Summer 2011

Ok, Ok. I know it's been a long time. But I have a good excuse! You're a big brother!!! That's just one of the many things that have been going on since I last wrote you. So I'll start from where I last left off.

We made a couple of trips to Destin this summer! First we went with Emme and Papa for a week in April. We were there for Easter Sunday, so you got to do your Easter egg hunt in their condo. You had so much fun finding the eggs (and especially the candy inside!). The beach was not quite what we are usually used to. There was SO much algae and seaweed! You were more interested in the seaweed than the sand (Mommy didn't even think that maybe playing with the seaweed might not be a good idea because of bugs - but luckily we didn't see any!). You played on the beach, swam in the swimming pool, went to Seaside, went to the Gulfarium, had picnics on the beach and ate lots of seafood. It was a great week!!!

You also got a few new toys! One was a sandbox that Granddaddy and KK got you. Since you loved the sand so much at the beach, they decided you needed some sand at home!

Our second trip to Destin was with the gang in May. We stayed at the same house as last year with a pool. You kids were at such a fun age to enjoy the beach this year. You loved playing in the sand with Abigail and Ellie - and Baby Grant, even though you hijacked his toys! Abigail kept having a little wardrobe malfunction with her bathing suit, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit! And Mr. Jason let you bury him in the sand too - that was one of your favorite things! The mommies and daddies each had their own night out. On the mommies' night out, we went to dinner and a movie while the daddies took you guys out to eat. On the daddies night out, we took you guys out to eat to Pomano Joe's, and we sat right in front of the band. Abigail was dying for the band to play Justin Bieber's Baby Baby, but she kept whispering her request so he never heard it! (I'm sure he wouldn't have been able to play it anyway - I doubt that's a request he gets very often!!).

We tried desperately to get a group picture of all of the kids on the beach. But obviously toddler wrangling is not one of our strong suits! But at least we got you all in the same picture!! And you were just in no mood to take pictures, so we didn't get a decent one of the 3 of us! Maybe next year! But that's very doubtful since we're almost going to double the number of kids next year! Yep, Abigail AND Ellie are going to be big sisters!! Abigail's going to have a baby sister and Ellie's going to have a baby brother! Yeah!! Another boy to add to the mix! Next year's going to be madness!!!!

You saw your first movie in a movie theater this summer too!!! You went to see Rio with Mommy, Daddy, Emme and Papa. We were a little concerned about you sitting through the whole thing, but you did GREAT!! As long as we kept the popcorn coming, you were fine! No really, you were happy as could be! And we've gone to see more movies since then! I love that we get to experience new things with you. That's one of my favorite things in the world!!

Another new toy you've gotten recently is a new swingset!!! Our neighbors were moving and they asked if we wanted their swingset, so of course, we said yes!!! The daddies moved it over one afternoon and you've loved it ever since!

And now for the biggest news of all - you became a big brother!!!!! He decided to come 2 weeks early on June 24, so we were a little unprepared! Mommy started having contractions at 4:30 in the morning and he was born by 5:50 in an ambulance in front of our house!!! And you slept through the whole thing!!! I was so shocked that you did, because there was an ambulance and a fire truck at our house and a lot going on downstairs! But you did! Uncle Jay came over to take you to school that morning since Mommy and Daddy had gone to the hospital, and it didn't seem to phase you a bit. You're such a laid back kid - you just go with the flow!! Your daddy picked you up from daycare that afternoon and brought you to the hospital so you could meet your baby brother. You were SO sweet and put your Lightning McQueen car in his little bassinet! That may not seem like a big deal right now, but at the time, it was HUGE! And you've been like that ever since. You ADORE him! Any time he cries, you race over to give him his paci or TRY to pick him up. I have to come intervene or else you'd pick him up like a ragdoll! But it's all done with love, I know! And you love to give him kisses. Anytime you come around him, it's like he knows who you are because he just stares at you and stops whatever he's doing (which really isn't much right now). It just makes my heart so happy to see you two love each other so much!!

The day we brought your baby brother (now known as Jake!) home, we had a Big Brother Day party for you! Emme helped get together balloons and cupcakes (with sprinkles). And Jake bought you some Cars cars! You LOVE them!

