Daycare, Pee, and Push-ups

There are 3 things I don't want to forget, so I'm writing them down before they're gone from my busy mind.

# ONE - Daycare
Ryan and Grace started a new daycare on Tuesday (July 29). It's in a home and the provider's name is Netta. She's awesome. We love her, we love her house, we love her kids, and we love that she provides written and verbal updates about our kids. She also does tons of activites, games and crafts with them. On Tuesday when we dropped the kids off I was so happy that they were in good spirits when we left. Ryan was already moving around the place, checking out all the toys, and when I kissed him goodbye he was wearing this huge pair goggles that he had found (bright blue and square shaped, with no lenses). It was hilarious! And Grace was literally all smiles and laughs, bouncing up and down in our arms before we left. Scott picked them up in the afternoon and they both did really good on their first day. Netta even gave us a write-up of how their day went. I love that. Right now we're taking them there 1 day a week to get acclimated, and they'll start a 3 day per week schedule in September.

# TWO - Pee
This is huge! On Tuesday Ryan started peeing in the big toilet, standing up! Up until this point he had been sitting down on his potty chair when he had to go to the bathroom. But on Tuesday morning (July 29) when Scott reminded him to go to the bathroom, he walked in there and decided (all on his own!) to walk up to the big potty and pee standing up. Scott and I had a fun time watching him do this, I guess because it was so unexpected. And ever since that day... it's now 1 day and several hours later... he's continued to pee in the big toilet whenever he has to go. I'm very proud of him.

# THREE - Push-ups
Just today (July 30) we noticed that Grace is able to lay on her stomach and push herself up. Instead of only raising her head up, she plants her hands on the floor and lifts her entire chest up off the floor. Isn't it funny that I'm talking about a 10-month old baby just being able to do this now? She doesn't crawl, she doesn't stand against furniture, and she doesn't walk yet. But she's starting to get stronger so I'm happy about that. She can definitely roll around... she moves into about 50 different positions when she's sleeping. Oh, and one more thing we saw her do tonight that is new... Ryan was laying on his back and he wanted me to lay Grace on top of him, so as I did that she planted her arms and legs firmly on the ground while her butt was stuck up in the air, almost like a "downward dog" position in yoga. And she held herself that way without faltering! I was impressed.

Alaska Rainbow

Isn't this cool? My nephew, Mark, just got back from a trip to Alaska with my Mom and they caught this awesome sight while they were there.

Spidey Loves the Twins

Last night we brought Ryan to his FIRST Twins game (and it was a good game vs. the White Sox). We got tickets through work and we went with my friend Maria and her family. Ryan even got his face painted (like Spiderman) and he really liked that. The really hilarious thing was in the first inning... the first batter up hit the ball and ran to first, and I don't remember if he got out or got on base, but Ryan SCREAMED for a long time and tensed his little hands out in front of him because he was so EXCITED! It was the most hilarious thing. People sitting by us turned around to see him and they were laughing too. It was a fun night.


Ryan, me, and Scott at the Cornerhouse event before the game.


He was pretty interested in checking out his face in my compact mirror.


Maria and her Dad


This is how his face looked after we got home... rubbed off around the mouth, but still lookin' pretty good.


After the game, at home before bedtime.

Grace is My Elephant

Scott and I were watching a show tonight about elephants in captivity and how they're mistreated, etc. One portion of the show talked about two female elephants who befriended each other 22 years ago while in a zoo somewhere. They were only together for about two weeks. One of the elephants mothered the other one, and then they were separated. But 22 years later they were reunited and caretakers caught them on film "loving" each other. They were in side-by-side cages and the first night they were together they stood right next to each other and stuck their trunks into each others cages so they could touch. It was so sweet. They remembered each other from all those years ago. And after that they remained together, in an elephant sanctuary for the next 7 years, until the older one died. Apparently they were inseparable and the "mother" one would even stand over the other as she napped... to shade her from the sun. Anyway... as we were watching this I said to Scott that Grace is my elephant because she's so sweet and chubby.

Ryan-isms Part 2

I have a new "Ryan-isms" to report and I have one retraction to make. First the retraction... in my first "Ryan-isms" post I said that he says "ask" as "aks" (with the k before the s), because that's how I hear it my head when I think about it. But in reality, he actually does say it as "ask" (with the s before the k). I know this because he said it to me this morning. Anyway, I know I'm a nerd for wanting to correct this, but I have a need to make sure that things are accurately portrayed.

And now here is the new Ryan-ism. This morning I was checking e-mails on the computer. Ryan woke up and walked into the livingroom. He found an empty bag of chocolate raisins sitting on the couch (which I had polished off the night before). He walked over to me with the empty bag in his hand and said, "Who ate all the chocolate raisins?" He was asking because the night before I had told him he could have some tomorrow. So when he saw the empty bag he knew he wouldn't be getting any. I knew, obviously, that I had eaten them all so I replied, "Who do you think?" (just because I wanted to see what he would say). He said, "Mom". And I laughed and said, "Yes! I'm sorry!" He got a sad look on his face and said, "That makes me sad." And I said, "I forgot that you wanted some." And he said, "You shouldn’t tell me [that I could have some and then eat them all by yourself]. I’m going to tell my Dad that you eat all the chocolate raisins." He walked into the bedroom where Scott was sleeping and I could hear him say, "Dad, open your eyes." And then he proceeded to tell Scott all about it. "Mom ate all the chocolate raisins. She forgot to save some for me. She ate them all! Maybe someday we’ll go to the store and buy more chocolate raisins." Then he walked back out where I was sitting at the computer and said to me, "Maybe someday we’ll buy more chocolate raisins. Because you ate them all." Then he walked over to the garbage can and said, "I guess I have to throw the chocolate raisin bag in the garbage."

