Christmases 3-5

Ryan has thoroughly enjoyed all the various Christmas celebrations with family. We spent Christmas Eve with Todd's parents where Ryan received a basketball goal and tunnel. Both were big hits and get to stay at Mimi and Papa's house since they have more space than we do and he will love playing with them when he visits. We were fortunate to be able to celebrate Christmas at home but Ryan surprised us with an explosive diaper (courtesy of the amoxicillin he'd been on) that prompted a shower and lots of cleaning before we made it downstairs to see what Santa left for him. It was nice not to have a schedule and let him play with each toy before moving onto the next item. That evening we headed to Clay Center for our final Christmas celebration with Nana, my siblings and all the cousins. Ryan especially enjoyed playing the piano, playing with the trains, playing with his cousins and hiding things, namely our car keys which prompted a family-wide, house-wide search so we could leave Monday morning (thankfully, they were located in Maggie's boot).

Ryan is feeling much better after having the "new school crud" and continues to get more and more talkative. Each day he says new words that surprise us and with more words come fewer meltdowns over miscommunication which is a blessing for us. We're finally headed to the lake this weekend after our longest hiatus since we got the place nearly four years ago. We can't wait and will be excited to ring in the New Year in a low-key, yet very fun weekend at the Ozarks.

modeling Olivia's boots

excitedly checking out his new Wonder Pets video

Yeah, it's my own basketball goal;
and I do a really good job of tackling it, too.


Checking out my new bath/pool toys on Christmas morning.

And playing with my new car toy, too.

Getting piano lessons from Maggie.

Melting down during Nana's Christmas picture.

My awesome new hat.

Christmas #2

This past weekend we traveled to Clifton to celebrate Christmas with my Dad and Marcia and all of our families. There were 11 little kids and they had a ball playing together; the older cousins were especially good helping with all the little cousins! It was nice seeing everyone again and we all enjoyed the weekend together.

Checking out his new set of power tools from Popo and Grandma.

Looking like they're up to trouble,

(L to R) Olivia, Isaac, Ryan, Finley, Tessa, Jon and Jack.

Ryan, Tessa and Parker getting cozy with Grandma to watch a show.

Erin brought a ginger bread house craft project for the kids to do

and the older cousins each helped a younger cousin. It was pretty cute

to see them all working together and a great project.

We stopped at Cabela's on the way home and had a fun visit.

Between feeding fish, checking out the aquarium, looking at

stuffed animalsand riding the 4-wheeler it was like a

free amusement park for 2-year-olds.

While at some friends' house for dinner we were enjoying the adult meal

while Ryan was watching a show. However, we heard some noise and

discovered that Ryan tried to wear a decorative glitter Christmas tree

as a hat, but it was too big and slid down over him trapping his arms.

All he could do was teeter around with not just a cone head,

but an entire cone upper body. It was pretty hysterical and

the best part is he had glitter on him for the next day and a half.

Here's my little sous chef assisting me making dog treats.

I figured we had a pretty undiscriminating audience so

it didn't really matter how they turned out. He saw me

tap the measuring cup on the bowl after I poured out the flour

so when it was his turn to scoop the flour and oats

he flamboyantly, loudly and proudly smacked the

metal measuring cup on the metal bowl

then smiled at the loud bang he made.

Thanksgiving, New School, Christmas #1

We've had an eventful past couple weeks. Thanksgiving brought a nice, slow weekend at home. We enjoyed a good Thanksgiving meal with Todd's parents, seeing the Plaza Lighting, hosting our first "Friendsgiving Dinner," and watching the KU v. MU game in Lawrence with Grant, Kristen, Olivia and Jack. Ryan ate up the extra attention from Mom & Dad and Papa & Mimi over the long weekend and had a ball playing with his cousins in Lawrence.

On November 29th, Ryan started in the 2-year-old room at Calvary Lutheran Early Education Center, which is just 2 blocks from our house. It was an adjustment to go from the small home day care he was at before to a room full of kids his age, toys galore and a new routine but he did pretty well. He loves playing with his classmates and his favorite toy is the playhouse in the room. He has also taken to wearing his coat all day as it's become a security object for him so he looks a little goofy but if it makes him feel more at ease, so be it. It's amazing to see that just after a handful of days with other kids his age, he's already become more verbal. He's talking more, putting words together more often and is very interested in counting. He of course got a runny nose and the crud after being around so many new kids, but so far we've been able to fend off a fever or serious infection.

This past weekend, Todd's sister Ali was in town from San Antonio for an early Christmas celebration and to help Todd celebrate his birthday. We had a good time together and Ryan loved getting to see his Aunt Ali. When she tried to sit down, he'd grab her hand, say "up," and lead her to their next activity. Unfortunatley, Ryan gave his "crud" to Aunt Ali over the weekend and now Todd is under the weather as well.

with Aunt Ali at Christmas #1

playing with some of his first Christmas toys

his first day of preschool; we told Callie to sit so he did, too

playing at Grant and Kristen's house in Lawrence; he repeatedly
asked to be lifted up to the goal so he could make a basket
and by repeatedly, I mean after the first 50 times,
I'd kick the ball away to give my back a rest
while he excitedly ran after it and brought it back