Thomas Grant Abplanalp

After a brief break from keeping up with the blog, I'm happy to be back with the wonderful news that we welcomed Thomas Grant Abplanalp on August 1st at 8:08pm. He weighed 8lbs 2ozs and was 21 inches long. Ryan was the sweetest big brother ever when he met him giving him a hug and saying, "he loves me!"

More pics will follow as will some past photos of Ryan and the new house, but here's a glimpse of our new bundle of joy.

Happy 3rd Birthday & March Madness

My apologies for being so absent lately. The past month has brought my busiest work time of the year, Todd's busiest work time of the year, Ryan's 3rd birthday, surgery for Ryan, selling our house, hopefully buying another and learning the sex of baby #2!

Happy 3rd birthday to the most energetic, adventurous, curious, fun little boy we know. He celebrated on his actual birthday (Feb. 23rd) at school with Thomas the Train balloons and train cookies that he helped make. I can't believe how grown up he looks in the first picture! He's still about 3 feet and 35 pounds, but he's stretching out and now that he's potty trained and doesn't have a bulky diaper on, he appears even older.

The weekend after his birthday we celebrated with family and friends at a Finding Nemo pool party at Matt Ross Community Center. The kids could have cared less about the cake and just wanted to hurry up so they could go swim:). It was so sweet to watch Ryan blow his candles out this year because he actually understood what was going on.

March Madness has a new meaning for our family and is in full swing for us. The week following Ryan's 3rd birthday, he was scheduled to have his tonsils and adenoids out (if you're older than 3 it's outpatient surgery and you don't have to stay overnight). We visited the hospital a couple days prior for a pre-op tour which helped us all better prepare for the events that day (not to mention, it was interesting for me to be on the patient side of things at Children's Mercy), then we returned on Friday the 2nd for his surgery. They let him take one "comfort item" so Scruffy (the stuffed dog he has permanently borrowed from his cousins Jack and Olivia) got to go into surgery with him and got an ID bracelet just like Ryan's, which is still on as his collar. He was a trooper up until he came out of anesthesia when he went from real crying to the a constant drone of fake crying for a good 15 minutes until he fell asleep in my arms. Once he was under and the surgeon got in his throat she discovered that his adenoids were enormous and we learned that was the cause of his "Darth Vader breathing." He's already feeling much better and after a week at home with me and getting more sleep than usual, he returns to school tomorrow. It will take several weeks for any results to fully set in but we can already tell he's starting to snore less and we're hopeful that being able to breath through his nose will help him sleep better, talk clearer and generally be in a better mood.

Daddy, Ryan and Scruffy before going into surgery.

Since we had lots of time together at home this last week, we learned about bugs and made some crafts. I don't think it matters what the craft is, as long as it includes googly eyes:)

I wrapped up my big event at work and busiest time of the year on Feb. 11th in time for Todd to start his busiest time of the year from February through April. We were planning to put our house on the market for sale by owner at the end of February to see how it faired and were under contract within one day. We did the showing the night of Ryan's birthday and began house hunting immediately and are in the process of negotiating a deal on a house but it's far from final so we're keeping our fingers crossed it works out on the new place.

Somewhere in the middle of our March Madness, we learned that baby number 2 is a boy, and our due date is still August 2nd. Todd and I are both very excited to have another boy however Ryan still asks for a baby sister so we'll see how that pans out.

Other fun pictures from the past couple months...

My cousin Mandy and her family were in KC to celebrate Bell's birthday and we met up at Union Station where the kids had a blast playing hands-on with everything. It was so good to see their family, and we're glad the kiddos got to play together.

digging fossils

exploring the helicopter with Bell, Brad and Daddy

Just being silly with Mommy. He found the Scotch tape, brought it to me, and told me we needed to make piggies. We had done this once months ago and I had no idea he'd remember.

Lots of good, silly fun, but oh so flattering:)

Our little squirt loves to slide, and the surface doesn't even have to be slick. But when he discovered the long, slippery hallway at Aunt Kelli's house, there was no stopping him.

Happy New Year

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

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.