Howe Family

Favorite time

2009-06-12T19:45:00.002-05:00

This is one of my most favorite times of the day. The kids start settling down for night time and drink their milk together.

Cute little milk buddies. :)

This is another random pic I took earlier in the evening. Love the looks they are both giving their mommy. ha!

Ryane's 1st fishing trip

2009-06-08T14:45:00.001-05:00

Ryane got a princess fishing pole from her Uncle Shawn for Easter. She has been practicing regularly her casting techniques in the yard so we thought it was time to head to a pond. We traveled down to my parents house/farm this past weekend. Grandpa took us all out to a pond and found the perfect spot! In no time, Ryane had caught 2 fish on her magical princess pole leaving everyone else speechless and perhaps a little jealous.... :) All in all, she reeled in 4 big fish. Such a good first trip for her. It ended up being perfect as we didn't go very long (especially for her 2 yr old attention span) and ended up bringing home 14 fish total.

Ryane's comment of the trip was when her daddy was talking about putting the fish on a stringer (as the bucket was filling up) and Ryane spoke up saying "I don't want to put them on my finger!"

Walking on Sunshine......

2009-06-07T20:05:00.002-05:00

There are some things a picture can't show....so, we have another video. Grady officially took his first steps. He's been standing up for awhile now on his own and we have been completely unable to persuade him to take a step at all. In another attempt tonight, Grady took his very first step and then 4 more immediately following. He walked from me to his daddy---awwwwww. Here is a video of what is technically his 2nd time walking as we grabbed the camera. Excuse the videography a bit as I set the camera on the windowsill and let it run. :)

He struck again

2009-06-04T20:33:00.001-05:00

Recognize what this is?

Maybe this will give you a better clue!

Yep--it was his diaper cover thrown down on the floor. I come into his room after his nap and see it along with his beloved Zebra on the floor. UGH! This makes the 3rd time he's taken off his diaper. The other two times it was a disposable and a different cloth one that both left him neky boy. Thankfully this time, he still had the diaper part on. SO, this boy will not be wearing just a diaper on his bottom during nap or bedtimes going forward.

Dr. Howe....paging Dr. Howe

2009-06-04T20:28:00.002-05:00

I know the quality of this picture isn't great, but Ryane saw how much attention Grady was getting over the glasses, so she wanted a turn.

Nana Requested

2009-06-01T21:49:00.003-05:00

So, the kids' Nana, my MIL requested a couple prints awhile back to hang on the way. WELL, this made me realize that I haven't taken many pictures of Ryane for awhile that is all by herself, especially not since she has shorter hair now. She isn't the most cooperative either, so that makes me not want to try so hard. She does good at smiling, but is usually looking off somewhere else. :) Well, tonight, I asked her if she would take a picture for me for Nana and I got these two cuties:

Grady 11 month birthday

2009-06-01T08:17:00.005-05:00

My little man is 11 months old already. Lately, he is really been into seeing what fits inside another object. He can set for 10 minutes straight just playing with his stacking cups, then eventually gets mad and frustraited when one doesn't fit right. When I go to get him milk - he'll take the lid of the sippy cup and try to put it on while I'm pouring the milk in as he knows that is where it goes. You can just see the gears moving in his head as he is figuring things out. We are working on the walking part, but Grady is not there quite yet. He can stand for looooonnngg periods of time, but just won't take that first step on his own. I'd love for him to be able to walk at least a little before we go to Sea World in TX in a couple of weeks. He'll be in a stroller and held plenty, I want him to be able to get out and stretch and move some too without having to put him down on the hot concrete. Grady has 5 teeth now and just this morning I see the gums are starting to split open for the 6th one to start coming through.

As always I took some photos of my little man. I've been looking forward to taking these for a couple of months. I love the simplicity of blue jeans, bare feet with a white backdrop.

playing around in photoshop more...I love how smooth and creamy his muscular body looks. :)

Now, are there any blog readers out there there don't have a facebook account? It's for me to know as I only know those who leave comments are the ones reading this. I've been doing facebook for some time now and really like it. I feel like I'm duplicating uploading pictures and sharing things about my family doing facebook and this blog. I'm considering dropping this blog. SO, if you have a strong opinion about it, let me know. Otherwise, I'll probably discontinue this blog after Grady's 1st birthday at the end of June and just update everything once on facebook.

