The Abplanalp Family

Happy New Year

2012-01-14T22:21:00.007-06:00

We brought in the New Year at the lake with lots of friends - the Koons, Riggins and Collins. There were 5 little boys and one sweet little girl trying to keep up with the big boys. The weather was gorgeous and unseasonably warm so they spent lots of time outside playing and we enjoyed a bon fire for New Year's Eve. Kelli bought party favors and sparkling juice for the boys and taught them how to celebrate the New Year (at about 9:00 of course). It was hilarious. They all counted down but when we said Happy New Year they just stared at us in confusion. We tried it a second time and they picked up on it then. The funnier part was probably the adults outnumbering them all holding their various electronic devices jockeying for the best angle to capture the moment.

Anna Collins and Ryan in front then Cade Riggin, Charlie Collins, Jake Riggin and Henry Koons in back.

Henry giving Ryan a ride on the John Deere. Henry is so good with him and is such a good big brother figure. Charlie has a battery-operated Jeep and there are a couple other riding toys so it was great watching all the little boys driving around together.

Which led to the big boys feeling left out so they got out their own toy and wedged 3 grown men and 5 little boys into one regular-sized Jeep for a ride around the property.

We exchanged Christmas gifts with Henry and Ryan received a Lightning and Mater costume that make noise which were a big hit!

Who doesn't love a good bath time mo-hawk picture?

Holidays 2011

2012-01-04T21:04:00.013-06:00

We had a 5-week-long holiday and Ryan enjoyed every bit. When I asked Ryan in mid-November if he knew what Christmas was he said, "ya, it's when you dress up and get candy." By the end of December he got it a little too well and when we returned home from New Year's he walked up to his stocking and said, "I want more presents in my stocking!"

CLAY CENTER CHRISTMAS

We started our holiday celebrations in Clay Center with Nana. On our way, we stopped at the family farm where the kids ran wild and had a ball. That weekend we also visited a life-size Mater truck and Santa Clause.

with Jack and Jon on the farm

having fun with Liv and getting nice and worn out

Ryan and his best friend -

Callie enjoyed the farm the most of anyone

2 out of 3 looking at the camera isn't bad

Jack, Katie, Maggie, Jon

Olivia, Ryan and Nana

talking mostly about the candy cane with Santa

it took a lot of talent to recreate this truck and the kids loved it

CLIFTON CHRISTMAS

In mid-December we headed to Clifton for the weekend to celebrate the holidays with Popo and Grandma and lots of little kiddos. Ryan got to sleep over at the Turner Building with the big kids which included going to breakfast at the local cafe in their jammies on Saturday morning. They all had a ball together and we had one tired boy by Sunday afternoon.

Popo, Easton, Grandma, Ryan

Maggie, Jack, Jon, Olivia, Katie

Parker, Tessa, Finley, Isaac

movie time before bed with all the cousins

the Thomas book from his stocking was the highlight

and this is the first of many, many readings

all the kids had fun decorating cookies -

Ryan decorated briefly then mostly enjoyed eating

KANSAS CITY CHRISTMAS

Our final Christmas was in Kansas City with Mimi, Pop Pop and Aunt Ali all the way up from San Antonio. Ryan's school was closed a couple of days over break so he got to spend lots of quality time with his Aunt Ali and loved every minute. We had a nice long weekend together and spent lots of time playing trains at Mimi and Pop Pop's and at our house.

Pop Pop, Ali, Ryan, Todd, Mimi and Aunt Ali

checking out a new present from Aunt Ali

yeah, yeah!!!! more trains!

daddy was wise to unpackage them and put batteries in ahead of time!

enjoying some some good music at Jazz

October 2011

2011-10-27T22:26:00.009-05:00

We've had a great month with lots of fun experiences for Ryan. We hit the pumpkin patch in Lawrence and his favorite part by far was the tractor ride so we made multiple trips back and forth from the barn to the patch o' pumpkins. And not quick trips I might add. At the lake last weekend we went hiking at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. It's one of our favorite places and Ryan was old enough to do lots of exploring and rock climbing/jumping this time around. We also went to Charlie's birthday party, had a couple play dates, went to the Renaissance Festival and got the best toy ever... a train table! He's totally taken to trains so Todd picked up a table on Craig's List and it has been a great addition to the house.

He didn't understand what Halloween was so I took him to Target to pick out his costume and he chose Buzz Lightyear. We then did a trick-or-treating trial run at the lake last weekend so he could understand what was going to take place Monday and after he got candy at the first of the three houses, he took off in a dead sprint for the next one. We joined the Koons and Allen families to trick-or-treat and he had a ball following the bigger boys around. Henry is always so good, helpful and patient with him and Ryan just eagerly follows his every move.

His favorite things as of late are:

- Thomas and Friends

- Buzz and Woody

- Cars

- Clifford the Big Red Dog

- dinosaurs

- snuggling with Daddy in the morning

- using tools and the vacuum

- collecting rocks (and sneaking them into his pockets)

- getting Mickey stickers when he's good and putting them on his back

- sleeping on the floor instead of in his toddler bed

He weighed 34 pounds when he just got his flu shot and has started toddler PE/sports at school and actually tries to step while throwing - it's pretty cute. He's said some funny things lately but the best was while I was carrying him during a recent hiking trip.

Mommy: [feeling a rumbling on my arm] "Ryan, did you toot?"

Ryan: "No!"

Mommy: "Are you sure?"

Ryan: "Yes. I tooted and peed!"

Every time we come down the hill into our lake house Ryan exclaims, "There it is, there's the lake, I found it!" Well, when he woke up last weekend it was very foggy and when he looked outside he got this concerned look on his face and asked, "Where'd the lake go? I can't find it."

Ryan's school pictures - we were so excited to see that he actually

cooperated for not just one, but two pictures. He looks so grown up:(

Buzz, Woody and Mommy

at the castle ruins up on the bluffs at Ha Ha Tonka State Park

playing on the big rocks under the natural bridge

Callie was so happy to go hiking and got to do lots of exploring outside the last couple weekends at the lake.

Ryan driving the boat one last time before we winterized it.

It's Henry the Eighth at the Ren Fest

Now that our basement is finally finished, the train table has a new home

out of our living room and downstairs!

With Abby, Jake and Cade at Charlie's birthday party. Every picture I have includes a large pile of children on the bounce house. They had so much stinking fun!

taking the easy way out at the Pumpkin Patch

Four Fairs in Four Weeks

2011-10-03T21:15:00.007-05:00

Following Labor Day, we've visited a fair every weekend and "go to fairs this weekend?" has become part of Ryan's vocabulary. First we visited the Cole Camp Fair, which is a great little street fair in old historic Cole Camp on our way to the lake. There were lots of kid-friendly rides and he went with Henry which made it even more fun (see previous post).

The following weekend we took him into Laurie for a haircut and discovered a parade ready to begin as part of their Hillbilly Fair. I'm sad to say it was his first parade, but once he discovered it involved fire engines and candy he was sold. Unfortunately we weren't planning on being outside and it was cold and rainy. But his blanket from school was still in the car and he insisted on frog boots as usual, so he was equipped for the weather even if he was a little goofy looking. The Hillbilly Fair takes place in the town park and while there were only a few rides he was big enough for, they had more activities for the little kids at the playground including pony rides and train rides. He absolutely loved the train and would have ridden it all afternoon if we would have let him. The fire trucks were on display so we stopped by multiple times and he got personal tours of the inside, the cab and every compartment. He proudly wore his fire fighter helmet the rest of the weekend:)

When we were back in Kansas City for Jane's 60th birthday, it was also the Plaza Art Fair and the Waldo Family Festival in our neighborhood. He had very little appreciation for the art down at the Plaza, however the huge inflatable rocket ship at the family festival in Waldo was a huge hit and he's still talking about it.

This past weekend, we went to the Weston Applefest and met up with our friends the Whites and their new baby girl. They had several old cars and tractors in the parade which he thought were pretty great, and he found every comparison to the Cars characters that could possibly be made.

We've had a lot of fun the past several weeks and have been loving this weather. We've been walking up to the local school playground most evenings and he was so wound up Sunday that we had him ride his trike. He rode 7 blocks and made us carry him the last two, then ran around and played his little heart out. We thought it would wear him out but no such luck. I swear this kid has a bottomless pit of energy.

Waiting for the Hillbilly parade to start - sweet outfit:)

who knew they had toddler ferris wheels?

The nice train engineer let Ryan get in the driver's seat. He loved it and even snuck back in later when the "engineer" had his back to the driver's seat.

Personally testing every tool and mechanism inside the fire truck.

All tuckered out after a long weekend of fun at the fair. We realized he was pretty quiet back there within a few minutes of leaving the lake and looked back to see him fast asleep with his applesauce still in his mouth.

Some pictures from the summer that I found on Todd's phone.

Napping with Pop Pop. Well, at least one of them is asleep.

He was riding up front with Uncle Jeppy and the lull of the boat's engine was more than his tired little self could take, so he racked out on Jeff for more than 30 minutes.

Outside the Target where we shop, the model train organization has set up a display in the old New York & Company store. There are large amazing models set up and it's a great treat for good behavior during our Target excursions. Despite the incredible displays that include a replica of the Western Auto building, he always gravitates to the tiny little Thomas one on the floor. It just goes in a circle but he could watch it for hours.

Cole Camp Fair

2011-09-13T22:18:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went to the lake with Kelli and Henry and stopped at the Cole Camp Fair on our way there. The boys had a ball riding the rides together, going in the play houses and checking out the fire engine. Once we got to the lake, they helped me wash Callie, swam in the lake, did lots of jet skiing and saw a few rainbows. It was a great weekend and tonight on our way home when I asked Ryan who we were going to see at home he said, "Daddy, Callie dog" then optimistically added, "and Henry!" I had to break it to him that Henry was not his live in playmate but it was cute none the less.

He's starting to say some real funny things like at the grocery store tonight. I was buying bananas and he really, really wanted me to get a red banana. I couldn't figure out why then part way through the grocery store he asked if he could eat the "chocolate banana."

Happy Half Birthday Ryan

2011-08-23T22:22:00.004-05:00

Happy 2 and half years Ryan! He was actually sick for probably two weeks but we didn't realize it and we thought when he told us "my ear hurts, the bumble bee stung it," it was him recounting the bee sting but turns out he really did have an ear infection in addition to a sinus infection that we mistakenly missed. We feel really bad to have let him go so long but he didn't show any of the normal symptoms but instead just began acting up. We had some very challenging moments with our little sweetie so when we finally figured out he was sick, we were relieved to see his behavior do a 180 once the antibiotics kicked in.

His newest things of late are Toy Story and Thomas the Train. Not that his love for Cars wavers at all, he's just opening up his heart to make room for Buzz, Woody and Thomas. He's also become exceedingly adept at certain tasks and will fill a water bottle by himself and almost get the top on, he's been insisting on buckling his own seat belt for several months and he loves any sort of activity that involves fitting items together, manipulation and construction. I suspect we have a little engineer on our hands:) More often than not though, he's running. Running down the sidewalk, doing laps around our house or sprinting down the hallway at school. Some kids have a volume knob. Ryan just has an on/off switch.

Today marks his 2 1/2 birthday. He's roughly 36 inches tall, 31 pounds and tons of spirit. His preschool was closed for inservice earlier this month so we spent some quality time together including a trip to Worlds of Fun. The little stinker loved the big kid rides and "faster" was the key phrase of the day.

Fun with Friends

2011-08-02T21:30:00.010-05:00

July has been good to us and the lake was a great way to get cool and bear the heat. The Fitzgerald family joined us a couple weeks ago with their daughter Abby who's 7 months older than Ryan and Emily who just turned 1. They're such fun, easy-going kids and Ryan and Abby had a ball playing together all weekend. We got the tube out and took each of the kids for a ride with mom or dad. Little Miss Emily had the most fun of all of them and they all got A's for being adventurous, having fun and doing a great job of following directions while they tubed. The weekend did get off to a rocky start when we were out front taking Callie potty and a bumble bee stung Ryan on the ear. He immediately screamed and wouldn't let go of it and it took a good 15 minutes for him to calm down but he eventually did and distractions helped. His ear swelled up huge (he looked like half a Dumbo) but fortunately we learned he's not allergic to bee stings.

