Merry Christmas

We've had a wonderful week celebrating the holiday with family. We traveled to Clifton last weekend to celebrate with Dad and Marcia and had a nice time with everyone. There were 10 grandkids, 3 of whom are between 9 months and 12 months old. The kids had a wonderful time playing together and the older kids were especially good and helpful with the little ones. We celebrated Tessa's first birthday while we there and Ryan got to enjoy his first cupcake - no shock, it was a hit. There were some riding toys there that were perfect for Ryan, Parker and Tessa so they spent a lot of time getting pushed around by the older cousins.

(back) Dad, Ryan, Marcia, Finley, Katie, Tessa
(front) Parker, Maggie, Jack, Jon, Olivia, Isaac


Ryan, Katie and Tessa

getting a ride from Jack

using the toy as a stool to climb on
to get a little closer to the TV

Upon returning to KC, we had a couple days to unpack and gear up for the next celebration with Todd's family. His sister Ali flew in from San Antonio Wednesday afternoon and we've had a great time together with another couple days to enjoy before she heads back. In addition to lots of love and attention from his Aunt Ali (who we don't get to see as often as we'd like) Ryan got a rocking horse which he loves to ride, however his dismount still needs some work. We're going on a tour of the Boulevard Brewery today and meeting up with my brother Grant and his family and our friends Melissa and Nichole Mudd for dinner. It's been a wonderful holiday, and we're thankful to have such great, generous families to share it with.

Every baby needs an embroidered butt-flap don't they?


riding my new pony!

enjoying our first Christmas with Ryan

Mom's Birthday Weekend

I finally got the pictures from our new camera downloaded! The difference is amazing and we love that we're able to capture all of Ryan's expressions... especially the ornery ones. We're enjoying a great weekend at home in KC to celebrate my birthday and having fun spending quality time with Ryan. Todd completely surprised me by getting all our close friends to celebrate with me at our favorite spot on the Plaza. It was a wonderful evening and I'm very thankful our friends took time out of their busy holiday schedules to make it such a special celebration. We followed it up with a trip to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art today which was Ryan's first visit and apparently so exciting that he fell asleep:)

Thank you to Kelli for passing down the Santa suit.
And thank you Callie for letting me dress you up and being so cooperative.

One ornery little boy after bathtime.

Just doin' some walking with Grandma and Grandpa A.

Our first child:)

Dad's Birthday Weekend

The good news is we got a new camera as an early Christmas present! It arrived Friday afternoon so we took it to the lake to test out and it takes amazing photos and is quick enough to capture Ryan's expressions before he moves. The bad news is, I haven't downloaded the software yet to be able to actually get the pictures we took. So I don't have any new pictures this week but promise to soon.

We had a nice weekend at the lake celebrating Todd's birthday. We saw our friends the Riggins who are living there for the winter and have two little boys. Ryan is one mobile kid who wants to play with everything he's not supposed to. He will bypass a dozen of the coolest toys to get to an outlet that he's sure was meant for his little fingers. At one point this weekend he let go of the ottoman and stood by himself for a couple seconds until he decided it was time to go check something else out. We'll see if that was a fluke or a sign of what's to come. He's also repeating sounds and associating them with us, the dog and the bottle. He was evening saying dog this weekend which we thought was awesome. Then we woke up this morning and he was saying dog to everything in sight so perhaps it wasn't that great of an achievement after all:) He's a sweet little guy who is always on the move so we treasure the rare moments when he sits still long enough for us to snuggle him. He loves the edge of rugs, outlets, Callie, and bath or shower time. He hates lying still so diaper changes and clothing changes are a struggle everytime. He changes every minute so we can't wait to see what he's up to next week.

Thanksgiving & Christmas in Clay Center

We just returned from a long weekend in Clay Center to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with my mom, siblings and their families. Ryan had a wonderful time playing with his older cousins, and we enjoyed getting to catch up with the adults. For Christmas, Ryan got lots of toys and books and a fun fire engine that will provide hours of entertainment.

getting assistance on his first fire engine ride


playing with his new front-loader

trying to be one of the big kids

Ryan with his two favorite babysitters - cousins Katie and Maggie


enjoying naked baby time with Aunt Kristen and Aunt Michelle


Christmas picture with Nana
(Jon, Nana, Ryan, Jack, Olivia, Katie, Maggie)

not so found of Santa

Little Monster

Ryan in his monster bath towel

helping mom with his laundry

Ryan gets more fun everyday. He loves his new-found trick of pulling up so now his forehead is covered in bruises from his many crashes. We had a nice weekend at home and are getting ready to head to Clay Center to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with my mom. Ryan has no idea what's he in for getting to play with his older cousins for four days. I'm sure life will seem boring to him when we return.