FINALLY - a little help :)

2009-05-27T15:10:00.003-05:00

Once she got her hands on a vacuum her size, there was no getting it away from her!

The customary baby pics

2009-05-27T15:03:00.004-05:00

Everyone takes these pictures of their babies eating spaghetti. :) Grady does really good at feeding himself and will eat most things.

Little Helper

2009-05-27T14:51:00.004-05:00

Matthew got his mustang delivered back to the house a few weeks ago. To make it a short story - the body shop has had it since last July and had barely gotten any work done on it. They had lots of excuses to share with Matthew each time he checked on it and perhaps a couple lies that Matthew caught them in. In short, we do not recommend Advance Auto Body to anyone. :)

Now for the fun part - since it's back in the garage, Matthew has his baby back to go out and tinker on. He also has a daughter that LOVES to be in the garage and tinker as well. So, out I went with the camera to find this.

Safety first I suppose....

I still can't believe he was letting her write on the car with a permanent marker. Yikes!

Onto using the tools

Daddy has a screwdriver so Ryane found hers to help out.

Where did my baby boy go?

2009-05-21T09:43:00.003-05:00

Lately, it seems like Grady is growing up really fast. Where did my baby Grady go? I just look at him and see he is turning into a little boy now. I definitely think he acts older and is looking older. I'm sure the cute summer 'big boy' clothes help with the looking older. He is constantly on the move and is very very close to taking his first step on his own. One of his current favorite things is to be up on his head and feet. :) As if he is going to do a sommersault. I think he's been keeping a close eye on his sister's tricks. In some ways, it doesn't seem that long ago that I was still pregnant with him. Sure doesn't seem like I should be starting to plan his first birthday party already! I sure do love my little guy and can barely remember our family without him!!

Here are some snapshots I took yesterday that I think show how he is growing up.

Sibling Love

2009-05-12T08:38:00.011-05:00

Short and SWEET! I'd just gotten done telling Grady no pulling hair. :)I'm loving it when the kids are loving and wrestling on their own. They do it frequently in the mornings; however, when I get to video camera out they usually stop and pay attention to what I'm doing--case in point:

Too raining

2009-04-29T09:07:00.007-05:00

It's still morning here and Grady is down for his nap. I see that it started to rain, so I ask Ryane if she wants to take her umbrella out. Ryane loves her umbrella and is always asking to use it. Her umbrella is always on her mind. Just last week, she yells for me at 1:30am. I go into her room to hear her say "It's raining, I don't need my 'brella". Alright! Thanks for letting me know this as I was sleeping away. :) Back to this morning--we get her dressed in her lady bug rain jacket, get the crocs on, open the umbrella and out we went....

After she comes back up the stairs, this is about the time Ryane informs me "It's TOO RAINING!" So, back inside we came.

...but wait, I need one last picture first! :)

Now, I wonder how long this 'umbrella fix' will last her. I give her a good 4 hours. :)

sneak peak

2009-04-25T14:23:00.002-05:00

We headed outside for Grady's 10 month photoshoot. Just thought I'd give you a quick sneak peak. I took plenty more, I just need to proof client's photos first. :)

Are they twins? :)

2009-04-14T10:22:00.006-05:00

Aunt Sherry showed up with matching shirts for the boys this weekend. Totally unplanned, we both brought matching pants. I love how it all worked out. Who couldnt' resist a cute "twin" picture together. This is moving up to be one of my most favorites of Grady and Gavin together. If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can even see Grady's one top tooth on his right.

Overalls

2009-04-09T15:15:00.004-05:00

Grady finally had his first outside photoshoot. We visited the park on our trip to Wamego to get his first haircut. They have so many cote little photo places there. We'll definitely be going back in the future.

First haircut

2009-04-06T14:36:00.005-05:00

Grady's 9 month Dr. appt.

2009-04-03T09:33:00.005-05:00

I took Grady in for his big 9 month Dr. appointment yesterday. We went in early to change insurance information again. This poor kid has had 4 different insurance changes since he was born! Anyhow, back to the Dr. appointment. Grady tipped the scales at 20 pounds 2 ounces (45%) and measured 28.5 inches (62%) and his head continues to measure in the high percentages as it always has. Big brains take up lots of room! The Dr. said Grady is growing and developing nicely and right on track. Grady showed the nurse and Dr. plenty of his vocal skills while we were there with his high pitched squeels. After asking specifics questions on how much milk he should have and food at each meal, we were given the advice of cutting back on how much milk he drinks and make up the difference in food to help satisfy him. We were given the go ahead on the whole milk and table food that we've been giving him.