Back in KC he had a fun night hanging out with Henry while Kelli and I caught up. Henry is so good with him and showed him how everything worked then they watched Cars together which was pretty cute. Our friends Ryan and Missi who we usually get to see at the lake just moved back to Lee's Summit so we visited their new house while the boys rough housed in the back yard.

It's already a lot of fun watching Ryan grow up together with Jake and Cade Riggin, Henry Koons, Charlie Collins and Abby Fitzgerald, and it's only getting more memorable.

Abby and Ryan with Todd. If you look closely,

you'll see his swollen ear from the bee sting.

Ryan and Charlie heading out for a boat ride.

Sweet wardrobe Ryan - Royals jersey, jorts and frog boots.

Ryan, Jake and Cade wrestling at the Riggin's new house.

Ryan and Henry chillin' on the couch.

Ryan using the ladder himself on his way to go down the

water slide again (which he kept referring to as a waterfall)

Lake Boys

2011-07-11T22:18:00.003-05:00

We're very fortunate the Collins and the Riggins live close by at the lake so our families get to see each other on the weekends. Here's a photo of the four boys last weekend and another old picture that was taken two years ago.

L to R: Charlie Collins (3y9m), Jake Riggin (almost 5),

Cade Riggin (3y8m), Ryan (2y5m)

Jake Riggin (almost 3), Cade Riggin (1y7m),

Ryan (4m), Charlie Collins (1y8m)

Last weekend I tested Ryan on the kayak with me and he did a good job of sitting still so I think we'll give that a shot next time we're down. Rather than jumping in the pool by himself, he tried to jump in onto his floatie. He made it once and the other times he looked like he was on a wipeout reality show. He gave it a good shot though and it was pretty entertaining to watch.

Oh, and Ryan said the cutest thing this week. He sat down to the table to eat his snack, picked up the remote and said, "I watch Royals game." I'm sorry I missed getting it on video because it was ridiculously cute. Unfortunately it was 5:30 and there wasn't a single game on TV. He happily watched Nascar instead but got all upset and yelled, "it's gone!" when they went to commercial.

Worth the Wait

2011-07-05T22:15:00.008-05:00

Since our last post, we got the pictures from Ryan's 2-year photo shoot (which we got around to at 27 months, but hey, we were late with the newborn and 1-year pictures, too so at least they're evenly spaced:). Ryan was in a bit of mood that night and finally began to show his true spirit after Todd and I started playing him and our friend Mark (www.markjacksonphotography.com) did a great job of going with the flow and getting some sweet pictures that capture his true personality at this age. Several of our favorite pictures are below and the first one is the famous Ryan Sandwich which he asks for quite often; and with that cute little face and those blond locks, we could never say no.

Ryan's been in the water several times this summer, but turned into a little fearless fish over the Fourth of July weekend. The combination of playing with older kids and wearing a different style of life jacket allowed him to jump right in (literally) and naturally start to kick and use his arms. On Saturday morning the big kids were jumping off the dock so he joined in climbing up the ladder, then walking around the slip and jumping in the water to us. Sometimes he latches on for a free ride and other times he pushes away saying "get back" so he can swim on his own. On Monday, we visited the Varone's lake house where there was a water slide which he immediately got on and went down by himself, then went down another 20-30 times. I wish I was kidding but I'm not. It was an exhausting weekend. He's very capable but he's still only two so every time he got out so did one of us to follow behind him and make sure he was safe. He has way more energy than we do, however, when we got in the car to leave the Varone's that afternoon, he fell asleep 2 minutes into the ride, with a Wheat Thin in his mouth. We tried to get a picture but our laughing woke him up long enough to take the Wheat Thin out and immediately rack back out.

Since we had 4 1/2 days at the lake together over the Fourth, we decided to officially potty train. He's not a pro yet, but he's doing really well and is in regular underwear when he's awake. He's starting to tell us when he needs to go which is great that he's making the connection, but he's stubborn and doesn't want to try unless it's on his terms. He's actually far more successful with #2's and has been going on the potty since the 2nd day of training without any accidents. He has less control when it comes to peeing and we still have 1 or 2 accidents a day but he's getting better.

We're not sure what happened to our little baby, but now there's a toilet-using, dock-jumping little man running around our house. He just gets more and more fun everyday!

No photos for a reason

2011-06-13T21:34:00.004-05:00

The last week has three main highlights, two of which you don't want to see pictures of, and one of which we can't get a picture of by ourselves.

1) Our sweet little monkey made good on his likeness by flinging poo all over his "bedroom" at the lake while he was supposed to be napping. Yes, this is the moment other moms have warned me about. Todd came within 15 feet of his door and smelled the unwelcome and oh-so-identifiable odor of baby poop and we opened up the door to find a naked little guy who didn't like the feel of the poopy diaper he was wearing so he took matters into his own hands - in a most unpleasant way. Team Abplanalp went into action with Dad swiftly taking a poopy toddler to the bath tub to hose down every square inch of that cute little guy while I was on poop removal detail from the carpet, bedding, walls, door and frog boots. All that being said, it could have been much worse.

2) After 5 years of driving to and from the lake in deer county, we finally had a literal run-in with one. Not pleasant, but like the poop flinging, it could have been much worse. Fortunately we were able to remove part of the bumper and drive on home preventing our family (including a toddler and a dog) along with a car load of belongings from being stuck on the highway an hour from home at 9pm on a Sunday night.

3) The only thing that IS picture worthy is a Ryan-sandwich, but it involves the whole family so we haven't gotten a picture of it yet. It's just a basic big bear hug between Mom and Dad with Ryan in the middle but he can't get enough of them and we lovingly oblige with as many as he asks for. Tonight we had his 2 year photos taken and I think Mark may have gotten some visual evidence of the Ryan-sandwich so eventually we'll have pictures to share.

Lake & Wichita

2011-06-06T21:55:00.006-05:00

We've had some great weekends at the lake this past month. Our friends the Seymours visited and Ryan got to enjoy some good playing with Harrison who just turned one. He's also been able to play with Jake and Cade Riggin pretty regularly at the lake, and we're excited they're moving to Lee's Summit so they'll be closer during the weeks.

While Todd had a guys' weekend at the lake, Ryan and I visited my aunt and uncle, cousins and their kiddos in Wichita. I always loved our play weekends together when we were kids and I'm glad that we're able to do the same with our children now. It was a nice low-key weekend and the kids had a great time playing together, especially when we went swimming.

Ryan continues to become more independent and has taken an interest in pottying like a big boy and he went poop twice in potty at school on Friday so we've officially begun the early stages of potty training. He's also staying up later these days and mimicking older kids. While at Aunt Sally's in Wichita, he hopped on the Bell's old bike with training wheels and cruised down the driveway, made the turn at the bottom then came to a rest in the yard. Considering that was his first time on a bike, I think we're going to get a balance bike so he can work on that part of riding. Also, last week cousin Katie babysat Ryan for the first time and did fantastic. She's a natural and Ryan loved his afternoon with her.

At Frankie and Louie's at the Lake of the Ozarks.

The ornery look on his face is classic Ryan.

Being silly with Daddy.

Playing bubbles with his second cousins in Wichita.

(Parker, Ryan, Bell and Tyler - Carter and Graham were out of range)

Riding Bell's bike at Aunt Sally's:

"I Do It"

2011-05-25T22:36:00.009-05:00

Ryan officially reached the independent stage this month, and "I do it" is a common phrase in our lives now. While it requires us to allot more time for everything we do, he actually does some things pretty well by himself like buckling part of his car seat and feeding the dog. Other things however, such as pottying like a big boy and getting dressed, need a lot of help but he blissfully has the same sense of accomplishment when he attempts those tasks. For the boy who's always gone to bed without any fuss, he's now started to challenge us on occasion and even pulled an "I need a drink" stall attempt which I fell for hook, line and sinker. On a positive note, his teachers say he's become really good this month at following directions, sitting still and not taking his shoes off constantly. He absolutely loves anything to do with letters, colors and shapes and identifying Toyotas and Fords. All these changes coupled with a voracious appetite indicate he's going through a growth spurt - in every way possible.

His (and our) most favorite new thing to do is snuggle with Daddy in the mornings. It's absolutely precious how he'll shimmy up the bed into just the right spot on Todd's arm so he can watch a show, drink milk and eat a cereal bar, all while getting some quality Daddy time. I generally change a diaper and get him dressed as part of this routine. Can anyone really be shocked at the level of multitasking going on here?

He loves the lake and asks daily if we're going. His favorite things to do at the lake are throw rocks off the dock, pretend to fish, hold the fish that Pop Pop catches and throw them back in for him, guilt Pop Pop into making him Mickey Mouse pancakes, drive his new tractor around, play with bubbles, go for boat rides and play with Jake and Cade Riggin and Charlie Collins.

fishing with Pop Pop off the boat ramp

after a night of fighting going to bed and being left to his own devices,

this is how I discovered him in the morning

his first group bath with Jack and Will Henderson

Ryan's been waking up earlier and one morning he had clearly been up playing for a while when I unlocked his door; this is how I found his monkey that he sleeps with; how cute!

feeding the baby goats at Deanna Rose Farmstead

Ryan's pre-bedtime "crazies." He loves jumping on our bed and since we won't ever have a trampoline, I let it go and have fun with it.

Fun April

2011-04-24T20:39:00.017-05:00

My apologies for not posting in a while; wish I had a good excuse but I don't. We've been enjoying catching up with friends and taking advantage of the warmer weather this month.

We finally got to catch up with our friends Zach and Claire White who are expecting their first baby in a couple weeks. Ryan absolutely loved Zach and played with him in the yard nonstop until dinner time. It was sweet to watch the soon-to-be parents with Ryan and it's incredibly obvious they're going to be fun, wonderful parents to Baby White. We also visited our friends the Seymour's in Lawrence and were thrilled to see their little guy Harrison who is almost one and has grown up so much since we last saw them. There were very cute moments from both outings but I failed to capture them on camera. Sorry. Here are some good pics from the rest of our activities though.

Ryan has refused to swing this spring after "unlearning" how to swing over the winter and falling out of the swing back in February. So, we made major progress this month when he voluntarily swung himself at the Varone's house while we were over for dinner. (He got away from us while getting changed into his pj's and naked babies are so cute, so we let it go. Can you blame us?) We had a fun night dining with the Varones, Garretts and Prossers and the big kids did a great job looking after our little Ry Guy. The next week, he even let Zach push him in the swing when Whites came over for dinner so fortunately he's starting to overcome his fear.

While at Melissa and Russ' new house, Ryan found a tree in the back yard that was just his size for climbing.

He wore himself out running around Melissa's back yard playing with the dogs and climbing trees so he racked out on Daddy's lap.

We visited cousins Jack and Olivia, Uncle Grant and Aunt Kristen in Lawrence and Ryan had so much fun with them as always. We got to see Jack's soccer game and when we returned to their house, Jack had an amazing surprise for Ryan... his John Deere tractor! Needless to say, it's a huge hit with Ryan. Jack is such a sweet and generous little guy; he reminds me of his dad when he used to take his savings to buy things for everyone else. I don't have pictures, but earlier in the month, I got to see Olivia do her solo at her dance competition in KC and could not have been more proud. She is talented beyond her years and had so much fun performing.

We took a trip to Deanna Rose Farmstead and were joined by Zach and Charlie Collins. The little boys are so cute together and had fun petting the baby goats and watching Todd catch a fish.

This was the first goat Ryan saw and enjoyed petting.

This was the second goat he saw, and he let the goat eat right out of his hand with no hesitation at all. I think he would have fed him all day if we'd more quarters, time and arm strength.

After several rainy days, we decided to visit The Nelson for an indoor activity. Ryan was still stroller-bound the last time we visited so this time it was primarily an experiment with some art involved. He did surprisingly well and broke nothing so I think we'll venture back again for a little longer visit.

