Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day 2013

July 4th began with water fun on the deck. Grandma Barb and Bapa gave us a water table and the kids played with it all morning. Splash!

After afternoon naps, we headed to Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis for a little stroll around the lake. Actually, we walked a quarter of the way to the beach, slid down a slide once, then turned around to go back.

On our way back, we stopped at Fat Lorenzo's for dinner - pizza. The weather was beautiful, sunny, and warm with a slight breeze. It was a no-brainer to sit outside!

Girls on one side...

Boys on the other!

Before we had left, Mom surprised us with an ice cream treat - Chocolate Chip Gelato. Everyone enjoyed it. In fact, Laura and Mom fought for the final scoops!

Super excited to eat chocolate chip gelato!

Even Ryan couldn't resist! He gave Mom a big landing spot for the spoon.

Laura's first fireworks

I had asked Laura earlier in the day if she wanted to see the fireworks. If you remember, she has been no fan of the loud boomers. She answered "YES!" with excitement but also had concerns that they would be too loud. Rather than drive somewhere, we chose to sit on our deck and watch our neighbors blow them off. It's not a bad show.

We told her to fall asleep and we would wake her up when it was time. Wishful thinking. She came up with every excuse in the book on why she came out of her room. Who could blame her?!?

Once the neighborhood fireworks started, Laura screamed with excitement. She told us, "This is the best night ever!"

"This is the best night ever!"

This was her face after every firework! Priceless.

Great view of our neighbors blowing off big fireworks!

The amazing thing about the fireworks was that Ryan slept through the whole thing! FYI - Ryan is a very light sleeper!!! If the TV is too loud or someone walks by his door and steps on a creeky floor board, he wakes up! I can't believe he slept through it.

Ry-Roo Gets a Haircut

Well, the Ry-guy's hair was getting way too long.  I did already give his hair a trim in early May, but it was poorly done and had already grown quite a bit.  His Justin Bieber sideswipe/Donald Trump toupee look worked for awhile but the hair kept falling back into his face.  As the mom, I was the hesitant one because I didn't want to see his sweet baby hair (he's getting curls in back!) snipped off.  As the dad, Mike was hesitant because he knew it was going to be a scream-fest.  And he was right.

Pre-Haircut:

So we arrive at the establishment.  Ryan was sobbing as soon as we put him in the seat.  He can be a little sensitive around people he doesn't know well.  The lady was nice and did a great job despite his hysterics, but she did have sort of a severe look about her (not much of a smiler) and I think that added to his fear.

Here we are consulting on the 'do; a cape has been added which caused additional freak-out because he could not get his arms out.

Many tricks were used in order to get through the haircut: video, Mum-Mum crackers, Laura blowing bubbles, and finally a Dum-Dums sucker (bad idea in hindsight, too much hair flying about and he kept removing the sucker for big sobs).  Here he is at a calmer moment.

Oh, Ry Ry.  We survived and I gave a big tip.  Ryan shrieked when we took the hair-covered sucker away and proceeded to do the big, body-shaking sighs and sobs for another 5 minutes after we walked out.

Goodbye Sweet Curls in the back.

Ryan's Bedtime Story

Bedtime

Fishing Trip 2013

Canada Fishing Trip on Father's Day

I hope we don't continue this tradition but it's looking like we will...fishing on Father's Day. This year's trip was the best ever (for me personally). I caught my largest walleye (23.5") and largest fish ever, muskie (42"). I caught a personal best 100 fish on this trip (80 walleye, 12 muskie/pike, and 8 other species).

Even though I had so much success and fun fishing, I really missed my kids. Goes without saying, I missed Mom too.

Before I had left, Ryan was just starting to walk. Seven days later, he's a little man stumbling and bumbling his way from room to room! That's a big change in one week.

But the reason why I missed my family so much was because of something Laura did. She secretly stuffed a beautifully written letter in my duffle bag and I opened it up on Father's Day. Here it is...

Laura's Father's Day Note 2013

Isn't this the best? I love it!

Since this was my best fishing trip ever, I should document it. I highly doubt I will catch a bigger fish in my lifetime...but it's sure worth trying!

A shot of Bobbies Bay from our cabin at Sportsman's Lodge on Oak Island.

Eating lunch on a secluded island.

My largest walleye. 23.5". Rewarded with a deer stick.

12 year old Max lands the largest walleye this year 25.5". First time on this trip. Lucky!

Walleye fishing was slow so we decide to try for pike.

Caught this 42" Muskie on a white spinner.

Took many runs and fought hard! Great fun!

Here is a very short video clip of the fish. Had to get this beast back into the water.

Ryan is 13 Months!