Grady is now beginning to clap; however, his hands still don't always connect. Pretty cute! We are slowly integrating the sippy cup. I don't think he gets that he has to tip it up all the time yet. He won't even do that with a bottle either if he's sitting up--frustraiting for me really! I'm still working with him on saying his sister's name, but we aren't there yet. A couple days ago, it sure sounded like he tried to say Zebra, which came out more like "Bra" as he grabbed his zebra lovie. So, for now, his vocab is Momma, Dada, Bye-Bye and maybe 'bra. :)

We have a singer! :)

2009-04-02T12:46:00.003-05:00

The kids and I have now been to each weekly library storytime since I became a stay at home mom--which is almost 2 months. Today was the day Ryane broke out and started singing her heart out. Very entertaining to me! :) Each week, we sing the same 2-3 songs to start it off. This morning, Ryane was on top of things and singing away. Now, the more entertaining part of it is that she wasn't always right on time with her words, but the joy she put in them was making a few of us giggle. Best of all, we sat right next to the lady leading the songs and stories so it was like she was trying not to laugh too hard at Ryane and stay on track. You know how it is to keep a song going when a little kid seems to be doing everything to make it go at their pace. Ryane was my little singer today. I'm so happy when she is more outgoing. She sang like nobody else was in the room. :) Kinda like she does when she is "supposed" to be taking a nap or going to bed at night.

He's now MORE on the move

2009-03-31T12:32:00.003-05:00

Grady amazes me at how quickly he is hitting some milestones. I thought perhaps since he was getting faster and faster with his furniture cruising, I'd see how he did walking behind a toy. He amazed me and did it the first time. Out came the video camera to capture his 3rd trip behind it. I think he looks so little behind the toy. It's like he's that little kid that is old enough to drive, but can't quite see over the steering wheel. :)

Grady - 9 Months Old

2009-03-27T13:08:00.004-05:00

Life is flying by! I can't believe my little man is already 9 months old! Is he not the cutest boy EVER?! :) He is more active than ever. He pulls up on everything and is starting to furniture cruise slowly. He is also doing the cutest thing of setting back on his heals to play - so cute! Also, just today I saw him go from crawling back to the sitting position. He still only has 2 teeth. We saw one top one just about to break through last week and now it's gone. Guess the tooth felt it just wasn't time. We take Grady to the Dr. next week for his 9month checkup and we'll share stats then.

Now, I wanted to share pictures I took of the kids together. They both just got baths--hence, Ryane's hair is still pretty wet, but she INSISTED on pictures together. I should have known! I still think I got some keepers.

Auctions are my friend!

2009-03-25T13:54:00.004-05:00

I love going to auctions for deals. I don't like the whole waiting around all day while they sell what I want last, but you can find great deals if you are patient. We went to a neighbor's estate sale this past week and I wasn't let down. It was a short auction, so the kids weren't in too much pain! :) I ended up having to leave during it to do a scheduled photoshoot, but left Matthew in the know of what I wanted and was willing to give. I come back to see 2 things I wanted sitting beside him. Yeah! Now, I have to know how much he paid. The most important, most exciting thing was a flat of old vintage cameras. I've watched them sell before at auctions way out of my price range, so to know I got FIVE of them, I was stoked. Plus, they were so inclusive with the lenses and full leather snap on cases -- very hard to get finds. I'm sure you all know this though, right! ha!

Here is what I got:

The two on the far right are the EXACTA VXIIb and VXIIa - they are German cameras and only have German on them - pretty cool! The one is the middle is still an unknown to me as I couldn't find it on eBay. :) The second one from the left is actually a movie camera -- again, how cool is that?! It's a Bell & Howell 252. Then, I saved my favorite for last -- the one on the far left.

