong! I did think it would be hard to come up with a song for Q, X and Z, but I wonder what made them choose those songs. So if it has bothered you as much as it has bothered me- here is the list of songs:

A -Are You Sleeping?
B - Billy Boy
C -Clementine
D - Did You Ever See Lassie?
E - East Side, West Side
F - The Farmer in the Dell
G -Greensleeves
H -Hey Diddle Diddle
I - I've Been Working on the Railroad
J - Jimmy Crack Corn
K - Camptown Races
L - London Bridge
M -Mary Had a Little Lamb
N -The Man on the Flying Trapeze
O -Old MacDonald Had a Farm
P - Pop! Goes the Weasel
Q -Chopsticks
R - Row, Row, Row Your Boat
S -She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain
T - This Old Man
U - Upside Down World
V - Froggie Went A-Courtin'
W -Wheels on the Bus
X - Yellow Rose of Texas
Y -Yankee Doodle
Z - Wait for the Wagon

Now I have to go Google all the songs I don't know!

I wanna be like him!

Ryan is "mowing the grass" just like his daddy:-) It's like his own quiet way of saying I really like that guy and I want to be just like him. It's so cute when they copy daddy.

Daddy's boy

Pop Up Comments

My comments are now going to be pop-ups, so if you have pop-ups blocked you may want to allow them for this site:-) I figured it's easier than going back to the home page after every time you check. If you hate it let me know- If you like it let me know too. I might change it back if the feedback is really negative.

Back Home

We're back from the beach. I'm so tired! What is it about vacation that makes you so tired? I didn't really feel tired all week, but we got home last night and today I've been exhausted. I even took a nap and I'm still tired. Now I get to run all the laundry and pack for next week's vacation?
Perhaps I will have the energy to write something interesting later.

At the Beach for the Fourth

I don't recommend it. It's crowded.
Ryan is sick, so I have not done much. He, Jay and I went to the beach this morning. Jay went to the beach with Zach today and they are at Funland tonight. I'm hoping to get Jay to watch both boys tomorrow so I can go to the outlets. Any bets on if I get out alone and how long it lasts if I do? Ah, the joys of being a mommy.

Sweet Songs

I love to listen to Ryan sing. It's so sweet and wonderful. Sometimes I'll hear him after I leave his room at night singing "Jesus Loves Me" or "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" in his own little cute way where he skips words and really accents the ones he knows well. It's adorable.
Sometimes he picks one line and repeats that for as many lines as there are. For instance for grace at dinner he says, "God is great, God is great, God is great, God is great. Aaaaamen." It makes me smile every time.
Right now he is walking around singing his ABCs. "Now ah know muh ABC, neck ah oh oo een i ME." Adorable:-) He loves to sing and I love to listen to him singing, so I guess that's a good combination.

Packing

I remember a time when I could pack the night before or even the day of a trip and it was no big deal. Throw some clothes I like in a bag and head out. What happened to those days. Now I feel rushed if I have not started until 3 days before leaveing. I make lists and double check them. I pack and repack suitcases just to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. The lists are long too. We end up filling the entire back of the Explorer for every trip.

Ugh, my living room looks like a clothes bomb went off.