Look out everyone, here's 13-month old Ryan!

Likes: Food, especially cheese, berries, and crackers, the remote, running away/chasing/wrestling games, pushing the lawnmower and car around in the basement, opening drawers and cupboards, making the "roar" sound, favorite books right now are Barnyard Dance, Goodnight Moon, and the "Peekaboo" book, doing anything he has been told "no" about

Maybe I won't get caught with the remote this time...

Dislikes: Signing for what he wants (would rather just screech about it), laying down for diaper changes, being put down for a nap - throws everything out of the crib and then screams for it

Any new tricks? Above you can see a pretty good representation of Ryan's walking skills; his grandma refers to it as the "drunken sailor." He's preferring to walk more and more, but he's really tipsy and falls down quite a bit.  He's using the "more" and "all done" signs less and less, but has learned to shake his head side to side as a way to indicate "no" and he does this all the time.  The other word he's learned and uses ALL.THE.TIME is "dat" aka "that."  He points incessantly at everything and always wants to know what "that" is.  His love for the remote sometimes causes me to have to hide it when Laura is watching her shows.  Unfortunately, Ryan has figured out my favorite spot (under the couch pillows) and knows to just pull the pillows off the couch to access it.

Well, hello, ladies.  Ignore my diaper sticking out of my saggy swim shorts.

And this is why we keep him around...

Adversity

Life isn't easy...

Laura has reached a stage where I have a pretty good idea how she will respond to adversity. She is generally calm and mild-mannered but from time to time we get a glimpse of a melt down. When I say melt down, it's a mad face, angry tone, a little yelling, and sometimes tears. This is pretty typical at 4 years old.

On the other hand, Ryan is completely different (in comparison with Laura at age 1). Recently, he has become aggressive, vocal, and squirmy. We never saw that with Laura. The sheer volume of his screams can best be described as "Bloody Murder." I hope this is a passing phase.

Here are a few clips of the kids facing adversity. Laura riding her bike uphill (angry) and climbing the slide backwards (not angry). Ryan is trying to pull down the balloon (good thing he is content with not being able to get to it).

First Steps

Ryan is almost walking. Almost. And you can see that he really wants to. In the basement, he takes the lawn mower or car and pushes it around the room, then lets go to take a few steps. Upstairs, he launches himself off the couch or ottoman.

A couple of days ago, we watched Ryan take about 8-10 steps! Too bad the camera was in another room, it was a great moment. Mom and I tried to recapture that in the video below.

This video shows a couple of walking attempts but more importantly what Ryan likes on the main level. He wants to be chased, climbs stairs, pounds toys, pulls on drawers, and sticks fingers in outlets. You know, boy things!

 

Ryan is 1!

Height:
Weight:
(Info to come after upcoming doctor appointment)

Likes: Moving around- never sitting still, eating (favorites include string cheese, frozen mixed vegetables, strawberries, raspberries, and whatever we're eating for dinner), crawling up the stairs, playing in the bathroom (tub and toilet are of greatest interest), chasing games, pulling open drawers, Laura's puppy, his sleep sack which is fast becoming his "lovey"

Dislikes: Waiting for food, being put in the exersaucer, grass (he will stay put on a blanket on the grass), the changing table/diaper changes/changing clothes - has started to swat at us when we put him down

Any new tricks? He gets ever closer to walking - lots of cruising around on furniture, testing out letting go while standing, trying out a step or two before crashing. Ryan understands the word "kiss" and will give you a big, wet, open-mouthed bite on the cheek if you ask for one. He waves when you say "bye bye" and says "Da da" very clearly when daddy comes into the room. We switched to drinking milk instead of formula this week but haven't ditched the bottles yet. Ryan knows how to bounce and will climb on the trampoline and bounce himself on his crib mattress too!

What a crazy year when you consider how Ryan's life started out and what he's like today!  He totally wears me out - chasing him is a full-time job in itself - but he is such a fun and happy kid that you can't help enjoying being around him.

May 10, 2012

Ryan's Birthday Party with Family

And now let the mess, excuse me, eating begin!

Baseball Cupcakes

Godfather Matt

Ryan's First Birthday

Ryan Is One Year Old!

Pizza Party at Daycare

Happy Birthday, Ryan!   

He started his birthday celebration with a pizza party at daycare and then came home to presents and a chocolate cupcake. 

In this video, you will see him eat, smash, throw, and smear a cupcake. Unlike Laura, this little guy eats both frosting AND cake!

On Sunday, we have a double header lined up, Mother's Day and Ryan's Birthday party. It's going to be a baseball-themed birthday. 

Be prepared for classic baseball food, snacks, drinks, games, and gifts. I am very excited.