This one is a Kodak Junior Six 16 - it came with the original box and manuals and had other photo prices and coupons in the box as well. So fun to look through. I am amazed at just how much has stayed the same on cameras over the years. I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Now, I'm not totally sure what I'm going to do with these cameras now that I have them. I think I would eventually like to be able to display them somewhere in my studio. I love having them as I think they are a reflection of who I am in some way. Thanks for letting me share my finds. Oh -- did I mention we paid $2.50 for them all!!!?! Judging from eBay auctions, I'd estimate they are worth around $200.00. Auctions are my friend. Hey, I might even eBay one to buy more photo equipment.

Take MY picture

2009-03-23T09:04:00.003-05:00

Last night I hear Ryane hollering at me from the stairs, "take my picture, take my picture mommy!" Talk about music to my ears!! :) Knowing she was just down in the studio playing, I figured she just saw I was still set up from a photoshoot from eariler in the day and wanted it to be her turn. I love how she wants pictures on her terms. But, wanting to sieze the opportunity, I went down and took her picture. One and done - my kind of photoshoot! ;) This shot just might have to be her 2.5year old picture as that is coming up on the 29th. I'm thinking it is close enough.

Then, I had to play with the picture a bit - I like the softness of this one, just need to figure out how to make it less ghostly looking w/ her skin.

While I'm sharing, here is another picture that Ryane wanted her turn. My sis and her family was here last weekend for Gavin's 6month pictures and while we were waiting on him to finish a bottle, Ryane jumped in with her cousins.

The boys got their time together as well

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T08:44:00.001-05:00

Anyone need a mural?

2009-03-11T10:25:00.005-05:00

Ryane has been practicing up and will be ready to paint a mural on your wall soon! :)

just random pictures

2009-03-11T09:08:00.003-05:00

I think he is about as much of a morning person as his mom! :)

I finally got the activity table out for Grady to play. He loves pulling up on it and screaching. :) He still tends to lean on it as you can see in the pictures and it slowly scoots away from him.

Playing Princess :)

2009-03-11T08:58:00.005-05:00

Every once in awhile Ryane likes to play dress up. Poor Grady is outnumbered during the day by us girls----guess that means he has to play along! :) I showed Matthew the picture last night and I don't think he was too impressed. hee hee

I was kinda hesitant to share the pictures as it was morning and I don't think my hair was even brushed and I had no makeup on. But, my kids don't care, so why should I.

Playing together

2009-03-06T15:06:00.003-06:00

Seems like the kids continue to grow closer each day. The more active Grady gets, the more and more they are playing together by themselves. Grady has grown to love Ryane's room. I put him on the floor in the kitchen and his scoots and slithers down the hallway until he reaches Ryane's room...grunting all the way. I generally try to be in there to play with them, but I'm also at the point that I feel comfortable to leave the room for short periods of time.

Well, I "did" feel comfortable until I see him trying to climb the slide.

Total Cuteness!

2009-03-06T15:02:00.003-06:00

2 pack of baseball caps.....$4.00
Wagon for a ride.....$50.00
Cuteness.......PRICELESS!

Grady - 8 Months Old

2009-02-27T14:45:00.004-06:00

As with most pictures, there is a story behind these. The "story" is in the trucks and cars. These were all Matthew's when he was little. Matthew and his Grandpa Max would work together and make these. There are many of these. After I was done taking the pictures, I saw a helicopter too - darn, wish I'd seen it earlier!

Awesome Weather

2009-02-25T07:37:00.003-06:00

Yesterday the weather was awesome. It was so nice to be able to get out of the house with the kids and not be constantly making sure they are bundled up. I used our double stroller yesterday when we walked over to day care to play. Matthew picked us up, so I forgot to get the stroller out of the car. That left us to use the wagon today. I was unsure how Grady would do, but he absolutely LOVED it and stayed setting up perfectly the whole time. We walked down to the end of the street and back and I think he screached and squeeled 7/8st of the time. We'll take more of these fabulous weather days.

Here is a tooth update (I know you've all been setting on the edge of your chair waiting too!) Grady now has two teeth. The first one broke through last Monday and #2 came through on Saturday. They are sharp little things too!

Accessorize

2009-02-24T13:06:00.003-06:00

Have you accessorized lately?

Have you helped accessorize your sibling?

He's Crawling, He's Crawling....