On the Move

Ryan is really developing his own personality and becomes more fun everyday. He started pulling up a couple weeks ago for his favorite things (bath time, remotes, Grandma A) and by now is pulling up on everything - regardless if it's stationary or sturdy. He's a very active little guy, and is a huge fan of his exersaucer (which allows him to walk around the entertainment table), likes crawling under things and won't lay still long enough to have his diaper changed. His other fascination at the moment is mouths; he loves to put his fingers in your mouth while you talk and laughs every time he sees us brush our teeth. We've also found that Mexican restaurants are an easy outing for us these days since they're quick and Ryan can eat the rice, guac and cheese so we've exploring some good places down on Southwest Boulevard.

We headed to the lake last weekend and got to see our friends the Riggins and the Collins who both just moved back from Tampa, have places at the lake, and have little boys - odd conincidence. Anyhow, we went to Ha Ha Tonka State Park again with the Riggins - Ryan, Missi and their 3-year-old Jake and almost 2-year-old Cade. The boys did a great job on the hike and it was special to look back and see Todd and Ryan carrying their little guys. It wasn't that many years ago that I remember looking back and seeing them hold another buddy outside of a bar on Mass Street:)

(Jake & Ryan Riggin and Todd & Ryan)

(Zach, Todd and Ryan at the Sandbar, circa 2000)

(little Ry-guy and his Daddy)

Happy Halloween from the Abplanalps! Ryan was an adorable monkey, Callie was a banana and Todd and I were nothing. Both "kids" were very cooperative with their outfits.

Our child care provider took a couple vacation days so Ryan and I spent the day together Friday visiting Todd at work and going to the zoo. He got a cold Thursday so he was still in a daze from the medication so we took it easy Friday and had to forego the other visits we had originally planned.

With Sandra at Todd's office. He thought her phone was a great toy.

With Dad after lunch.


At the Kansas City Zoo with the kangaroos. They weren't even behind a fence!

Saturday night we went trick-or-treating with the Koons's and her sister Kate Allen in the Allen's neighborhood. Henry was an astronaught, and Kate's boys Luke and Ben were a shark and Elmo. They were stinking cute and totally got the hang of trick-or-treating. Afterwards, Ryan went to Grandma and Grandpa A's to stay overnight while we went to a grown-up party at Koons's. When we picked him up we stopped by the nursing home to visit Todd's great uncle Obbie. It was a terrific first Halloween and we had a great weekend together as a family.

Smiley Guy

For a few weeks now, Ryan has begun to smile and pose when he sees a camera. It's the funniest thing but he can be crying and if you hold the camera up to snap a picture he'll stop fussing, look at you and smile... then go back to fussing aftewards. It's hilarious to watch and has allowed to get several good pictures of the little guy. Since getting rid of his most recent ear infection a few weeks ago he's been in a great mood and so much fun to play with. He's decided that doing the worm is the quickest and easiest way to get around so he baby breakdances his way across a room to get where he needs to go.

(Steve got Ryan a mini adirondak chair for the lake and Ryan looks so grown up sitting in it)

(here he was loving smiling at the camera but blinked
every time it flashed; he thought it was a game)

My mom was in town Thursday so Ryan got in some good grandma time and enjoyed the company of his Horton cousins that night, too. This past weekend we went to the lake with our friends Tom and Amy Seymour from Lawrence. We had a wonderful time catching up and eating good food. The weather was clear and warm on Saturday so we took a boat ride and enjoyed an evening outdoors by the fire. Ryan was quite the charmer for them and loved the extra attention. He did however christen Amy. He was on her lap playing and having fun, then out of no where and as quick as could be, unleased a gut-full of spit up all down her front. We of course all broke out in hysterics, grabbed the camera, laughed some more, then finally offered to help.

(Amy was a great sport and totally took getting spit up on in stride)


(Amy is Todd's oldest friend.
They began preschool together and 22 years later
graduated from law school together.)