This is Ryan's preschool class during their Easter party. I heard one kid say, "Happy Birthday Easter." Hey, there were cookies and cupcakes and they're only two-years-old; seemed like a reasonable assumption to me. His class also participated in the school's program a couple weeks ago. They sequestered the two-year-olds in a separate room until it was show time, led them directly up on stage, the teachers sang a few songs and the kids spent all five minutes looking for their parents in the audience, trying to go to their parents, and in our case, being bribed with a sucker to go back up on stage and finish "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."

First Big Boat Ride of the Season

2011-04-03T21:58:00.005-05:00

We've really enjoyed the last week and took full advantage of the gorgeous weather this weekend. While we've taken Steve's little fishing boat out several times since it doesn't have to be de-winterized, this was our first weekend to get the Crownline out and it was worth the wait. Ryan was a champ on the boat and was much more cooperative than last season. He did great at getting his sea legs on but was a little apprehensive about the wind. He hardly sat still and moved from one spot to another but seemed to really enjoy it. We were butting up nap time and he literally fell asleep while sitting on Todd's lap driving the boat. It was precious. He also wore his sunglasses which he wouldn't do last year so that was a good sign.

We wrapped up the evening having a fire on the shore of the lake. The water level is really down so it was fun to have it someplace that's usually under water. Ryan joined us for an hour or so and had a ball throwing rocks in the lake which is a favorite past time of ours. The best was when he sat on our lap and just stared at the stars. Needless to say, we've been loving this stage. He can finally talk, is incredibly interested in the world around him and is willing to snuggle us.

The other highlights from the weekend included when he woke up at 7 this morning so we told him it wasn't morning yet and we needed to back to sleep to see if by chance he would, and he did. We let him come in our bed and he happily snuggled up with us, didn't question our trick and fell asleep with us until 9. It was wonderful to get the extra rest but it was also a treat to snuggle with him since that's something that he hasn't done before. Lastly, our little Einstein was eating pizza and dipping it into blue cheese because he's into dipping everything these days. He poked his finger in it then looked at it and said "lotion" so he quickly rubbed it on the other hand then rubbed the hand full of blue cheese on his tummy like we do with lotion at bath time. Just we think he's incredibly bright he does something like rub blue cheese on his belly. He gives us good laughs.

Ryan didn't get to join us at Opening Day but he still cheered on the Royals.

Ryan has several riding toys but all are a little too big or too small for him

so when he discovered this trike at Charlie Collins's house and it

fit him perfectly, he was thrilled to actually ride a trike around.

Cars and Friends

2011-03-24T22:29:00.006-05:00

The past few weeks we've been enjoying the nicer weather, trips to the lake and catching up with friends. Unfortunately, Ryan also got influenza A this month - despite having had a flu shot - but Todd also got strep and Callie got very sick all at the same time, so we just went ahead and got it all out of our system and now we're feeling good.

After being busy recluses the past couple months, we're getting caught up with friends and saw the Gingriches and the Fitzgeralds last week. Abby Fitz and Ryan had a ball playing together and she's a great sharer and very well-behaved so she sets a stellar example for Ryan who is rocking the whining stage right now. My mom also came for a visit so Ryan got in some good Nana time while Todd and I celebrated St. Patty's with our friends.

This morning a coworker mentioned that there was a Cars exhibit outside our office at Crown Center today and sure enough, the Cars 2 promotion was in town with life-size Lightning McQueen, Mater and a new car on display for 6 hours only. Needless to say, I took off early, picked Ryan up and took him to visit the Cars. He was very surprised to see them life-sized, only tried to bust past the fence once, loved the Mack semi that transported them (even though it wasn't painted like the Mack character) and unfortunately was adamant that I not take his picture.

Even though he doesn't look like me, I know he's my child because after eating individual Dorito's off my plate, he took the entire bag, said "thank you" and took them into his tent.

playing with Pop Pops old tractors,

some of which belonged to Ryan's great grandfather

Ryan and Abby Fitzgerald modeling their monkey pj's

playing in his tent with Daddy (prior to stealing the bag of Dorito's)

visiting the Cars exhibit at Crown Center

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

2011-03-07T20:55:00.006-06:00

Ryan has started to sing and his rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is slightly intelligible but ridiculously cute. Other precious things he's said lately:

As he was helping make pancakes, he spilled Bisquick all over the counter and the chair he was standing on and promptly said, "it's snowing.
Todd's family and my brother's family are big Jayhawk fans and have taught Ryan to love KU. In preparation for the KU v. MU game this weekend, I wore my Missouri sweatshirt and drew a tiger paw on the white board. Trying my best to get Ryan to say Tiger a couple times to offset all the Jayhawk references, I pointed to the white board and asked him what it was. That little stinker replied, "Blue's Clues."
When Pop Pop told Ryan he had to use the restroom, Ryan took his hand and led him to the bathroom while announcing, "Pop Pop go potty like a big boy."

We're getting back into regular lake trips. At the end of February the Collins and Riggins were down, too so all our little boys had fun playing together. We tried to go bowling and the other boys did great but Ryan was having a hay day full of two-year-old tantrums that pushed daddy and me to the edge of our patience. At least he looked adorable in his little bowling shoes. That was redeeming. This last weekend we took the boat out! Pop Pop let Ryan drive as the fishing boat is the perfect size for him. He took the job very seriously and even discovered the throttle. We can't wait to return next weekend.

Ryan had his 24 month appointment and measured 35 3/4 inches tall and 29.5 pounds so basically he's 3 feet and 30 pounds. He's grown an inch and a half since the last visit but not gained any weight. He's starting to stretch out and also starting to exercise some independence. We love this stage and are having so much fun with our little guy. He keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh daily.

for the record, I was looking ahead watching the road

and was holding this up pointing it at the backseat:)

Happy 2nd Birthday Ryan

2011-02-20T22:11:00.011-06:00

Ryan turns two on the 23rd so we celebrated his birthday this weekend. We had cupcakes and pizza with family followed by a slumber party with the cousins. Ryan got a tent for his birthday so the boys built a great fort with it and played all evening until we settled down to watch his favortie movie, Cars, before bed. Although the little stinker skipped the majority of his nap on Saturday he had so much fun that he stayed up with his cousins until 10 Saturday night. He received lots of nice gifts but the Mack truck and Lightning McQueen car took the cake. He hasn't stopped playing with them since he opened them.

We're back again!

2011-02-13T21:47:00.002-06:00

The Abplanalp Family has fallen behind the last month as the new business picked up for Todd and my big gala I've been planning all year was this Saturday (we raised just over $1 million so it was a huge success!!!!), but we're finally back to more normalcy again! This past month Ryan has been a total trooper. As we both worked more and I was gone for several evenings he comes and goes from our house, his pre-school and Mimi & Papa's house like a champ. This past week, he and Daddy have been spending lots of quality time together and have become bestest of buds. In fact all week when we'd get ready in the morning and I'd try to take him with me to the room where I primp and he plays, he would starting crying saying, "I want Daddy." Like most kids, he's been more of a Mama's boy as a baby so it's special for Todd that he's growing up more now and is becoming a Daddy's boy.

I'll post pictures next week after his birthday party, but in the mean time the update since last month is that he's been healthy and his speech has completely taken off. He will repeat anything you ask him too and he has more words of his own than we realize; he surprises us with new ones everyday. He has especially taken to the movie Cars and cereal bars and constantly asks for both all day long. That's the other thing, he must be going through a growth spurt because the child is absolutely ravenous. He would eat all day if you'd let him. We'll have pizza and he'll eat nearly as much as we do. I don't know where it goes but he's a bottomless pit and he must need it so we keep it coming.

Since it's been so crazy here the last few weeks (and he's only two and will have no memory of the party), we're keeping his birthday very low key and just doing cake and ice cream with family next weekend and letting him have a slumber party with his older cousins who he adores. There should be fun pictures to come next week after the party.

Grandparents, Drumming and Boats

2011-01-16T20:43:00.004-06:00

Ryan has had several different viruses on again and off again since starting school a couple months ago but fortunately, many of the days he can't go to school he gets to stay with Mimi and Papa who take wonderful care of him. Unfortunately he got Mimi sick:( but she's finally on the mend.

A couple weekends ago, he got to see all of my family at cousin Olivia's birthday. As always, Ryan had fun with his cousins and loved playing on cousin Jack's new bunk bed and with his new drumset. Popo and Grandma were in town watching the Horton cousins so he got to spend some quality time with them, including a snow day.

Later that weekend we attended the Boat and Sport Show downtown and Ryan had fun crawling around on all the boats, in the RVs and Club Cars. It was a good time but we were reminded of how much our lives have changed from the days when just Todd and I would go and stay for 3-4 hours and see every boat and RV at the show.

Ryan hadn't ever attempted to watch a full-length movie until recently when we had a movie exchange at Christmas and received several. He has fallen in love with the movie Cars and asks to, "watch Cars show" multiple times a day. We don't say yes every time but thank goodness he chose to like a good movie that adults don't mind watching either. He immediately found the Cars toys at the Horton's house, and Papa put a huge Lightening McQueen decal on the wall above his bed at Mimi and Papa's house which he was absolutely in love with.

He is finally healthy again this week and has been such a joy. He's talking up a storm and repeats everything we say. He changes everyday and has definitely transitioned from baby to boy.

First Trip Bowling

2011-01-11T20:27:00.004-06:00

After being on the road for the holidays and not visiting the lake in entirely too long, we had a wonderfully relaxing and slow New Year's at the lake and made it down the following weekend, too. We did lots of Wii bowling on New Year's and Ryan had a ball watching us, yelling, "crash" each time the pins were knocked down and "nice" like the announcer after someone got a strike. We weren't about to let him touch the Wii remote, but since he found it so entertaining, we decided to let him try it for real the following weekend. We went to the local bowling alley at the lake and they even had shoes his size, they were so stinking cute. Once he understood you roll the ball, not throw it, he did really well and lasted a full seven frames before he started losing interest. Luckily, there was an arcade attached and he happily pretended to play the games while Todd won him a frog from the claw machine.

His new school has been great for him. Being around other children talking constantly has made him much more talkative. Since he started after Thanksgiving he's gone from saying several single words to stringing together short sentences and using words like "microwave" that we had no idea he knew. They're able to do art projects everyday which he loves, and while he's become very proficient at saying, "mine" he also just asked me this morning "my turn?" which is a good sign I suppose. On the down side, he's been sick a lot which is challenging for us and uncomfortable for him, but that's to be expected with a new school and it's good for his immune system in the long run.

Seriously, check out those little shoes. Does it get any cuter?

Just doing some painting on my new passed-down
kid's table from Jack and Olivia.

He quickly discovered he could paint on his
opposite hand then finger paint with that hand.

Christmases 3-5

2010-12-28T22:34:00.009-06:00

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

2010-12-21T22:36:00.004-06:00

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

2010-12-07T22:36:00.005-06:00

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

"I feel like I'm falling for Fall..."

2010-11-22T20:57:00.003-06:00

Those of you with toddlers who watch Nick Jr. will now have Moose's "I feel like I'm falling for Fall" song in your head. You're welcome:) Moose A. Moose is Ryan's favorite TV character and we've heard this song a fair bit the past month. We love Fall though and have made the most out of it with one trip to the lake this month and more weekends at home in KC. This past weekend we took advantage of the gorgeous weather with a trip to the zoo. Todd and I were fascinated by the new polar bear exhibit and, while Ryan did notice the animals, I think he had more fun running freely about the zoo. Next Monday, Ryan switches from a home day care he's been at since 6 months to the preschool two blocks away from our house. We visited today and he did okay, so we'll be interested to see how it goes when he starts full time next week.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T20:49:00.008-05:00

I insist on dressing Ryan and Callie up together for Halloween so last year he was a monkey and she was a banana. This year, Ryan seemed much less willing to wear any sort of head wear or any other sort of strange contraptions so he went as a Royals player and Callie was the perfect Slugger mascot. We went to the Goff's house for Halloween along with the Walter's and some others and the little boys were a super cute little bunch of trick or treaters. Ryan didn't fully understand the concept but he followed the big boys around pretty well.

