The fair and other summer fun

Hey Buddy! Here's a little bit more of what you've been doing this summer. Your granddad came up to visit you in July and he brought a fun present! Your very own personalized chair! It will be great for reading or just chillaxin'!! You had fun showing him your playroom and your train table (which I still consider the best investment!!).

Then in August the Williamson County Fair came to town. Your daddy gets really excited about the fair (the thought of fair food makes him smile!), so he took you 3 times!! You, me, Daddy, Jake, Uncle Jay and Baby Grant went one time; you and your dad went another time; and then you, me, Daddy, Jake, Granddaddy and KK went the third time. You rode all kinds of rides and even rode a pony!!

Then a couple of weeks later, you, me and Jake took a road trip to Arkansas! Since Mommy is not brave enough (or stupid enough) to go on a road trip by herself with you two, we had some help! Granddaddy and KK came up and drove us all to Memphis where we met Emme and Papa and did the trade off. Then we headed to Arkansas. We had a fun-filled week. One night we celebrated Mommy and Sarah's birthdays. You LOVED playing with TJ and you kept calling Sarah a princess. It was so cute! And TJ was so good with you. After you'd had cake AND cookies for dessert, you were just a tad bit WIRED! So TJ had you chase him around the house. You actually wore out before he did! After about the 6th or 7th time around, you stopped and said "I'm ti-red!" Yea TJ!!!

Mommy's friend Miss Lori told me about a great place to take kids called the Wonder Place. They had all kinds of toys and things for you to play with. You had a blast there.

And of course, being the Fat Devil that she is, Emme made you cupcakes and you got to put sprinkles on them and eat them! Gotta love grandparents!!

Mommy's friend Miss Angie came by to visit you, and she brought her kids Will and Abby. You loved Abby, and she loved you! We wanted her to stay with us all week so you guys could play!!!

One day we took a little trip to Hot Springs. You and Emme tried to go fishing but you were way more interested in feeding the duck and the turtle that happened to swim by. I know Daddy wants to take you fishing too, so maybe you guys will do some actual fishing when you go! After your nap, we went and got ice cream, and you had your first taste of Cotton Candy ice cream (with gummy bears - it's what you wanted!).

Another day, we went to visit Meemo and Beepo and Grandpa. You're usually kind of shy at first when we go over there, but you warmed right up to Meemo and showed her all the toys in your backpack. Then you proceeded to put stickers all over her arms. I know she didn't mind at all!!

On our way back from Arkansas we stopped off in Munford, TN for Abigail's 3rd birthday party! They had some inflatable water slides, so you obviously had a blast! We got there a little late so when we arrived everyone was already playing outside (since the rainstorm had just ended!), so you went right out to play. When it was time for cake you ate yours and then asked for more. Stephanie then reminded me that you hadn't eaten lunch yet - oh yeah!! Guess I won't win a Mother of the Year award for that one, huh? Live and learn!

So now we're back in Franklin and back in the groove of school. And speaking of school, your teacher, Miss Abbey told us that you're past ready for preschool and the only thing holding you back is potty training, so our potty training adventure will begin soon (over Labor Day weekend to be exact). You're already using the potty occasionally, so I'm hoping it won't be too bad. I'll let you know how it goes! It sure will be nice not to have to clean any more of your poopy diapers!!!

I think we're caught up for now. We'll talk again soon! Kiss Kiss from Mommy!

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!