End of summer fun!

Hey Buddy! Well, we survived a 3-day weekend at the lake with all 4 couples AND kids! It was actually a lot of fun and not too stressful! Of course, things didn't go as planned. Uncle Jay got a stomach bug, so he and EP didn't come until Friday, but everyone else came on Thursday. We were supposed to leave a little after work, but by the time your Daddy got home from work and we got everything packed and ready to go, I think it was almost around 8:30 by the time we left!! So needless to say, you slept the whole way! Friday morning we got up and went to the lake! It was your first boat ride, and I think you really liked it! You got to ride in the boat, swim in the lake (you can thank me later for that one - the water was freezing!!!), and play on the shore with rocks (what fun!).
We tried to get you to take a nap on the boat but you and Abigail kept playing, so that just wasn't working. We took you home and you slept like a champ! Each night you all 3 took a bath together, so of course we had to get the blackmail shots!!


Then the next day we took a big group picture. This has been in the making for months! We girls chose your outfits, and Emme made every single on of them!! They turned out super cute! We couldn't have asked for anything better! We wrangled you all Saturday morning, and found the perfect spot. I must say it was quite a production to get this picture! Jason was manning the bubble gun to distract you all. The rest of the guys were in charge of moving the bench around to the perfect spot. All of the moms were trying to make sure that everyone sat still and poor Nicole was the one taking pictures! I think she did a fabulous job though, and she got some great pictures!!!


After that, we took you, Abigail and Ellie to the park so you guys could play out some of that energy!
I think it just got you more wired up though. I put you down and you weren't having it. The Arkansas game was on at the same time too, so your Daddy laid down with you for a while, but you just weren't going to sleep. So I finally loaded you in the car to drive you sleep (another one of my sneaky tricks) - that took about 2 minutes!! And boy did you need it. I think I finally had to wake you up at 4:30 to make sure you'd go back to sleep at night! All in all it was a great weekend!

Then this weekend you had another class at the zoo. Your Daddy had to work, so I took you by myself. And let me just say, you were NOT on your best behavior! You didn't want to sit in the circle; you wanted to run around (and out of) the room; and then when you saw the animal crackers, it was all over!! I was a nervous wreck trying to make you sit still. Wouldn't you know at this class, they'd have an animal that needed complete silence before they would bring it out! It was a baby lynx and I guess they didn't want any distractions, since it was probably unpredictable. You actually made it through though. I'm not sure how I kept you quiet and subdued for it, but you were! More of the terrible two's coming out, I guess!!!

You also got an early birthday present today! Mommy had bought you an art easel a few months ago, and your Daddy made it very clear this weekend that he was tired of having his clean closets filled up with toys that I was hiding from you. SOOO, since you have no idea when you're birthday is right now, I decided to go ahead and give you that present! You LOVE it!! I'm so glad!! We drew all kinds of pictures today and you kept going back from the chalkboard side to the crayon side and back again! Just wait until you see your other present! It's going to come early too (hint: it's much more enjoyable in warmer weather!).

Here are few more Ryanisms for you (these aren't really words, but more sayings!):
- As you can tell from the blogs, I call you Buddy a lot. Now that you're repeating EVERYTHING we say, you say Buddy as well. So before bathtime, we were getting out your squirt toys and you saw the frog and said "Hi Buddy" to it!! So stinkin' cute!
- This one is a definite sign that we go to Target WAY too much. I told you this week that we were going to the store, and you asked "red balls?" (Target has these big red balls in front of the store that I always point out to you.)
- You're starting to play with your toys and associating real life things with them (you're getting so big!!). So you were playing with your toy horse and he was laying on his back and you said "change diaper?" And when we were at the zoo, there was a meerkat on its back and you said the same thing!! I know it sounds silly, but it seems like such a milestone to me!

OK, this one was a long one! Hopefully you didn't give up halfway through it!! It's worth it!

Until next time, Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Zoo

Hey Buddy! This past week's adventures include lots of times with friends (yours and mine!). I had my annual girls trip to the lake with my bunko friends so Granddaddy and KK came up to help your Daddy with you. I had fun, and I know you did too!

We signed you up for a class at the zoo, so since I was out of town, you went with your Dad, Granddaddy and KK. From what I heard, you had a great time coloring and looking at animals (and hanging out with Abigail and Ellie who are taking the class too!).

We also went to the Carnton concert (the first one we've been to all summer, but the last one they have!). You had a blast dancing and eating, but your favorite thing was running around ALL over the field with me chasing you - fun! I think I'm glad we only made one of those this year!

To make sure I remember some of the cute things you say, I'm going to add some Ryanisms as they come up. Here are some recent ones:

Poot = Fruit (and boy do you like "poot!")

Coomie = Smoothie (I've been making you a blueberry spinach "coomie" and you love it! I'm so sneaky!!!)

That's it for now. I'll fill you in on our next adventure soon! Love you! Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Birthdays & Trains

Boy oh boy, have you been busy!! Last weekend you celebrated two birthdays - Abigail's and EP's! First we celebrated Abigail's 2nd birthday with an Elmo-themed birthday party!! She had a big blow up house for all the kids to play in too. You weren't too sure about it first, but once you saw how much fun the big kids were having, you got the hang of it and LOVED it! Elmo also made an appearance at the party. We weren't quite sure how you were going to react, but you handled it a little better than I would have thought. You were suprised to see him and somewhat excited, but you certainly didn't want to go anywhere near him!! It was such a fun party, and you had a FABULOUS time! (And you looked so cute in your birthday outfit that Emme made you!)

Then the next day we celebrated EP's birthday (we won't mention the number!) at Ellie's house. We were supposed to go to an outdoor concert that night, but it got rained out, so we ended up going to Ellie's house instead. You and the girls played and played (you even had a tea party with them). You guys were so cute pretending like you had gone to sleep! I believe this was right before an unfortunate incident involving Abigail's tailbone and the stairs (and possibly you!). The boy in you is coming out, and it's taking it's toll on these poor girls! I'm not sure how many more times I can say "Gentle, gentle!" But we'll keep saying it until you get the point!

Speaking of "the boy in you," I believe we've hit the terrible two's with a vengeance! Just in the past week or so, you've become very headstrong about doing everything yourself, from walking to putting the lid on the milk carton, to not getting in the carseat. Is this really supposed to last for a whole year!!? Can you cut Mommy some slack, and get this out of your system fast? I'd really appreciate it, k-thanks!

On to happier subjects, this morning we went to see Thomas the Train!!! He rolled into Nashville, so you, me and Daddy went to go for a ride on him! You had SO much fun. Before we went for a ride, we checked out the train set tent, and you had the best time!! We had to literally pull you out of there kicking and screaming when it was time to ride the train. I see a Christmas present in your future, and it's name is Thomas!
What a fun time we've had! And the weekend has just begun! I'll have lots more to tell you next time. 'Til then - Kiss Kiss from Mommy!