2009-02-21T17:57:00.003-06:00

After spending a good month and half doing his plumber's crawl....or practicing his sniper skills, Grady has now moved onto official crawling. I noticed on Friday that he was really starting to pull his legs up under him more, so we have just been setting around watching and waiting on him. Daddy had the video camera ready. After a couple false attempts, we got his first crawl on video and we'd like to share it with you!

My guys

2009-02-21T11:26:00.010-06:00

This is a photo shoot that I've been wanting to do for some time now before Grady got too big. I just love all the shots I got of my two guys. I have a strong emotional attachment to these pictures--they put that lump in my throat. I know these two will have a unique relationship between the two of them. While I can't wait for Grady to be a momma's boy, I know our relationship will be different from what he and his dad will have.

...and Ryane had to get into the action as well. It had to be a close crop due to Ryane being in her pjs. :)

Story Time

2009-02-19T13:55:00.002-06:00

Today has been a great mommy day. You know, some days you feel like you were a good mom, some days probably not the best mom you could have been, some days you feel like the worst mom, and some days you just feel like super mom. Today, I felt like a great mom. Now that I have all this extra time to do with things with my kids since being laid off, my sister emailed me our library's childrens story times. So, I got the kids packed up and headed to the Emporia Public Library. I felt pretty intimidated as I had never been in the kids section of it....actually, it was probably only my 3rd or 4th time EVER being in the library at all.

We arrived and the toddler story time was so much fun. We sang, we danced, we listened to a book being read. It was fun for me just to watch Ryane having so much fun. I thought we'd go and Ryane would be shy and cling to me. She was quite the opposite and was really into the stories and books and answering questions and everything. She is such a big girl. After the organized story, we hung out and read a few books together, then she was off on her own to go play so I made a new mommy friend - ha! I was amazed at all the toys for the kids there. Grady was even scooting and rolling off on his own finding new toys. Finally, I thought we had been there long enough so we gathered up some books and movies for home. I signed up for a library card and was told we had to put 1/2 of them back. I guess we are on probation for the first 3 months and limited to only 5 items at once. Ooops! I'm sure that is enough as we plan on going back next week.

So, if any of you moms out there have a Thursday morning available, join us at the library.

Toothing :)

2009-02-16T09:04:00.004-06:00

What does this look like?

Looks like a toothing baby to me!

Grady is on his way to table food now....
I noticed on Saturday that his bottom gums had a hole in it where a tooth was starting to make it's way through. We can't see the pearly white yet, but that doesn't stop me from trying to capture the process on camera. :)

Can you see it, can you? ha! It is just a little red dot. I can't really see it either in the picture, but thought I would share pictures of my cutie anyhow.

This picture is just another cute one to share. I was trying to get at an angle to see it with the camera, but still couldn't until I had Matthew pull down his lip....which turned into Grady continually putting his tongue in the way.

Valentine Party

2009-02-11T21:07:00.003-06:00

I'm taking the kids to day care tomorrow for their Valentine party! It should be fun. My beautiful kids were the perfect models for pictures this morning. I'm sharing their photo valentines that I made to give out with their little holiday toys. I'll share more pictures from the shoot later.

Beautiful Day outside

2009-02-01T11:22:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was an awesome January day. We took the opportunity to get the kids outside to play. This was Grady's first time using his swing. I'm thinking he's a fan!

Help me!

2009-01-31T16:50:00.003-06:00

Somebody out there, HELP ME! My mommy is trying out some new hair product on me....

Balentine's

2009-01-31T16:43:00.007-06:00

I love these little gummy window decorations. Ryane helped me out today by decorating the window with "Balentine's Decorations" as she calls them. Can you tell my daughter is anal about lining things up for organization and matching colors together? :)

Valentine's Day will be here in no time. I am feeling the countdown to get the kids' Valentine pictures taken to for their photo valentine's to give to friends. For the day, Nana and Papo delivered some cute matching shirts for the kids. We tried to get a cute picture of them together, but that will just have to wait until next time they wear them. Ryane was just not a willing participant. ugh! Here is the best attempt...

Newly Lowered Crib Mattress

2009-01-29T15:27:00.001-06:00

Grady checking things out in his newly lowerd crib mattress. He seems to like his baby jail!

