Holidays 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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)