Despite the fact Ryan is getting more molars in and has also reached the stage of terrible two tantrums, we've had a good past couple weeks. He says new words everyday and loves to identify his farm animals each night when he and Daddy read together. Some words require significant interpretation, whereas others like "cake" and "bite" (which he was quick to say last night) come out conveniently clear. He also reached in to Kelli's fruit bowl, took out an apple and started eating it skin and all which was insanely cute and great because I've got way better things to do with my time than peel apples. And the cutest of all is watching him get a ride from Henry on Henry's battery-operated four-wheeler. He's quick to hop on, holds on tight and is smiles the whole time. He's so interested in watching Henry and trying to do what he does, and Henry is a great role model for him. It's so fun to see them finally be able to play together.

Ryan continues to be a very physical child and has started to do butt bounces on the ground. Sometimes he does it for fun and sometimes it's what he does with a tantrum. It seems like it would hurt but the diaper must provide just the right amount of padding to carry on with such ridiculousness.

Our child care provider took a couple vacation days so Ryan got to spend some quality time with Papa and Mimi and Popo and Grandma. He got lots of good love and attention and didn't grace them with a single tantrum. And we are extremely thankful to have the help of grandparents!

Tonight Ryan snuggled on the couch with Daddy and

watched part of the World Series. Maybe someday

they'll be cheering on the Royals in late October!

Our trick-or-treating group: Jack Walter in front, then

Hudson Walter, Gage Goff, Ryan and Mason Goff in back.

With cousins Jon, Katie and Maggie

Snuggling with Grandma and Popo

(while eating an apple and giving his "cheese" smile)

This next video was too cute not to post. We read "Red Hat, Green Hat" frequently, but tonight he thought it was funny when Daddy got to the "oops" part.

Cow-wee Dog

2010-10-19T21:26:00.007-05:00

Ryan sure does love his dog "Cow-wee," and she is so darn patient, cooperative and tolerant with him it's unbelievable and incredibly endearing. His little mind is growing by leaps and bounds and he surprises us all the time with new things he's learned that we didn't even know he understood. He knows most of the farm animals and says them fairly understandably. His daddy taught him how to count to four and while he hasn't mastered it, he's real interested in counting objects and saying "the next" number. We've tried hide and seek too and while he can't hide (which is a good thing for other reasons), he's so good at the waiting and counting while not looking part which is really cute to watch. The little guy can also spot a Jayhawk like you wouldn't believe and is quick to point them out and say "awk." We're not sure if the syllable represents "rock," "chalk" or "hawk" but we know what he's talking about so it doesn't really matter.

He has a trike from his cousin Jack that he loves practicing riding around inside our garage and in the kitchen. He can kind of reach of the peddles and sometimes tries to figure them out and other times has fun just putting his feet up and letting us push him. Ryan continues to be a really good eater and a great sleeper. After we read books with him, he voluntarily hops down, walks over to his crib and says, "up." He gets more fun everyday and we're really enjoying this stage.

No

2010-10-19T21:26:00.003-05:00

No

2010-10-19T21:26:00.001-05:00

Best Weekend of the Year

2010-10-04T21:58:00.004-05:00

We just had what we determined to be the best weekend of the year. Although Ryan spent Friday night with Mimi and Papa while Todd and I went to the American Royal, we were able to go to the park and play with him before saying goodbye for the night. We had a fantastic night at the Royal with our friends and Ryan must have had a ball too because he slept in until 9:15 the next morning.

Saturday we loaded up with the Koons and headed to Weston for the Applefest. It's such a quaint town and the festival is a great family activity. Ryan and Henry had fun playing in the park with all the other kids and Henry even painted a pumpkin and rode a pony. The dads got to enjoy some good Irish music at O'Malley's, and we ran into our friends the Whites who announced they're expecting! We finished up the day hanging out at the Koons, laying low and enjoying Todd's famous chili.

Sunday we slept in, ate our weight in pancakes and bacon, did some yard work, took a nap, went to the park, cooked a great dinner, then watched a movie. It was the perfect weekend; lots of family time, fun with friends, beautiful weather and good relaxation.

Ryan and Henry in Weston at the Applefest

We had to do some tree climbing at Loose Park on Sunday afternoon.

Papa introduced him to trees and it's no shock that our little monkey

took right to it. He still needs lots of help but I love watching him try

and seeing the thrill on his face when he gets up there.

Plaza Art Fair

2010-09-26T20:29:00.006-05:00

Our favorite weekend of the year... the Plaza Art Fair! We just spent a great weekend strolling the streets of the Plaza, checking out really interesting, but totally out-of-our-price-range art, grazing on good food and drink, seeing lots of friends and having a wonderful time. As much as we love it, I think Callie likes it more because she gets so much attention and can't walk a few feet without getting petted by friendly strangers. Ryan was old enough to enjoy the Art Fair this year and had lots of fun playing with his red balloon, stomping in puddles, petting other dogs and dancing to the music. When I say dancing, what I really mean is running around like a mad man while a good band is playing but stopping to clap when they finish a song.

This weekend we also picked up a great passed-down toy from his other cousin Jon, a battery-operated Jeep. He's tall enough to reach the pedal but doesn't understand how it works so instead of driving it, he's content just sitting behind the wheel pretending to drive it, and getting in and out of it repeatedly.

He's a sweet, spirited little guy these days. He's a typical, physical little boy who loves to climb and has no fear which is a challenging combination from a parental standpoint. This weekend he was demonstrating his newest talent, jumping. At least he only jumps in place and hasn't yet endeavored to jump off things down to the ground

he loved his red balloon at the Art Fair

trying out his new ride

look at the picture on the wall behind him;

someone looks like his daddy

Fun with Friends & Family

2010-09-19T16:39:00.005-05:00

I've been a little behind on posting, but it's not for lack of content. We went to the lake last weekend and stopped in Cole Camp with the Koons on our way through for their local fair. They close off their main street for the carnival rides and food booths and have a great little beer garden with a stage an authentic German music. We had a great afternoon and Ryan loved following Henry's lead. Henry was especially helpful and a good sharer; he let Ryan join him on a couple rides, won him a prize and let him eat his ice cream, popcorn and cotton candy. The weather was beautiful and we made the most of our lake trip since it's our last one for a few weeks.

Our friend Therese was in town from San Fran so she and several friends came over Friday to hang out. While we enjoyed a great night on the porch having drinks and getting caught up. There were some older kids here that night and Ryan was very interested in them and wouldn't leave their sides.

Saturday he got to see his cousins and lots of other kids at my sister's 40th birthday party. He had a ball playing with balloons, eating ice out of the drink buckets and getting into everything humanly possible. He got to spend the night with Popo and Grandma Marcia while I joined Todd in Lawrence for a big event he had earlier in the evening. Since we were in Lawrence, we went to Grant and Kristen's for brunch and the kids did lots of playing. Ryan loved all the different toys at their house and because they're so generous, we left with a car full of them to add to our collection. Jack is the best sharer of any kid I've ever known and picked out a book, clothes and other special things to pass onto Ryan. He especially took to their basketball goal and insisted on being picked up so that he could shoot a basket. He would have done it all day long if we had had the energy to continue. He also became quite attached to a small dog that wiggles and makes noise, didn't want to give it up and hasn't put it down since we got home.

Riding with his buddy Henry

Getting a ride from Aunt Kelli

Grandpa Ouchy

2010-09-09T21:57:00.008-05:00

My Grandpa Ouchy passed away last Sunday so we spent several days in Clay Center over Labor Day weekend. He lived 97 good years, didn't fight any illnesses and everyone got a chance to see him at the hospital so it was as good a passing as one could have. My cousin Cassie and her family from Denver were back and her little boy Ethan is 8 months older than Ryan. They had a fun time playing together and Ethan is such a good talker we hope that Ryan learned how great it can be to "use your words." The stairs at my mom's house are shorter and there's a place to hold onto so he became very independent at going up and down them by himself. He loved climbing up the slide and going back down and did agreat job; not falling once. There was tons of food which we all enjoyed, and I think he ate his weight in grapes.

Callie went with us, too and got tons of attention, especially from my Uncle Doug, Aunt Mary, and the kiddos of course. My niece Olivia and nephew Jack even taught her how to jump over obstacles on a course.

To answer a good question from Ann, this is Grandpa Ouchy got his name. When my sister was learning to talk my grandma had a broken leg so she called her Grandma Ouchy. By default, he became Grandpa Ouchy and since Michelle is the oldest of the grandkids that's what we all called the two of them.

Peek-a-boo

Playing with my cousin Cassie's son, Ethan

This slide provided hours of fun for the little boys

Callie and Ryan with cousins Olivia and Jack

Ryan was the happiest we've ever seen him

when Jack and Olivia arrived and started playing with him

Harrison & Clifford

2010-09-01T21:05:00.009-05:00

With Tom, Amy and Harrison Seymour

We had a wonderful time at the lake last weekend with the Seymours and are so glad they could join us. Harrison is such a sweet, smiley little guy and it's going to be especially fun when he's a little older and can play with Ryan. He had his first baby swim in the pool this weekend and we all enjoyed getting caught up with one another.

Todd and I celebrated our 8th anniversary this week so Mimi and Papa brought Ryan down to the Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit by my office so we could spend some time with him before he spent the evening at their house while we enjoyed an adult dinner and night out. He really loved climbing on all the toys and playing with everything. Ryan especially likes putting shapes into the matching holes and his favorite by far was the dog house which had shape holes and shaped objects. He's find shapes elsewhere in the exhibit and promptly take them back to the dog house and place them in their matching hole.

He had his 18 mo. appointment this last week and was 34.5 inches tall and 27 lb, 11 oz. He's proportionate so he doesn't seem oddly big to us, until we went to the Clifford exhibit and met 3 other kids within one month in age and he was seriously a giant in comparison. It made him look so old.

sitting at the counter like a big boy at the Clifford "kitchen"

After he tooks notes from the older girl on how it was done,
he took a stab at playing server/chef

his favorite part of the whole exhibit

loving on Daddy

I'm growing up

2010-08-19T21:56:00.003-05:00

Last week Todd mentioned that Ryan seemed taller. Because it was so gradual I hadn't noticed but he was absolutely right. It's not much, just enough that he can now reach onto the counters and take things off. He can also reach door knobs now and easily turned, unlatched and pulled one open last weekend.

Since Mimi and Papa don't have to report to school this August for the first time in decades they're devoting their full educational expertise to one lucky little guy. They took him to a play group and story time this week and he loved the special outings. Ryan loves his Papa and insisted on sitting on his lap during story time; mind you, Steve was the only man in the room amongst young moms, nannies, and Jane of course. I don't know who enjoyed story time more, Steve or Ryan:)

Below is our little guy following Callie's lead and very proud of his newest skill. We're oh so proud, too.

Feeling Much Better

2010-08-09T21:48:00.009-05:00

Little Rye Guy had a bout with strep throat in early August and is feeling much better now. We were very grateful that Steve and Jane live so close and are both retired now because they were able and very willing to watch him while he was sick (since he couldn't go to child care and I don't have PTO built up yet). We have been doing lots of playing indoors during the week and swimming on the weekends to stay cool.

Our little boy turns one and half later this month and its hard to believe he's grown up so fast. We love every minute though and are really enjoying his fun spirit now that he's mobile and verbal. He loves to crawl up into chairs by himself and will play chase if he's in the mood.

Trying to be a big boy like Isaac while getting a little love from Caroline.

He makes wedging into tight places look so easy.

While we don't encourage crawling inside the end table,

it's far better than the dishwasher, dryer and under the sink -

all places he's attempted to get into.

July Pictures

2010-07-25T21:57:00.006-05:00

I started a new job at Children's Mercy Hospital a couple weeks ago and have been preoccupied so I apologize for the lack of posts this month. The wonderful thing is, I only have a 20 minute commute and am able to spend more time with Todd and Ryan every morning and after work. I'm loving my new job and that it keeps me closer to home.

Ryan continues to be an active little guy with a sweet side and an ornery side, it just depends on the moment. He's doing a lot more babbling and trying to say words but we're still a ways from talking. He amazes us though with the words that do come out that we didn't realize he knew. We've been doing a lot of swimming and he thinks it's fun to put his face in the water for a second which is great. This last weekend he actually did a little kicking so we're glad that he's learning some basics and there's still a couple months of water time left this season.

