Doo Dads

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

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

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

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

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

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.