7 Month Photo Shoot

2009-01-27T21:22:00.004-06:00

Grady officially turned 7 months old yesterday. He's growing up so much. We finally had to lower his crib mattress because he is becoming quite the crawler. If you are holding him, he tries to scale up your body to the point I wonder if he'll be future rock climber. If we are laying on the floor with him, he's constantly pulling up on us and trying to crawl over us. He is becoming an active little guy.

Also, I had a big moment yesterday. When I went to pick Grady up at day care, I hear "ma ma" woohhhoooo, he said it!! He does love me!! I couldn't be prouder of him and it made me forget for a few minutes that he slept terrible the night before. ha! Just like his sister, Grady said "Da Da" first - weeks ago. OH, did I not blog about that??? I must have been in depression about it....

Here is our little guy's 7 month pictures.

Crawling Mechanics

2009-01-25T18:19:00.001-06:00

Grady is trying more and more to get around on his belly. I videoed him this weekend showing off his army crawling skills. His Papo Howe, being a Plumber, says it's more like a plumber's crawl. :) I would love to share a video with you, but this darn blogger is error'ing out on 3 different videos I've tried to load. hopefully I get it to work again soon. It is so cute to watch him with all his determination. I love it when he really gets going and ends up balancing on a shoulder and one of his toes as his bum is so far up in the air. Nothing of Ryane's is safe now as he'll work and work and work until he can grab it.

Playing Together

2009-01-20T08:30:00.004-06:00

As a mom of two, some of my favorite times are seeing my children playing together and giggling. Ryane loves to entertain Grady and Grady is Ryane's #1 fan, so they are generally a good fit. Here are a few pictures from Sunday night.

playing good together

....and this is where supervision has to step in.... (Grady wasn't looking the place where Ryane wanted him to)

back to playing nice together

ESU - ESU - ESU

2009-01-18T08:35:00.000-06:00

Saturday night we loaded up and headed to the ESU basketball games. It was a clean sweep for ESU against Washburn - yeahhh! Both kids enjoyed watching all the games and excitement surrounding it. Ryane was all about talking about Corky until I took her too close. I didn't get a picture of that as I was too busy holding onto my shaking (and I mean shaking with fear) girl. :(

Grady Giggles

2009-01-16T11:02:00.004-06:00

Christmas 2008

2009-01-12T17:51:00.002-06:00

It already feels like Christmas was so long ago and it hasn't even been a month since. I really felt like I was behind getting this years favorite pictures digi-scrapped. I love the fact that I was able to do one layout and just replace pictures to make Grady & Ryane's seperate pages for their books. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and I've enjoyed seeing everyone else's Christmas pictures. Now, I still need to go back and scrapbook last year's Christmas pictures--oops!

Credits: Layout credit goes to my friend Trudy! :) I stole the idea from her. Scrapbook papers and alphas are from the Christmas Convoy collection I downloaded awhile back from here!

It's Official

2009-01-12T10:19:00.007-06:00

It is finally official....we are trying to sell our house in a FSBO effort. This is now what I see out our front door.

For awhile now, Matthew and I have known that our current house is not the most ideal house for our family. We would really like to have an additional garage spot and are pretty locked into our house and not able to build onto it. So, that leaves us searching for a different house and needing to get the money out of our current one. Selling this house brings up many different feelings for me...it was the first house I ever bought, I never thought I've move so soon, it's the house we brought both our kids home from the hospital to, I never imagined marrying someone with an antique car needing additional garage space, we're leaving behind all the money and work we've put into it. But, with the sad sentimental feelings, I know it is time we move on. SO, just incase all those house hunters are out there reading my blog, please take a look at this site - www.2102Meadowlark.blogspot.com and call me or just send me a check! :)

Bath time

2009-01-04T19:44:00.003-06:00

I'm sure this is one of the many times to come of getting pictures of the kids getting clean together. Grady is all about splashing, chewing on the letters and chasing the ducks around. Ryane is all about entertaining Grady! :)

Grady's Duplicates

2009-01-03T17:25:00.004-06:00

When Ryane was between 5&6 months old, I took her angel picture that I use in my photography biz logo and I had made into a canvas. I also made her a body parts collage that I have hanging on my wall. Now, I have Grady's to get printed out and hang up as well.

....and for comparison sake, here is Ryane's.