Every night before bed, he gets a huge burst of energy and runs around the house like a naked mad man. His favorite thing of late, is to "crash" Daddy's clothes hanging in the closet. So long as they don't get a yellow shower, it's hilarious to watch.

just enjoying bath time

loving on Papa and Mimi

this is the ornery look

crashing Daddy's clothes

wearing Papa's shoe - he has a bit of a shoe fetish at the moment

playing IN the toy ottoman rather than WITH the toys

4th of July

2010-07-05T22:19:00.009-05:00

Ryan got a special visit this weekend from his Aunt Ali who came up from San Antonio to spend the holiday with us. When we went out to a restaurant Sunday afternoon he opted to lounge on her lap the entire time instead of using his highchair. We took Ryan on his first (and second) jet ski ride this weekend and went for more swims in the lake and the pool. He loves the water (which is pretty key to be a member of our family) and seems to prefer swimming in the lake more than the pool. He played hard all weekend long and was pretty much the center of attention for 4 days straight. Friday night he enjoyed being chauffeured around in his new cozy coup by Ashley Lutz who, unlike the rest of us, had the stamina to keep up with him.

His favorite thing as of late is pretending to talk on the phone. Although we have several fake phones and real ones we no longer use, he’ll put anything to his ear, including his food while he’s eating dinner, and have a conversation. If only we knew what he was saying. He also loves our dog to pieces and gives her the sweetest hugs and pets. Ryan continues to be one active little guy who has now mastered crawling up on the couches and chairs and loves to run circles around the house.

Hanging out with my Aunt Ali

I sure do love my new ride

Getting a little help from Ashley Lutz.

Ryan hugging and petting Callie.

New Babies and First Lake Swim

2010-06-23T21:54:00.005-05:00

We've been keeping busier than normal so I've fallen a little behind on our posts so sorry for lumping so much together. Several friends welcomed new babies recently so we visited them all last week. Monday we met Harrison Seymour, Tom and Amy's precious little boy. He's such a happy baby and Tom and Amy are wonderful new parents! Wednesday we met Emily Fitzgerald, Matt and Katie's new little girl. She is adorable and her big sister Abby is taking great to her new role. Thursday we saw Anna Collins, Zach and Meghan's little girl. She has a head full of hair like her big brother Charlie and is a little doll. Collins's got a new swing set which Ryan was more than happy to help break in and he had a ball following Charlie around and playing with all his toys.

We then headed to the lake to celebrate Father's Day and had a great weekend. Our little monkey figured out how to crawl up on the couch and also over the ottoman. Since blocking the living room opening with the ottoman was our way of containing him, we're now in trouble. After lots of playing hard, he did relax to watch his favorite cartoon, Jack's Big Music Show, and found a great pillow in Callie. They were both so incredibly cute laying together!

While we've been going boating for months and Todd and I have gotten in the water, we were waiting to let Ryan swim until the water got warm to make sure it was a good experience for him that he'd want to repeat. As the picture communicates, he absolutely loved it and was a little fish. Luckily, he likes his life jacket and has a positive association with it so we will take full advantage of that until he changes his mind.

About a month ago, Ryan started the phase where he doesn't want to leave Todd or me and takes about 10 minutes to warm up to everyone and everywhere else. It makes day care drop off difficult and requires us to plan ahead more but it's a phase and I'll enjoy our little guy wanting to be near us while it lasts.

Doo Dads

2010-06-10T21:58:00.005-05:00

We went to a local shopping area tonight to hear the children's band The Doo Dads with the Fitzgeralds who are expecting their second baby tomorrow! We had a fun evening and apparently it was the place to be because we also ran into the Gingriches, Cromwells, Walters and Allens. There are decorative fountains that kids can play in, and no shock, Ryan was quick to explore the water. He progressively got closer and more wet until he finally fully immersed himself and got soaked. Fortunately babies are even cuter when they're naked so he spent the rest of the evening in his diaper.

I'm taking some extra time off this summer and Ryan and I have been enjoying a couple mornings a week together which is special for both of us. We usually visit Loose Park and this week we visited a storytime at the local library which was a first for us. A certain somebody was a little rough with the other kids so we'll be doing more group activities in an effort to work on sharing, playing nicely with others and getting out of his comfort zone. He continues to amaze us and his new thing is needing to push buttons. Each time we go between the car and the house, he insists on pushing the garage door opener, then wants to turn the lights on and off and press the buttons on the security pad. You also have to watch him in, and near, the car because he'll crawl into the front seat to play with the steering wheel and push and turn all the buttons and knobs. He is 100% little boy!

Testing out the fountains before getting completely soaked.

Just chilling on the blanket with Abby Fitzgerald after a hard night of playing.

We ran into the Walters and Ryan kept playing with Jack's feet.

He couldn't stop giggling and flapping his arms he was so excited.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-04T23:26:00.008-05:00

We had beautiful weather at the lake and enjoyed a nice long weekend together. Ryan took a shot at coloring and he did pretty well at handling the crayons, but did a fantastic job of putting the crayons and water colors in his mouth. Luckily they're all non-toxic so it was safe while adorable, and we were able to just hose him off afterwards.

While on a Wal-Mart trip for flowers I spotted the toy that I always wanted as a kid, so I gave in and bought the Cozy Coupe for Ryan. He had a ball getting in and out, and in and out, and driving around occasionally, and I loved watching him have fun.

Unfortunately, he had terrible diaper rash; multiple types of rashes that weren't responding to heavy duty prescription cream. We resorted to letting him air out with naked time until that resulted in a major clean-up effort, so we put him in big boy underwear to help him air out but catch any business. It worked very well and oh did he look cute running around in big boy pants. Fortunately he's on the mend after a very long week so he's much more comfortable now.

Todd and I stayed at the lake for a vacation all week so Ryan had a great stay with Papa and Mimi full of spoiling galore.

Ryan got some great paints for his birthday from Jack & Olivia.
They're egg-shaped so they are the perfect for little ones just learning to grip.

His first masterpiece.

Sporting his temporary big boy underpants while getting in his new ride.

Ryan likes to double-fist his food and enjoys being a "piece of naked"
(as cousin Jon would call it) so naked, outdoor watermelon time
was quite the treat for the little guy.

Henry's Birthday

2010-05-25T21:22:00.004-05:00

We had fantastic weather last weekend at the lake and Ryan took full advantage by sporting the birthday suit or diaper-only look as much as possible. He played hard, but took lots of book breaks to sit in our lap and speed read his book of choice. Since he's not a still child, we treasure those moments when he willingly snuggles with us.

We returned Sunday for Henry Koons's 4th birthday party, complete with a Sider Man bouncy house. He took a while to warm up to the bounce house but loved it by the end and had a fun time crashing Dad inside. When he wasn't eating cake or candy from the pinata he was in the swing. It's his new favorite activity of all time and he cries when you take him out; no matter how long he's been swinging.

Ryan's getting all four molars in and is not his usual pleasant self so we're looking forward to this bout of teething being finished. He has learned how to turn light switches on and off and likes to play with the one in his room which he can reach from his crib. He also feels so proud when we let him help feed Callie or press the garage door button to open or close it. We love seeing what new things he learns each day. He's a spirited little guy who keeps us on our toes but has stolen our hearts.

I was just so tired that I fell asleep on Mimi while still holding my puzzle piece.

Reading a book with Dad. I especially love "touch and feel" books right now.

I would swing all day if you'd let me!

Zoo & Fire Engine

2010-05-17T20:57:00.006-05:00

We ended up staying in Kansas City this past weekend so we could attend a couple parties. Both Todd's parents are retiring at the end of this school year and Jane's coworkers hosted a party for her so we surprised her at the party and enjoyed getting to meet her coworkers. We had a nice lazy Saturday then dropped Ryan off for an evening with Papa and Mimi. When we arrived they showed off the new playroom they've made for him in the basement and a new toy was waiting for Ryan, his very own fire engine! His eyes lit up when he saw it, and he immediately hopped in. He had the biggest grin on his face, and it was absolutely adorable.

Sunday afternoon we went to the Kansas City Zoo for Luke Allen's 4th birthday party. Ryan sat nicely at the big kids table for, oh, 90 seconds, then that was it. Turns out they had education time checking out the animals first so there was no way he would have even come close to sitting still long enough for that portion. Of course once the cup cakes and ice cream came out, he was more than willing to sit still and even took a try at feeding himself the ice cream with the spoon. We went for a short walk around the zoo afterwards and he was fascinated by the sea lion show and really liked feeding the deer.

We continue to see more of Ryan's personality everyday and he continues to learn new things everyday, most of which we don't even teach him. His favorite thing to do of late is to get Callie's treats off of the shelf and feed them to her. We're pretty sure he likes Callie more than any human right now.

Notice the arm just resting on the side of the truck -
he's quite comfortable in his new ride.

He was a bit of a "tweener" at the party but
did his best to hang with the big kids.

He was eager to reach through and let the deer eat from his hand;
until he got nipped then he decided he'd had enough.

Chilly Mother's Day

2010-05-10T20:43:00.008-05:00

Swinging at Jolly Rogers after our Mother's Day lunch

"Forget sitting on your lap mom, I can do it all by myself like a big boy!"

We had a nice - albeit chilly - weekend at the lake enjoying time together and celebrating Mother's Day. Luckily it was dry so we were able to spend time outside and on the boat. We went to lunch at Jolly Rogers on Sunday and had fun playing with Ryan on their playground afterwards.

Ryan also got a visit from Popo and Grandma this past week and had a great time with them. Marcia found the way to his heart - a trip to the park with lots of swinging, lots of sliding, and even more swinging when they got home.

Like most little kids, he loves remotes and phones. He did manage to hide our DVD remote at the lake 3 weeks ago and it still hasn't surfaced, and he'll put phones up to his ear and say his version of "hello." He's also been waking up earlier than he has been for the last several months but no matter how tired we are, that adorable smile and those big eyes win our hearts each morning.

He loves sliding and does such a good job turning around on his tummy so that he can slide feet first.

Bear Snores On

2010-05-03T21:26:00.008-05:00

Just hanging out on a Saturday morning watching cartoons with my dog.

For the little boy who constantly moves and doesn't like to be still, we were thrilled when he started to bring us books and voluntarily sit in our lap to enjoy a good read - or at least a few pages worth. His favorite book is "Bear Snores On" followed closely by "Goodnight Moon." Just tonight he got off Dad's lap and out of the chair during the middle of his bedtime book to go get "Bear" out of the book case and read that one instead, then sat patiently for the whole story.

Like many of friends have said will happen, he'll say a word for a few weeks then it disappears from his vocabulary. The one word he has mastered with gusto is "more." He even manages to get a little bit of an "r" sound at the end. Otherwise he says with a fair bit of consistency "cack" for cracker, "ca" for car, "moo" and a "ooh ooh, eeh, eeh" monkey sound. He pats Callie when asked then gives her a sweet hug.

This past week he got a nasty diaper rash but it's fortunately on the mend after getting a prescription cream. He also got a quick visit from my mom and will get to see my Dad and Marcia this week.

This was the view early Saturday morning and was so peaceful.
Note the moon still out in the upper right-hand corner.

Spirited Little Guy

2010-04-18T21:51:00.006-05:00

Just pushing myself around on my four-wheeler.

Getting my first real haircut.

Todd refers to Ryan as "spirited" which is a perfect description. This last weekend he was around kids a couple years older and he gets so giddy with excitement it's hilarious. He'll smile, giggle then flaps his arms as if he were going to take off or something. We've been busier than we'd like but have tried to make the most of our time in the evenings and on the weekend with Ryan.