The next weekend was 4th of July, so we had the gang over to celebrate (since Mommy wasn't brave enough to get out with 2 kids yet!). The daddies bought some sparklers and little fireworks for you. Your favorite were the Pop Pops (I'm not sure what they're really called, but you throw them on the ground and they pop). You're still playing with them to this day, and it's August!

Then in the middle of July all 4 of us went to Pickwick for the Morris Family Reunion! You had fun playing in the pool with Granddaddy and playing with your cousins. You especially loved Evy! You still talk about her and the bow in her hair!

As far as Ryanisms, you're conversing more now, so it's not so much how you're saying things but what you're saying and thinking now! One thing that comes to mind is elephants! You must have had a dream about an elephant being in the house because you always talk about the elephant downstairs and when we're downstairs you point to the hallway and talk about an elephant. A dream is the only thing I can think of that would make you think we have an elephant in the house!! I try to reassure you that elephants are only at the zoo, but dreams can seem pretty real, so I know that's got to be hard to figure out!!

Also we've had a lot of birthdays lately, so birthdays are on your mind. You'll put something on your head and say "I'm a birthday party" (meaning birthday hat!). It's so cute!

Also you love to wear your hooded towel around the house and say it's a cape! You say you're Super Y and you like to read! (Super Y is a cartoon character who does like to read.) And you like to tuck belts in the back of your pants and say you have a tail! So cute!

Ok, so I think we're finally caught up! I'm really going to try to not go so long between posts, but I think I had a pretty good excuse this time! There'll be lots more to talk about soon!! Summer's in full swing! I love you! Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Spring 2011

Hey Buddy, I know these posts are few and far between, but when I do get to them, there's lots to tell. So sit back and relax 'cause this one's going to be long!! We've had such a fun spring so far. We're getting lots of use out of our zoo membership! One day we went with Ellie and Baby Grant (and their parents, of course). You and Ellie were so cute in the garden together holding hands!

In April, we went to Little Rock to make one last trip before your baby brother comes along! We timed it perfectly because we got to celebrate TJ and Kevin's birthday with them too. You had so much fun playing out at the farm, looking at bugs and playing in the leaves. Mommy was EXTREMELY worried about snakes, but luckily there were no sightings!

We also went to see Grandpa and Meemo and Beepo. You love their dog Riley, but poor Riley, all he wanted to do was nap and you kept getting in his face and starting at him and trying to pet him. But he handled it very well, I must say!

While we were in Little Rock, we went to the zoo with Emme and Papa. (We love our zoo time, can you tell!?) You got to ride the carousel AND a train, and you saw lots of fun animals!

We've also had lots of picnics. We've had a picnic in our backyard with Ellie and Abigail, and we've had picnics at the park as well. There's one park in particular that has a sandbox with TONS of trucks which you love. We've been there a couple of times and you seem to really like it.

Next was Easter! You got a great Easter present from your Grandpa - Thomas trains! You were so excited to get them. It was such a nice surprise!

Then you had an Easter egg hunt at school. Your dad and I went to see it, but by the time we got there, you guys had already picked all the eggs off the playground! (I think it took a total of 2 minutes for them to be found!). But the teacher got you all together for a group pictures. You all were SO cute!!!!

Also for Easter you and I made birdsnests out of Peeps and pretzels! I wasn't sure how this was going to pan out, since the last time I tried to get you to help me make cookies, the only interest you showed at all was when it was time to pour the sprinkles on. Then you were quickly back to playing with trucks! But you were all for making these! You were such a good helper! And you loved eating them too!!

We're also hitting a big milestone this month. You've officially moved into your big boy bedroom! It's still a work in progress, but the beds are your dad and your Uncle Jay's old bunk beds from when they were little. Now Mommy was not about to let you have bunk beds at 2 years old (that's just a head injury or broken arm waiting to happen!), so you have 2 twin beds! I was a little worried how this was going to work, but you are doing SO well in it! You love to get under the covers, and we read books before bedtime. You also have to have your sock monkey and your dolphin stuffed animal with you and your 2 tag blankets! It's so cute - I didn't think you were ever going to get attached to a stuffed animal - it just hasn't interested you at all so far. But it looks like maybe that's changed (at least for the moment!).