Ha Ha Tonka

This past weekend we enjoyed a perfect fall weekend at the lake with just the four of us (counting Callie of course). We had a nice fire on Saturday evening and Todd made veal saltimbocca for dinner which was delectable. Sunday we drove down to Ha Ha Tonka state park at the southern end of the lake and went for a hike. The park features the ruins of a burned down, turn of the century castle up top a bluff overlooking the lake and trees in every direction. There are several trails and the one we chose took us down several hundred feet to the lake and past a natural spring. Fortunately for me, I got to carry Ryan down the trail and Todd carried him up, which included as part of the trail 316 steep steps. The trees were starting to change and it was sunny and almost 60; we couldn't have asked for a better day. Ryan was absolutely enthralled by his surroundings. Every time we looked at him he was wide eyed and - while he obviously must have when we weren't looking - we never saw him even blink. As we strolled through the parking lot just 10 feet from the car, Ryan fell asleep in the carrier. Apparently riding and staring can be quite tiring:)

Family, family and more family

This past week we were able to see many family members and enjoyed catching up with everyone. I took the Horton kiddos to paint pottery for their birthday outing (only 3 months late, but better late than never I guess!) so Ryan got to spend the afternoon with Aunt Michelle and see his cousins briefly.

With cousins Katie, Maggie and Jonathan

Friday and Saturday Ryan and I were to Wichita for a work event and baby shower for my cousin Ryan's wife, Jeni. We stayed with my cousin Mandy, her husband Brad and their adorable and precocious 4 1/2-year-old Isabel. I had a wonderful time visiting with them and Bell made us some excellent waffles for breakfast. Unfortunately, my cousin Beth's two little boys were sick so Ryan didn't get to meet Carter and Tyler and we weren't able to visit Beth as long as we'd hoped. She hosted the shower though so we got to see her for a while and her and Paul's new home is beautiful. While in Wichita, we were also able to see my Aunt Sally and Uncle Gary. Gary is recovering from a serious car accident this summer and is doing great. It was good to finally see him and we're all very happy his recovery is progressing so well. My mom came down from Clay Center for the shower and brought my Aunt Mary with her who was visiting from Denver. Since we can't make it out to Colorado very often, it was nice to see her and catch up. While at the shower we also got to see my cousin Jamie and her daugther Kailey and my Aunt Karen and cousin Aran's wife Kate from Manhattan .

with Nana

with my Aunt Mary from Denver

with my cousin Beth who hosted the shower

Upon returning to Kansas City, we got to visit more family on Sunday. My step-sister Erin and her 10-month-old daughter Tessa were in town from Denver to help her cousin Nicole do some wedding planning. We were able to get Ryan and Tessa together for the first time and got a glimpse of the constant activity we can expect over Christmas since we'll have 3 babies under a year in one place! They were very cute together and it's fun to see how advanced Tessa is and anticipate the neat things Ryan will be able to do in a couple months.

Ryan and Tessa on the move


Ryan hugging Tessa goodbye. He doesn't really
know how to hug but it was a very cute coincidence.

With Grandma Marcia

On their way home from the lake, Grandma and Grandpa A stopped by with their friends the Williamses from Lawrence. Mary Ann is Jane's best friend from their childhood in Linwood and is like family so it was nice to get to see them again and for John to meet Ryan.

With John and Mary Ann Williams

While Ryan and I got intimate with the Kansas Turnpike visiting many of our family members, Todd was back in KC for a conference he spent the past year helping to plan, then enjoying KU Homecoming and doing house projects. We missed him a lot and are very much looking forward to a relaxing weekend at the lake with just the three of us (and Callie).

Crawling & Applefest

Creeping, crawling, whatever you call it, Ryan started doing it tonight. We were at the Collins' and Ryan wanted Charlie's sippy cup badly enough that he started crawling to get to it. I guess this is our cue to get out the baby gates!

(Ryan, Meghan, Charlie and the crawl-worthy sippy cup)

Yet another slice of Americana this last weekend...the Versailles (pronounced vur-sales) Applefest. There were very few apples at said Applefest but the corn dogs and people watching were worth the trip. Matt and Katie Fitzgerald and their 14 month old Abby joined us and we had really fun weekend relaxing, taking boat rides and hitting the Applefest. Ryan's still getting over his sinus/ear infection so he did well during the day but gave us a run for our money Saturday night. Hopefully we'll soon get the little guy feeling better 24/7 and breathing more clearly.

Ryan "playing" with Abby which really means trying to poke her in the eye.