Last weekend we went to the lake where he got his first official haircut by a real stylist. He did surprisingly well and looks much older (and better) with his shorter hair now. We enjoyed a family hike at HaHa Tonka state park and since it had been dry Callie got to go and was in dog heaven. This weekend we stayed in KC and, although we didn't get to squeeze in everything we'd hoped to, we still got to see lots of friends and family. Ryan, my sister Michelle, and I went to Wichita for my cousin Mandy's baby shower and had a nice day getting to see everyone. We were able to meet her new son Graham and also my cousin Ryan's new baby Parker. The baby boys were adorable and are such wonderful additions to the Woodman family. Ryan followed around Carter, Tyler and Isabel, and I'm glad because they're great kids and hopefully some of their good behavior rubbed off on him. Sunday we saw the Seymours and Gingriches and Ryan had a good time trying to keep up Jasper and Emerson as well and, again, hopefully Ryan took note of how well they listened.

Ryan continues to adore Callie and will open up her kennel to let her out in the mornings. He is very interested in putting lids on and off things and has started to put blocks together. However, he also continues to put everything in his mouth from mulch to rocks to leaves. His latest trick is making his riding toys move and it's so darn cute to watch him motor around the house on his train or fire engine. Or, courtesy of Grandpa Steve, his four-wheeler or jet ski.

It's Clicking

2010-04-06T21:27:00.006-05:00

"What's clicking?" you ask. Everything! This past week, Ryan has started to understand so many things and each day does something new. It's really exciting to watch his comprehension grow, and we love that we can start to communicate with one another. After months of going over the names of everyday items, it's thrilling that all of a sudden he understands what familiar objects are called and will pick them out of a group if you ask him to get it for you. As I was getting dressed this morning and was putting on my first shoe, he went to my closet, got out my boot, brought it over and tried to put it on my other foot. Then tonight, when we were going through our evening bedding-down routine, he got his acid reflux medicine and the dropper, then sat down on the floor and went through the motions we do each morning and evening to take it. Since he's a bottomless pit, he's really taken to saying, "more" when he's out of food and is still hungry. Strangers could understand his "more" and "dada" but his other words require interpretation. We just love that he's eager to try to say new words. We've been enjoying as much time outside as possible and he's a champ on the jungle gym. Just tonight, he climbed up the stairs on his own then sat down at the top of the slide, turned around on his tummy and went feet-first down the slide all by himself. We've got a little monkey on our hands!

Grandpa Steve picks Ryan up the days I work in Topeka,
so when I went to get him at their house, they were outside
in the front yard playing with their old wagon.

Ryan playing on the jungle gym at the lake last weekend.
Callie loves to be right in on the action - even if it means
following Ryan up on the jungle gym.

Doing a mini Easter egg hunt in the back yard. This particular
activity is not one of the things that "clicked" for him. Callie
however was keenly aware that there were Cheerios and Nutter
Butters inside the eggs and was did a great job hunting them:)

First Boat Ride of the Season

2010-03-29T21:07:00.007-05:00

Although the forecast had called for rain and overcast weather all weekend, it was a beautiful, sunny weekend at the lake so took full advantage of finally getting to spend more time outdoors. Grandpa Steve picked up a newer fishing boat this weekend so we took it out a couple times for our first boat ride of the season. Ryan loved it on Saturday but was not nearly such a fan on Sunday. The good news is that he didn't mind the life jacket, although I'm sure that battle awaits us in a couple months. He is growing up so rapidly, and it's amazing to see the transformation from week to week. He says "more" now when he eats and is very interested in trying to repeat words. Rarely does he say the actual word, but he's usually pretty close on the syllables and inflection. He has also started to run and pick his nose. Not at the same time, but I'm sure that will be next.

getting shoulder rides from Grandpa who he calls Papa

playing with his car carrier which was a
birthday gift from the Collins family

playing with his best friend Callie

driving, and riding on, Grandpa's new boat

Todd on his first trip to the Ozarks
Somebody looks an awful lot like his daddy!

Another momentous occasion for our family -
the first televised Royals game of the season.
(Thank you Koons for Ryan's awesome jersey!)

Low-key Weekend

2010-03-21T21:03:00.004-05:00

We had a nice low-key weekend at the lake, and Ryan was thrilled to get to see his grandma and grandpa again since they were out of town last week enjoying their spring break. He did lots and lots of playing with them and was a really sweet boy. I gave him a little trim this weekend to clean up the long hair over his ears and his near rat tail in back! Ryan continues to be an active little boy who doesn't care to sit still so we cheat by changing his diapers and clothes while he's preoccupied drinking his bottle, or cutting his hair while he's busy eating crackers.

Sporting his "Grandpa's little fishing buddy" hat that they
brought him from the Bass Pro Shop and carrying
around his hammer that Jack passed down to him.
He carries that hammer with him everywhere,
all the time when we're at the lake.

getting his first hair cut,
although it was more of a light trim

helping himself to an apple in the fridge
while we were making dinner

Making some music while pointing his finger -
just like Grandma Jane does!

Loving on Callie - she's so patient and good with him.
We're very lucky to have the best dog in the world!

Trip to the Park

2010-03-18T21:43:00.005-05:00

It was gorgeous out today and now that it's still light out when I pick Ryan up after work, we took full advantage by heading to Loose Park. Following a little exercise for Callie and me, I took Ryan to the playground at the park and he absolutely loved it. Of course, we weren't the only ones with this idea so it was jam-packed with kids and parents like us who have been cooped up all winter. He pretty much just walked around and climbed on the toys, but was in awe watching the older kids play. Callie hung out on the sidelines watching us play and did such a good job of behaving amidst all the kids running and screaming around her. She got lots of attention and many pets from several of the kids though - including her number one fan, Ryan. We finished up the trip on the swing, and Ryan couldn't get enough of it. He had a smile on his face the whole time and just giggled and giggled all the while. I regret not bundling him up and going to the park this winter. He's grown up so much since we went swinging last fall that it was like a new experience for him.

Weekend in KC

2010-03-15T22:26:00.009-05:00

We decided to stay in town this weekend and made the most of our time here with friends. Friday our child care was closed so Ryan and I had a good day going to Target, Chick Fil-A and swimming at Matt Ross Center. The last time we went to the pool over Christmas he could stand but not walk so it was fun to see him traipse through the water and move about this time. It was also his first outing to eat fast food and play in a "play place." He didn't think anything special of the chicken nuggets but loved crawling up and down the jungle gym at the play area. He's always been a climber so we've taught him how to get down off things on his tummy and he does it correctly almost everytime now. It's amazing to watch him just scoot right off our bed, land on his feet and take off, given that the bed is as tall as he is. That night we joined the Jacksons and Mudd sisters at Tanner's to watch KU clinch the Big 12 championship. They were very accommodating to the fact we brought a baby to a bar, and we're glad we got to hang out with them and see a great game.

At Tanner's with Lindsey Jackson and Melissa Mudd

Saturday, we went to the Brookside St. Patty's Day Warm-up Parade. Ryan didn't seem to notice there was a parade going on but Todd and I enjoyed ourselves and saw several friends there. Afterwards, our friends (and neighbors) the Marcanos, who have a 3 month-old, came over and we had a nice, lazy evening just hanging out.

Not worry, they didn't see anything in appropriate to get those beads.

Since we're not home too often on the weekends, Sunday was our day to clean the house, get the porch cleaned up to use again and run errands. Nothing exciting, but necessary none-the-less.

Monday we had dinner over at the Cromwells and Callie got to join us. Their kids are 4 and 6 and were eager to give Callie and Ryan lots of attention. They're expecting a baby sibling (who they've lovingly named Baby Woo Woo) in September so they were especially helpful with Baby Ryan and he had a ball trying to keep up with them. Ryan has also become an even bigger fan of Callie these days and will pet her if you ask him to. He'll of course then dive on her and stick his little pointers in her eyes, but it starts out sweet and cute.

Thank goodness for Isaac who kept a helpful eye on Ryan
as he tried to get into everything at their house and
put anything within reach into his mouth.

Caroline loving on Callie

Playing with Friends

2010-03-10T20:22:00.005-06:00

Last weekend brought several opportunities for Ryan to play with friends. We enjoyed a gorgeous weekend at the lake and took advantage of the weather by having a camp fire and playing outside. Riggins were at the lake so we watched the KU v. MU game and had dinner together while Ryan, Cade and Jake played.

playing with Grandpa Steve's radio control truck

Sunday we returned to KC to meet up with a group of friends from Todd's Washburn Rural and KU days. The Wanamakers were in town so we met up with them, the Gingriches and Seymours for brunch at the Gingrich's new home in Olathe. The kids played hard and made the most of their time together as did we.

Caroline Wanamaker (18 mo.), Ryan (12 mo.), Jasper Gingrich (4), Emerson Gingrich (2)

After brunch, we headed to Hudson Walter's 3rd birthday party at Little Monkey Bizness. Ryan's never been to a play place like that so it was interesting to watch him check everything out. He didn't think much of the bouncy house but loved climbing on everything and going down the kiddy slides. It was so cute to see him sitting in a big boy chair and eating cake. He's usually one of the youngest ones at get togethers, but tries so hard to keep up and loves watching the big kids.

playing with Ben Allen at the birthday party

Going down the slide head first - how else would it be done?

1st Birthday Party

2010-02-28T22:19:00.006-06:00

Playing with his cousins Saturday night:

Olivia, Maggie, Katie, Ryan, Jack, Jon

Our little monkey is officially one and had a great party celebrating with friends and family this weekend. He had a fun night playing with his cousins Saturday night while the adults enjoyed a rare dinner out. Then Sunday, we got together at Waldo Pizza for some tasty food, adorable gifts and a good time.

Unfortunately I had a bit of a faux paux and let the birthday boy get to his candle as I was blowing it out so the cake-eating began with a loud, long cry. Once he got a taste of the frosting, all was better and he dug in.

Kelli Koons got adorable monkey cupcakes for us which were wonderful - so good that her nephew had 4! Ryan received many nice gifts including a mini ride-on jet ski. After a good, long nap, we had a wonderful evening at home trying out all his fun new toys.

We can't believe how grown up Ryan is becoming and love the little guy more and more every day. He's such a wonderful addition to our family, and we feel very fortunate to have such a sweet, fun-loving little boy. We look forward to all the memories to come in the year ahead!

Energizer Bunny

2010-02-21T20:23:00.006-06:00

We had a great weekend at the lake with our friends the Collinses whose little boy Charlie is 2 and the Riggins whose boys Jake and Cade are 3 1/2 and 2. Needless to say, the little boys did lots of playing and it was fun for us to watch Ryan try to keep up with them.

Ryan is on the go 110% of the time and is an active, adventurous little guy who is discoving his independence. I won't lie, he is exhausting, but it's so fun to see him come into his personality and explore the world around him hands-on.

Playing with his favorite toy; he'll spend 10 minutes putting the little ball into the helicopter. For the little boy that won't sit still, this is miraculous, making it our favorite toy as well.

Our fearless, little monkey who loves to climb.
His "dismount" needs some serious work though.

Why play with one of the hundred of toys in the room
when you could carry around a chair twice your size?

Playing with Cade at the lake. He was so good and patient
with Ryan teaching him how to share and never got
frustrated when Ryan would steal things from him.

San Antonio

2010-02-15T22:56:00.002-06:00

loving getting zerberts from Kelli while
we watched the KU game with Koons

with Markus and Ali in San Antonio

Todd's sister Allison turned 30 this past weekend so we visited her in San Antonio to help celebrate. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed getting to meet her boyfriend and friends. Friday night we went to hear her friend Reuben's band, then Saturday we enjoyed a nice day sight-seeing followed by an amazing beer tasting by her boyfriend Markus who is a very accomplished home-brewer.

While we had a great weekend in San Antonio, Ryan had a great weekend back in KC with Grandma and Grandpa A. He learned to play fetch with Callie and started standing up without holding onto anything. He's growing up so fast; it's hard to believe he turns one next week.

"No" means "go right ahead"

2010-02-07T23:20:00.005-06:00

Ryan is growing up so fast, and now that he's walking it's amazing to see how interested he is in the world around him. He's always on the go, always exploring, always putting things in his mouth and always crashing into something. The more exploratory he becomes, the more we are working on "no," or "stop" or "ah, ah" like we did with the dog so he learns he can't play in the fireplace, get in the toilet or walk down the stairs forward-facing. "No" seems to have little effect on this boy. If my family members don't read this entry, I can say that I have no idea where he gets this obstinate behavior. He really is fun though, and we've enjoyed more quality time playing with him lately.