It's been such a good spring, and there's so much more to come. Hopefully I won't go so long between posts next time! More to come... Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Ryanisms

Hey Buddy - I don't have much to tell in this blog, but I wanted to jot down some Ryanisms for you. It's been a cold and dreary past couple of weeks, so we haven't done too much, but that'll change soon. One thing I can share before we get to the Ryanisms is that you've started swim lessons! We're taking them at the Franklin Rec Center in their indoor pool. Last Saturday was our first one, and of course, the heater in the pool wasn't working properly. It actually wasn't freezing (at least for me), but you didn't seem to agree. That's not to say that you didn't love every minute of the swim lesson, which you did! But your poor body was shaking and your lips were turning blue by the end of it! But you kept saying "This is fun" through it all, so I figured you were OK for a little while!!

Now on to the Ryanisms:

• We were singing songs the other night and we started to sing Old MacDonald, but your version was much cuter - "Old Madonna"
• You're fascinated with magnets, but you call them "maggots"
• Instead of saying no to something, a lot of times you'll say "I don't think so." Example: Mommy: Ryan do you want to pick up toys? Ryan: I don't think so (and it's in a sing-songy voice which is even cuter!!)

That's all for now. I'll keep my ears out for more! Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

Christmas 2010

Well, it's February and I'm just now getting to write about Christmas. Mommy's a little tired these days, with my growing belly and all, so as soon as you go to bed, so do I! Which doesn't leave me much time to write in the blog. Hence the lateness!

So I think we last left off at Christmas! We did our typical Ripley to Little Rock trip this year. We went to Ripley for the Fullen's Christmas party on the 23rd. You had such a blast playing with your cousins. You especially loved Evy (or Ebbie as you so sweetly called her!). Then the next day we spent the day opening Christmas presents throughout the day. I think it turned out well - that way you could play with one for a little while and then open another one later.

On Christmas Day we went to Little Rock. We had dinner with the family that night, and then you went to visit your Grandpa and Meemo and Beepo the next morning. That afternoon was Mommy's favorite part of the holidays - Cookie Day!! We actually timed it just right (at least for Mommy's sanity) because you went down for a nap about 30 minutes before it started and didn't wake up until almost everyone was gone! I know everyone wanted to see you, but Mommy was able to actually decorate some cookies! Once you woke up, you got your own private lesson in decorating! Well, actually all you wanted to do was eat the sprinkles! The next day we went to Hot Springs to see your step-great-grandmother Aggie - she hadn't seen you before! Then we ate lunch on the lake! That afternoon we went to the library where they were having a train exhibit. You loved watching the electric trains, but you really wanted to play with them (little did you know what exciting things were waiting for you at home!).

Then we made our way back to Franklin. You got so many great toys (trucks, puzzles, clothes) that we decided to hold off on giving you your big present until a couple of weeks later. It's a good thing we did. Mommy had bought this present about a month or 2 before and it had been hidden in the garage. Well, when Daddy went to put it together it was not at all what we thought we had bought. So Mommy had to take it back and get what we had bought! And of course, while I was off work, I had cleaned out my purse and shredded every old receipt I had (including the one for your present!) But we got it all straightened out, and Daddy got it put together for you. It was your very own train table!!! You were so cute when you saw it and realized it was yours to keep! And let me tell you, you've played with it just about every day since. I think we did good this year!!!

Besides Christmas, the big excitement this winter has been the snow. It's snowed at least 4 times (and good snowfalls too), so you've gotten good use out of the snowsuit that your Granddaddy and KK got you for Christmas! Abigail came over one day and we all played in the snow and made a snowman. You guys loved riding on the sled together. The adults had to take turns pulling you guys - obviously none of us are in the best shape because none of us could pull you guys for very long!

Mommy's tummy is getting bigger, but I don't think you really notice it much. (Was I this fat all along and you can't tell a difference?!!) We find out next week whether you're going to have a little brother or a little sister! We keep asking you and you say a sister, but I'm not sure if you even know what that means!

Here are some of the latest Ryanisms:

• When you want me to pick you up, you say "I hold you" (that one makes me melt!)
• At night I asked you one time if you wanted a blanket on and I told you I'd put it on your bottom, so now every night you ask for a "blanket on your bottom"
• You love your vitamins (they're like sugar-coated gummy bears, who wouldn't like them!), but you call them bimins
• You learned Jingle Bells at Christmas and you still sing it! For the part that says "Oh what fun it is to ride..." you say "Oh bud dun..." - it's so cute!

I think that's enough for now. I'll fill you in next week on whether you're having a sister or brother!!! I can't wait to find out! Kiss Kiss from Mommy