Monday Picture

Let's go fly a kite...

Morning Routine

Sharing some Cheerios before we head out to school and work.

Sigh

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dan came to visit. It was great. Now they are gone and we are sad.

Monday Picture

The Slide Has Been Mastered

More Words

Before Ryan was born I actually wrote words here.  Pictures were always present too, but I told stories, gave updates and provided something more than cute pictures.  Any parent can attest that 2 kids are harder than 1 (and I imagine 3 are harder than 2 and so forth).  With two kids, a full time job and the many other things that take up my time, finding time to fill up this space with anything more than pictures and a quick sentence has become somewhat daunting.  With that said, I do want to try to be better.  I see this blog as a baby book.  So I am going to try harder to include more words. 

First of all, an update on on the boys.  Mr. Michael (who prefers "just Mike") has turned into the sweetest kid around.  So far three has been amazing.  It is like he finally gets it.  What felt like we were constantly banging our heads on the wall when he was 2, has paid off and he is a polite, helpful, considerate kid.  Don't get me wrong - he is still three and still throws tantrums, but we don't have daily battles about putting socks on and getting in the car.  He is AMAZING with Ryan.  Their relationship has really started to blossom in the past few months and it is clear that they think the world of each other.  Mike is always willing to help Ryan, play with Ryan and cheer Ryan up.  If Ryan starts crying in the car, Mike with automatically start singing the ABC song and Ryan will stop crying about 95% of the time.  Mike's teacher consistently tells me what a good helper he is, how well he shares with the other kids and how much she enjoys having him in her class.  His current favorite show is Diego and he loves the colors blue and orange.  A favorite pastime lately has been "worm hunting" where we dig up worms in the garden.  He doesn't especially want to hold them (that is my job), he just wants to touch them, watch them wiggle, then put them back in the ground so we can find more.  He is a true Cardinals fan and LOVES Fredbird.  He loves going for hikes and thinks splashing in puddles may be the most fun thing ever.

Then there is this little guy: Ryan, Ry, Ry-Ry, Ry-Ry the science Guy or Baby.  My once calm as a cucumber baby has turned into an opinionated toddler.  My favorite way to describe him is by saying "it is a good thing he is so darn cute."  His world revolves around mama, but unlike Mike as a baby, he is not really shy at all.  He can say mama, dada, hi, bubble, uht-oh, cracker and thank you.  He eats anything and everything and is a champion popsicle eater (barely makes a mess).  He loves to be outside, and insists on holding Sam's leash whenever we go for walks (sometimes we give him our extra leash to hold instead of the real thing).  He would follow Mike to the ends of the earth.  His current favorite thing is to push the stool up to the sink in the kitchen and try to play with anything he can get his hands on in and around the sink.  The kids loves water.  He is also a master silverware thief and can almost always be found with a (plastic) fork or spoon in his hand. 

That's all I've got for now.