Please disregard the bruises on his forehead in the pictures. They're from the usual spills he takes, he's just been taking more lately. Needless to say, we'll be waiting to take his one-year-old pictures until they clear up:)

he loves playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house
and this soccer ball was a huge hit

playing with Tupperware at the Super Bowl party

Walking!

2010-01-20T21:37:00.008-06:00

Ryan has been changing by leaps and bounds. He started taking steps a few weeks ago and is walking now like such a big boy. He also says "dog" and "dada" fairly reliably, and will neigh like a horse, clap or wave good bye if you ask him. Then again he's also fairly reliable at eating toilet paper, putting his fingers in outlets and beginning each day by head-butting something:) He stopped wanting his bottle this last week and eating solids as if he has a hollow leg. He likes to chew on the sippy but unfortunately won't drink from it yet so we're working on trying to get enough liquid in him each day.

After a brief hiatus from the lake in December, we've made it back down the past three weekends. It was beautiful down there with all the snow and was warm enough this past weekend that we enjoyed a fair bit of time outside. We also got to see our friends the Riggins and Collins's and it was fun to watch all our little boys play together. Ryan absolutely loves bath time so we hope his affinity for water continues and he enjoys being a lake baby this summer.

here's Ryan walking over at the Riggins' (with a lego in his mouth)

I was having trouble uploading the video so if you can't view it, it's also posted on FB at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=1328309375921.

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T21:03:00.011-06:00

taking advantage of all the snow and free time

standing - while playing with my phone

Maggie, Olivia, Katie, Ryan, Jack and Jon

Our child care was closed the majority of the last two weeks and fortunately my office was too so Ryan and I were able to spend several days together. We kept busy and enjoyed the time together, although we're ready to return to our normal schedule tomorrow. We started offf our vacation by going to Lawrence to take my nieces and nephews bowling for their Christmas present. They're so well-behaved that they make it possible to do such an activity with six kids. The next day Ryan and I went swimming at a local community center with a nice indoor zero-entry pool. He absolutely loves the water and had a ball so we'll definitely be returning sometime this winter. Before our family arrived for the holidays, Ryan and I visited all the Horton kids and grandkids, many of whom I haven't seen in several years.

After celebrating Christmas with the Abplanalp side here in KC we got another week of vacation which was wonderful. Since the snow was plentiful, Ryan went sledding for the first time. He was so stinking cute all bundled up, but couldn't move in his suit so when he tried to crawl he just face-planted in the snow. Since I'm not nearly as entertaining as his little friends at child care we squeezed in a play date for some toddler interaction. Then my mom came to town for a couple days to car shop so Ryan got to enjoy some spoiling from Nana. We celebrated New Year's Eve in town at the Morrison's new home. They graciously let us bring Ryan and stay over since sitters are impossible to get on NYE. We had a really good time and are glad we got to stay over so that we could enjoy the entire party. New Year's Day our friend Ryan Kiliany's dad Dennis was in town and hosted a pizza party which hit the spot after NYE. He used to work at a Chicago pizzaria back in the day and makes a mean pizza - and even sends you with a to-go pie.

We wrapped up the vacation by heading to the lake for the weekend. Ryan barely left his pj's the entire weekend, and we did lots of playing together. He's standing and capable of walking but doesn't have the motivation to take any steps yet (which is okay by us because he's hard enough to keep up with as it is). Ryan is a very busy child who is always on the move trying to get into whatever he can get his little hands on. He also knows how to clap now and excites himself when he gets going. It's hard to believe he's 10 months old already but we're loving watching the little guy grow and change everyday.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T14:20:00.007-06:00

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

2009-12-12T16:18:00.009-06:00

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

2009-12-07T10:56:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-29T21:27:00.004-06:00

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

2009-11-22T20:58:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-11T21:18:00.007-06:00

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)

2009-11-01T16:30:00.003-06:00

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

2009-10-25T21:21:00.008-05:00

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

2009-10-20T22:21:00.004-05:00

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

2009-10-14T21:42:00.007-05:00

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

2009-10-04T21:44:00.011-05:00

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.

Da Da

2009-09-30T21:29:00.008-05:00

After "hi Ryan" the first thing Todd usually says to him is "da da, can you say da da?" Well, Wednesday night when Todd asked this of him, he repeated back "Da da da da da!" It was the cutest thing ever. Ryan was so proud of his new skill that when we put him to bed he laid in his crib for at least 10 minutes saying "da da" like a broken record.

Plaza Art Fair and Bark at the K

2009-09-27T19:43:00.003-05:00

This weekend was our favorite of the year, the annual Plaza Art Fair. We spent Friday and Saturday night there with friends while Ryan stayed home with a sitter and took Ryan and Callie down during the day Saturday. Callie can't make it 5 feet without getting stopped by strangers for pets so she's in dog heaven there. It turned out that Sunday was a special promotion at Kauffman Stadium for dogs and it also happened to be the last home game of the year. We met up with the Koons' there then cut out a little early to go back to the Art Fair for cheap "end of Fair" food and drinks. Ryan's allergies cause him to have a lot of congestion which has given him a sinus infection and another mild ear infection so he's on antibiotics once again. If it continues we'll see an allergist.

Callie and Ryan at the last Royals' home game of the year which was also Bark at the K

Henry Koons and Callie

Note that Ryan's head is wider than mine:)

At the Plaza Art Fair with Kelli & Henry Koons and Meghan & Charlie Collins

Hillbilly Fair

2009-09-23T22:42:00.005-05:00

The small town near us at the lake was having their annual Hillbilly Festival last weekend while we were there so we visited and got ourselves a little slice of Americana. It was a pretty big event for such a little town and we enjoyed the trip with Grandma and Grandpa A, the Lutz's and the Collins family. Charlie Collins is almost two and had a great time riding the little kids train, going down the jumbo slide and, most of all, giving hugs to baby Ryan. It will be so fun to watch our boys grow up together at the lake. While at the lake, we celebrated Jane's birthday and had a nice relaxing weekend. Ryan's been a little under the weather and it turns out that his congestion has given him a sinus infection and mild ear infection. We went to the doctor this morning so hopefully he'll be back to his usual smiley, happy self in time for the Plaza Art Fair this weekend.

Love My Flowers

2009-09-14T20:39:00.004-05:00

The Wanamaker Family gave these musical flowers to Ryan and they're one of his favorite toys. He's anything but gentle these days so here he is treating them like drums.

Labor Day Vacation

2009-09-09T20:24:00.005-05:00

We just returned home from a good, long vacation at the lake last Thursday through early Wednesday morning. Todd and I spent a day over at Jeff and Kelli's lake house so it was nice to enjoy some adult time, too. It rained quite a bit so we relaxed inside and found other indoor activities but it finally cleared up Monday so we were able to squeeze in a couple boat rides. On Tuesday we boated up to the dam then walked around the old original Lake Ozark strip (old is an understatement). It was a fun little adventure that began with Todd beating me at skee ball, ended with getting rained on during the boat ride home and included some quality people-watching in between.

We're on life jacket #3 this summer and have found a winner.

The Collins' loaned us Kelsey's old life jacket that's 25+ years old,

and Ryan likes it the best of all of them. That, combined with his

shades makes boating quite enjoyable for us all now.

He was more interested in the texture of the rope than actually swinging with me.

posing in front of the "funny" mirror at Lake Ozark...

Christmas card pic perhaps:)

Last week Todd and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been 9 years since we've met! Ryan has had lots of firsts recently and continues to be so interested in the little things around him. This past week he got in his two bottom teeth and went swinging at a local park. I also picked up his Halloween costume over the weekend and there is one cute monkey at our house:) He doesn't seem to mind the get-up but I'm sure that will change by the end of October when it actually matters.

Go Royals!

2009-08-30T21:53:00.005-05:00

We took Ryan to his first Royals game last Tuesday. He did really well, and the outing was a success. We snagged a table at the bar in right field where we watched the first few innings, and Ryan got his picture taken with commentator Joel Goldberg. We then walked around the stadium and picked up his first-game certificate and bought him a ball to commemorate the occasion. He got sleepy in the bottom of the seventh and fell asleep on my chest so we found some empty seats behind home plate and enjoyed the rest of the game. The Royals won, and Zack Greinke set the franchise record throwing 15 strike outs. We had a wonderful evening and can't wait to go again this season.

We spent this weekend at the lake with our new neighbors, the Collins'! Zach, Meghan and Charlie are officially moved in next door and we're excited for all the fun to come. The weekend prior we spent a great weekend on the water with our friends Zach and Claire White. Ryan got lots of love of attention from the Whites and experienced his first campfire with them, too.

Ryan is growing up fast. He lost his horse shoe hairdo and now has blond hair coming in everywhere which makes him extra cute. He's rolling over finally and sits up unassisted although he can't get to a sitting position himself quite yet. He's trying all sorts of new solids and gives everything the same strange, disapproving face on the first couple bites. We're loving this stage and are having a lot of fun experiencing many new firsts with our little guy.

Visiting Family

2009-08-26T15:03:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I visited Clay Center this last week to see family. We stayed with my mom and Ryan had a great time checking out all the old toys that are new and interesting to him. We went to see my grandpa and great aunt at the nursing home, and between going to the Country Club, Danny's, Tasty Pastry, Dad's office and the bank, I think we saw half of the people in town. He behaved well, really turned on the charm and blew raspberries at all of the ladies in the office. We had a nice time in Clay Center and were able to squeeze in a short visit with the Knoettgen cousins in Maple Hill on our way home.

Ryan with Nana and his great-grandpa Whetstine

getting kisses from Popo at the office

playing with Grandma Marcia

Ryan and Parker

getting some help with his binky from Finley

(it's a little alarming that he's only 3 weeks older
than Parker but is closer in size to Finley!)

Started Child Care

2009-08-17T14:21:00.002-05:00

Ryan started child care today and we're easing into the transition so he went for a few hours this morning, will go until mid-afternoon tomorrow then all day Wednesday. He's the youngest of 5 kids: Morgan is 10 1/2 months, Madeline is 1 yr, Liam is 20 months and Hayden is 2 yrs. He was fascinated watching the older kids play and was pretty excited to check out some new toys. He did very well and, while I'm sad my little boy is growing up so fast, it's good for him to be around other children and in this new environment.

Outdoor Boy

2009-08-13T09:54:00.005-05:00

Todd took this picture of Ryan when he was outside in his exersaucer "supervising" our yard work. He really likes being outside since there are so many new and interesting things to check out. Lately we've just been sitting down in the grass to play and he thinks that green stuff is pretty fun to grab.

This is the little guy after a swim last weekend. He lasts for a good 20 minutes these days and it wears him out which makes for a great nap afterwards!

On a less pleasant note, he has an ear infection but is feeling a little better now that the medicine has had a few days to work its magic.

New Foods and Hopefully A New Tooth

2009-08-09T21:47:00.003-05:00

We've had a low key week here. I was in Austin for work last week and was thankful to have Kelli and Steve and Jane take turns watching Ryan during the day while Todd was at work. Todd's sister Ali drove up from San Antonio to Austin one evening so it was great to get to see her during my trip. While I was gone Ryan did all sorts of cool things for Todd. He put his binky back in his mouth, started to roll over and is doing really well at sitting up on his own.

He's definitely teething now which no fun for him or us. We hope he gets the tooth soon so that we can discontinue the Orajel and Tylenol as almost regular parts of his diet. We have been trying new foods, too, and much to my surprise, he's not that interested in the new flavors. He doesn't mind bananas but isn't excited about them either and didn't care much for the sweet potatoes. I guess I figured that after eating only breast milk and formula then a little rice cereal he would have been more interested in more flavorful food.

Weekend at Home

2009-08-02T20:51:00.003-05:00

This is our first weekend at home since early May but we've been packing in as much as we can. Saturday morning we all woke up very early, but it was intentional unfortunately. I did the WIN for KC all women's mini triathlon for the third year in a row and was so excited to have my favorite boys there to cheer me on. Several of our friends did the race too so it was fun to see lots of familiar faces on the course.

