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.