6 Month Pictures

2009-01-03T17:14:00.001-06:00

Swing Set

2009-01-02T07:09:00.000-06:00

Ryane gives the swing set for Christmas an A++. I'm still amazed that we were able to go out and play outside on January 1st with just a jacket on. If only it were a few degrees warmer, we could have had Grady out there with his baby swing attached.

Christmasitis

2008-12-30T08:58:00.003-06:00

Day care called me yesterday around lunch saying Grady had just been crying a lot during the morning and was crying if he wasn’t held. She called just to see if I thought he was sick and to see if he’d had a fever over the weekend. So, I dropped by to comfort and love on him. He was definitely not himself, so I made a Dr. appointment after lunch to rule out an ear infection or whatever. The official diagnosis from Dr. Schmid......Grady has Christmasitis!! Thankfully, it didn’t appear to be anything more. Guess he got too much holding and loving over the holidays. We had a pretty crazy schedule too, so I'm sure that didn't help him out much.

Since we had an appointment, I asked to go ahead and do his 6 month well child checkup (already scheduled for next week). He weighs in at 17lbs 6oz (50% exactly) and 26.75” (65%). Dr. says he looks to be doing well. Grady was in a perfect mood and was just tearing through the paper that covered the exam table. He didn't even open his Christmas presents that well, but I guess he got the paper tearing figured out. He got a couple shots before we left. He was smiling away at the nurse prior to being poked. I wonder if that made her feel even more guilty giving the shot?

I think Grady's Christmasitis is clearing up. Of course he was "just fine" after I made the Dr. appointment---little faker! Isn't that the way it goes sometimes?!

Day Care Christmas Party

2008-12-21T16:46:00.005-06:00

First we start out with the entertainment portion....

Then, Mr. Santa showed up! Santa looked a little worried that Grady was going to pull off something???

Even though it's been another year, we found out that Ryane still does not like Santa. Notice the santa-death-grip on my vest?

Santa brought her a gift. Even though she was crying and so scared, she eeked out a "thank you". ha!

2008 Christmas Cards

2008-12-21T16:42:00.002-06:00

Simple Picture Request

2008-12-20T16:27:00.000-06:00

After getting Ryane dressed for the day, I thought she was so cute that I wanted to get a simple picture of her in front of the tree. This is how it went....

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-12-20T16:22:00.003-06:00

This is Matthew when he was almost 2. Anyone else see a resemblence to a certain 3 footer in our house? :)

Today Daddy/Matthew turned another year older. Ryane and I baked a cake for him. Here are a couple pictures of my little helper!

Cheerios

2008-12-19T21:15:00.000-06:00

I thought I would give Grady some broken up cheerios to mess with while I got his cereal ready tonight. He was very curious about them and determined to grab them. While he chased them around the high chair tray, he never tried to put them into his mouth. It was pretty fun just watching his curiousity though. I love it when baby discovery new things.

Creative Friends

2008-12-18T18:53:00.004-06:00

I've always thought I have some of the most creative friends ever. This is just one example. My good friend Anna in Wichita gave this to Grady when he was born. She is so crafty being able to make this hat. I love it! Thank you Anna - you definitely got skills!

I thought I would include this Christmas picture of Grady. Such a cute boy in Santa's bag!

Klepto

2008-12-16T07:47:00.005-06:00

About 7 last night, Matthew and Ryane were setting on the floor playing cards. Matthew saw something green poking out of Ryane's pocket.

Matthew: Ryane, do you have something in your pocket?
Ryane: (looking down) yah!
Matthew: Did you take something from Nanny's?
Ryane: yah!
Matthew: Ryane, show your mommy what you took from Nanny's.

Ryane proceeds to pull out these snakes! Jesh - my klepto chose these to take???? Guess Santa needs to go do more shopping now! We proceeded to have a little 'life lesson talk' about how you don't take things from Nanny's and don't put things in your pocket that aren't yours, blah, blah, blah. Some of those talks are tough when you are just trying not to laugh.

There she was!

2008-12-11T20:33:00.002-06:00

I had the oddest thing happen tonight. After a shopping trip to Wal-Mart we walk out to our truck. What do I see next to him (the truck) is an Xterra. My first thought was awww, looks like my old one. I get a little closer and look down at the front grill and realize "There she is!". It was my old xterra. I go into a daze and recall special memories with her. I got a lump in my throat and pride in my heart that she was still around and running. I couldn't help myself but to really check her out and saw there was a stroller in the back and was happy she had another young family to take care of! :) I tore myself away from her and finished buckling the kids and rode away. It was such a good site to see her again and I was happy that she and truck got to park side by side again.....just like when they were kids in the driveway.