We had a full night Saturday and spent Sunday doing yard work, running errands and visiting Erin Collins who was in from Virginia with her new baby Andrew. I'm headed to Austin for work next week and I'll miss my boys terribly.

Flat Head

2009-07-29T09:34:00.003-05:00

We've noticed that Ryan's head is very flat and we hoped that since he's been off it during the day it might start rounding out but unfortunately it hasn't changed. So, we saw a specialist just to make sure since this is the time for an issue to get fixed if there is something medically incorrect. He does have positional plagiocephaly which means there's some asymetry to the shape of his head (looking downward on his head, but not looking at him straight on from the front). The doctor thinks it developed that way because of pressure to one side more than the other against my pelvis in utero (hence the siatica from 5 mo. on). He doesn't think it will merit a helmet but has advised us to give him 2 to 3 hours of tummy time a day. This is so he'll learn to roll over soon and we can put him to sleep on his tummy rather than his back. The poor little guy has certainly improved at being on his tummy but still screams bloody murder after 5-10 minutes of it. He's more agreeable to tummy time on the Boppy pillow than flat on the floor and does okay if he's on an ottoman looking at us eye-level and there's constant entertainment and distraction on our part. So, we're working on it but are far from the recommended 3 hours a day. We see the specialist in a month and will have another update then.

Four-Month-Old Photos

2009-07-22T22:24:00.004-05:00

We just got Ryan's pictures back from our friend Mark and they turned out great. If you like Mark's work, you can see more at http://www.markjacksonphotography.com/.

Ryan is changing rapidly and is really becoming aware of his surroundings. Just tonight he reached out to pet Callie on his own for the first time.

First Photo Shoot

2009-07-14T09:45:00.004-05:00

Our friend Mark Jackson does photography on the side professionally and personally so he and his fiance Lindsey Kiliany gave us a photo shoot for a baby gift. They came over to our house last week to take the pictures and while he's still editing them, he gave us a teaser and sent us a few pictures.

(of course Callie is completely cooperative and Ryan is tired and ready for bed at this point)

Ryan's been teething lately which is too bad for the little guy. Last night he was sitting up by himself on the kitchen table between Todd and me and was up to 60 seconds when all of a sudden he let out his "something hurts" cry and went from happy to wailing in an instant. Needless to say we picked him up so weren't able to see just how long he could sit by himself. He does well on hard surfaces but tips over almost immediately if he's on a bed. He still isn't rolling over and continues to not like tummy time but is getting better at it (as evidenced by the picture above).

Fourth of July

2009-07-09T14:29:00.007-05:00

Fourth of July is bigger than Christmas in our family. We took Friday off and went to the lake Thursday evening and came back early Monday morning so that we could enjoy a long holiday weekend. Our friends Jeff and Kelli got a new boat and new dock last week so we went to their place Thursday and part of Friday (sans Ryan). The new boat is awesome and we had a great sunset cruise followed by a chilled evening breaking in the new dock. After staring at a computer screen all week, there's nothing we love more than that first night at the lake sitting outside under the stars - especially if we get to spend it with our best friends. We enjoyed the rest of the weekend at our place with Steve and Jane. We also got to see lots of our friends the Riggins who were in from Tampa and are hopefully moving back soon so we can have more lake weekends together. Todd's best friend Zach Collins and his family just moved back from Tampa last week (strange, I know; we had two friends in Tampa for short-term work gigs) and are buying the place next door to us at the end of the month so they made a day-trip down on Sunday. We can't wait to have them there on the weekends!

We returned Monday and ended up getting a newer car to replace the Camry which recently started having issues after almost eight years of no trouble. We got another silver sedan but it's a little sportier than the grocery getter and has all-wheel drive which will be good for my winter trips to Topeka. We also got to see the Collins' new house in KC and are glad to have them back from Tampa. And, we finalized Ryan's child care! Starting in mid-August he'll be spending 4-5 days a week with a nice woman named Susan (our parent's age) who watches a few kids in her home in Prairie Village.

Ryan has discovered his feet and loves to play with them... almost as much as he likes chewing on his fingers. He's sitting up a little better, but not quite on his own yet. He changes everyday and is getting more and more personality. He sleeps from 9'ish to 6:30'ish about half the time and the other nights wakes up once around 5:00 or 5:30 and just requires rebinking so we're almost there but have yet to rest all night long consistently.

(Jake Riggin, Cade Riggin, Ryan, Charlie Collins)
We're already speculating about all the trouble these
four boys will get into playing together at the lake.

(with Kelli and Jeff on their new boat then on their new dock)

Weekend with the Cousins

2009-06-29T22:11:00.006-05:00

We went to the lake this weekend with the Horton clan and the Ryan clan (sans my brother Grant who couldn't join us) so needless to say, Ryan and Callie got tons of attention from all of their cousins. Kristen and I took Olivia, Jack and Ryan down early and spent the day Friday playing dime skee ball in Osage Beach. It's a true throw-back to 1950 and we had a great time. Friday night my sister and her family met up with us and we enjoyed an evening out at Coconuts which is an outdoor restaurant with a beach where the kids went swimming after dinner. We spent lots of time at the pool, Todd gave all the kids jet ski rides and they all went tubing behind the boat. Saturday night, we went to Jolly Rogers for my niece Katie's birthday dinner. She's the oldest of all the cousins, and turned 10 this weekend! We had a fun time together and hope that Grant's able to join us next year.

Ryan had his 4 month check up last week and I learned my lesson the hard way after his 2 month immunizations so we were well-prepared with Tylenol this time and had no troubles. He also started cereal this week and -after a few failed attempts the previous weeks - is now taking to it pretty well. His sleeping is still on the fritz so no repeated nights of nice long rest for us quite yet. I've been visiting child care providers last week and this week so hopefully we'll be able to nail down those plans soon!

Oh, and we got a new camera!!!!

(Ryan, Jack, Katie, Jon, Maggie and Olivia in their pirate pose)

(Katie celebrating her 10th birthday at Jolly Rogers with their parrot Corona)

(sister Michelle, me, Todd, sister-in-law Kristen, brother-in-law BD)

(Olivia, Ryan and Jack in Osage Beach)

Happy 5th Birthday Callie

2009-06-23T16:49:00.004-05:00

Callie officially turned 5 today. She is the perfect dog for us and has been such a wonderful addition to our family. We love her sweet disposition and she truly is the best family pet we could have ever asked for. Here are some of our favorite old pics from when we first got her and then one of her all grown up.

First Father's Day

2009-06-22T12:47:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posts but last week was very hectic around here. I had a conference in town so Ryan got to spend Wednesday afternoon with Popo and Grandma Marcia then Thursday and Friday (and Friday overnight!) with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Jane. Friday night, Todd graduated from Centurions which is the Chamber's leadership program he's been in the past two years. It was a very fun evening, and we'll miss getting to see all our friends through Centurions as often. Saturday morning we headed off to the lake to celebrate Father's Day and had a great weekend.

Ryan is doing much better now that he's had his full course of antibiotics. We speculate that he may have had the ear infection for a while but didn't run a fever so we weren't aware. His eating has been noticeably better since he got rid of the ear infection so we hope that continues.

He turns 4 months old today so we tried some rice cereal and are headed to the doctor tomorrow for his next round of immunizations. We're also checking out child care providers so hopefully we'll have something nailed down in the coming weeks.

Under the Weather

2009-06-12T10:35:00.003-05:00

Ryan woke up with a fever this morning and didn't eat normally yesterday so we took a trip to the doctor and found out he has an ear infection. We're glad that's all though because Todd had the stomach flu earlier this week and we assumed he might have gotten that. They weighed and measured him while we were there and his stats at 15 1/2 weeks are:

weight = 17 lbs, 3 oz (94th percentile)
height = 26.75 in. (98th percentile)

So, he's gained exactly 10 pounds since birth and Jane just dug up Todd's baby stats which are very similar. At 17 weeks Todd was 17 lbs, 14 oz and 26.5 inches so he not only looks like his dad, he's growing like him, too.

Blowing Raspberries

2009-06-09T10:04:00.005-05:00

Ryan has taken to blowing raspberries now and if he's in the right mood he'll mimic the sound you make while blowing them. He's getting more and more personality everyday. With the added personality comes more delightful moments of smiling and cooing but also more moments of being fussy and wanting attention. He continues to hate tummy time but is showing small improvements and continues to like the exersaucer and jumpster where he can stand. His poor little head is pretty flat in back so we're working on that and hope it either rounds out or he grows some hair over it:)

Our friends the Fitzgeralds came to the lake with us last weekend with their 10 1/2 month old Abby. She was an absolute doll and did a fantastic job on the boat and even went for a couple swims in the pool and lake. While I don't wish away any phase with Ryan, after spending time with Abby, I do look forward to when Ryan's that age and life is no longer just about eating and sleeping.

First Swim

2009-06-02T12:20:00.002-05:00

First of all, sorry for the lack of pictures but our camera started acting up shortly before Ryan was born and officially now only takes video and no pictures. We're in the process of getting another but havne't gotten around to it yet and are bumming off other peoples' cameras in the mean time.

We have a pool at the lake now and Ryan went for his first swim. The water was pretty cold and he didn't love it, but didn't hate it right away either. I don't know if I'd call it a success but he did okay and lasted about 10 minutes before he'd had enough.

The little guy decided a few weeks ago that he didn't care for breast milk any longer so we've been transitioning to all formula and he's actually been sleeping better and less fussy overall. He usually sleeps about 7 hours, eats and goes back to bed for a couple hours which has been great. Of course, once we tell people this, he goes back to having a shorter night and fusses just to keep us on our toes. Little stinker. We continue working on tummy time but he is definitely not a fan so his head is still pretty flat and he hasn't even hinted at rolling over. He has however discovered his voice and has started to mimic a little, too.

Holy Carp

2009-05-25T21:08:00.007-05:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend at the lake, and the highlight was the visit from Todd's sister Allison from San Antonio. Ali finished her MBA this last year and was just awarded her PhD so she's been very busy this spring defending her dissertation while working as a business developer at Hyperion Technology. We're very proud of her and glad she's finished so that she could make the trip north to meet her new nephew.

The other highlight of the weekend was the huge fish that Steve caught. He reeled in a 53 pound, 45 inch carp after about 20 minutes of work with Todd's assistance and a crowd of onlookers.

Todd and I were able to go down to the lake on Thursday night so it was a mini-vacation for us. We enjoyed nice weather until Monday when it poured on and off all day long. We got in a couple boat rides, some jet ski rides, a fire works show, dinner at the Lutz's (our new neighbor's next door; Martha is one of Jane's best friends from Topeka), our first family nap with our squirmy little guy, and a wonderful time catching up with Ali.

(Ryan with his Aunt Ali visiting from Texas)

(Steve's big catch; a 53 pound, 45 inch carp)

Horseshoe

2009-05-18T09:32:00.004-05:00

Ever since he was born, Ryan has been sporting a horseshoe hairdo which has become even more prominent the last month. We still think he's adorable but our little man is a little funny looking from the back these days. We had a wonderful weekend relaxing at the lake. It was too cold to go boating so we planted flowers and watched a good lightening storm. Sunday we went to Henry Koons' pirate-themed birthday party. It was a great time, and we're glad we got to help Henry celebrate turning 3.

Now, we're looking forward to the holiday weekend ahead and seeing Todd's sister Ali who will be visiting from San Antonio. Kudos to Aunt Ali on being awarded her PhD a couple weeks ago! We're very proud of her and can't wait to see her.

(the two Ryans hanging out, and a good view of our little man's hair)

(Callie sporting a pirate dew rag at Henry's 3rd birthday party)

First Mother's Day

2009-05-12T10:55:00.003-05:00

We had a really nice first Mother's Day at the lake with some good relaxation and quality time together. Ryan and Grandma Jane enjoyed a nap on the couch together Sunday, and I couldn't resist getting this picture. The sweet guy changes everyday and although he has been sucking on his fingers and hand for several weeks, he actually manages to get just the thumb pretty often.