Ryan-isms

So in the past 6 months or so, Ryan has really started to become a little man. The stuff he says... it just cracks us up. Where does he get this stuff? Of course, as I've mentioned before I have "mommy brain", or maybe I should just call it "heather brain" since it seems to be my thing that I can't remember anything anymore. What I'm trying to get at is... Ryan has said so many funny, smart, and/or interesting things recently but since I don't write them down I end up forgetting them. Right now I'm going to think hard and try to come up with a few of them. Hang on....

"Mom, can we be friends?" He usually says this after I get mad at him for something. It's like he's afraid I'll never like him again. Poor guy.

Ryan was watching a show once (he loves his shows) and Scott told him, "Okay, the show is over. We're turning the TV off now." And Ryan replied, "But he said we're supposed to keep watching!" Apparently the little character on TV that shows up between shows said something like, "We'll be right back. Keep watching."

About Grace... Ryan says things like:
"Ohhhh, Grace. She's so cute!"
"Grace is a sweety heart."
"I love you Grace."
"Grace has a big head."

"What's this song?" Whenever I'm playing the radio in the car, Ryan wants to know the name of the song because then he can listen to see if he hears the artist sing the title words. For example, today we were listening to "Raspberry Beret" by Prince. Ryan asked what the song was and I said, "Raspberry Beret". And he said, "But I don't hear Raspberry Beret." So I told him to keep listening because he would hear it eventually, and then he did. He also told me to stop singing along to the song. I don't think he's the only one who dislikes my singing voice. :)

"Mom, I really like your friends."

The other day I was at work and I called home to talk to Scott. Ryan got on the phone and asked, "Mom, when are you coming home?" I told him I would be coming home after work and he said, "But that will be FOREVER!"

"Mom, I have to ask you a question."

"Are you kidding me?" He says this when he can't believe something, and he says it in that tone like... Are you kidding me?

"It was my pleasure."

That's all I can remember right now, but I know there are more that are even better! If I can think of more, I'll post a "Ryan-isms Part 2".

Cousin Fun

I babysat my niece Malorie this past weekend. She came to our house Friday night and we drove her home on Sunday afternoon. Ryan loves playing with her and they had a lot of fun. Malorie was so good too... she listened really well, and brushed her teeth, and picked up after herself, and went to bed without a fuss, etc. She and Ryan had a slumber party in his room. I think Ryan thought that was cool. Here are some pictures from the weekend.


Friday Night Dinner: Mac & Cheese with Hot Dog Slices


Apple Juice! Yum!


Bath Time! They'll be mortified (when they're teenagers) that they took a bath together.


Malorie is a good smiler.


Fun in the pool at Malorie's house!


Ryan loves this... being outside and free.


What a pair.

Why So Serious?

Scott and I saw "The Dark Knight" last night. It was a great movie! I'd see it again. I still think Christian Bale is the best Batman yet and Heath Ledger was really, really good as the Joker - so scary and psychotic, he made you laugh. Anyway, tonight I took a picture of Ryan eating dinner and his face made me think of the Joker. I can't believe I'm comparing my child's face to that of a freak, but it makes me laugh. Ha ha! WHY SO SERIOUS? If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the movie.

Picture Day!

We had some pictures taken at the end of June. Our main purpose was to get shots of Grace, but she was so crabby that day. I shouldn't say crabby... she was probably more scared than anything. As soon as we set her down on the ground and backed away, she started crying. The only way I could get her to smile was to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and it worked! I couldn't believe it worked, but it did. We took a couple shots with Scott and Ryan too. My hair wasn't working that day, so I decided not to include myself. But I think everyone else's pictures turned out good! :)

5 Year Wedding Anniversary

I can't believe it. Scott and I have been married for 5 years this weekend. Our anniversary is Saturday July 19th. And we've actually been together, dating + marriage, for over 10 years. Remember when, as kids, time seemed to go so slow? In fact, it felt like it took forever to go from the age of 5 to 18. Then 18 hits and time zooms by. Then you get married and have kids and time goes even faster. It's not really fair I think. So I guess I'll slow down, just for a bit, and bring back some memories from our wedding day.

This blog site can be tricky sometimes and right now it's not letting me put the pictures in the order I want. So these are out of order, but that's okay.

Sather Cabin Trip

For the past 3 summers I've taken day trips to visit my friend Maria's family at their cabin. They have a nice place with a really pretty view. Her family is so nice and welcoming, and fun to hang out with. Ryan has a lot of fun there, picking up rocks on the beach and helping Daryl (Maria's Dad) with the fire. Here are a few pictures from this year's visit (on July 12th).


Pam (Maria's Mom) and Grace


Daryl (Maria's Dad) and Ryan - they are fire buddies.
This picture is blurry, but it's still really cute!


Maria and Grace


Daniel (Maria's Brother) and Ryan - shootin' the breeze


Grace gets her first feel of lake water

Ryan just threw a big rock in the lake

Maria, Grace, me, and Ryan