Worst mom ever

2008-12-09T20:37:00.005-06:00

I could so title a lot of blog entries like this! :) I had to pick up Ryane from day care yesterday with a fever. After battling the fever for several hours, I took Ryane to the Dr. today to make sure it wasn't something more serious going on rather than something viral. Sure enough, I find out she had a double ear infection. I had NO idea. Bad mom!! It's times like this that I feel that I don't have a clue what I'm doing as a mom. My poor kids being stuck with me to be responsible for them! But, we got the prescription and off to Wal-Mart we went. I just love Wal-Mart and now I super love their $4 prescription program. I filled prescriptions for both of us for a whopping $8! Now, when can we get those doctors to go to $4 routine visits?!?!

Extra Princess-y

2008-12-09T20:22:00.004-06:00

Sometimes you feel a like a little princess

..and sometimes you feel a little extra princess-y

Soon to be MaMA!

2008-12-04T07:43:00.002-06:00

Over the past few days, Grady has really began to talk! He is doing the repetitive sounds. Right now it sounds like Bababababa-----but, we ALL really know he's trying to say mamamammamama!! He just needs to match up those lips rather than talking with an overbite with that bottom lip sucked it.

I've been trying to teach him M M M M Ma Ma for awhile now. BUT since he starting to talk, Matthew is really trying to swoop right in there and start repeating Dadadada to him. It's really not fair as I'm worried he'll win. Ryane said DaDa first, now I'm needing Grady to say MaMa first. I'm telling Ryane to help Grady say MaMa while they are at daycare so he can get extra practice in! :)

2008-12-02T07:55:00.004-06:00

Ryane and I put our Christmas tree together last week with the lights. Then, on Sunday, we enjoyed decorating it together. It was kinda tough going through the decorations and only getting out the non-breakable ones (learned my lesson after she broke her first one). I'm excited our tree is decorated a little different....a little bottom heavy with the ornaments as I think Ryane hang most of hers at the same level. Oh, and she was a fan of clustering her ornaments. Who knew a branch could support 4 ornaments at a time?! :) It is tough not going back to redo her decorating, but I won't. If I did, I'm 99% sure Ryane would notice and put them back anyhow.

New decorating technique - clustering!

I asked her to point to her favorite ornament. It's her Baby's 1st Christmas ornament with animals surrounding a picture frame. She tells me it's Grady in the picture. I'm still trying to convince her it is Baby Ryane. (yes, she HAD to wear her hat and scarf and put it on herself. Also, yesterday she HAD to wear her pink cowboy boots to daycare with this jogging outfit. Some fights aren't worth fighting.)

Great Holiday!

2008-11-30T20:45:00.002-06:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our long holiday weekend.

Ryane having fun with Papo.

I'm sure everyone ate wayyy tooo much turkey?!

Two smiling babies at their first Thanksgiving. :)

Grady - 5 Months Old

2008-11-26T07:15:00.007-06:00

Look who is sitting up in time for his 5 month birthday!! Today is my little man's big day! We have been working with Grady on getting him to set up and yesterday he decided he was ready to go solo. I'm so proud of him. Once again, Grady has been busy doing new things. He now plays laying on his tummy reaching out for things and scooting himself in a circle. He has moved onto eating more food. So far, he's had banana, avacado and squash along with his usual cereal. His motor skills with his hands and arms are well developed. He can grab for what he sees in front of him perfectly. He even has that darn strong pincher grip down when it comes to grabbing/pinching my neck and trying to eat (alright, maybe kiss) my face. Love the little guy, but he can be pretty aggressive. So, if you see some WT hickies on my neck - those are from Grady's pinches. ouchy! Oh, and the drool is starting to just fall out of his mouth onto whomever or whatever is around. :)

These are Grady's 5mo. pictures we took last night. I think this first one shows Grady the best. With that ornery grin and his head slightly tipped down, so he's looking up at you. We joke that he likes to look at people through his eyebrows rather than lift up his head. Silly boy!

Get those toesies!

2008-11-21T07:52:00.003-06:00

I go to change Grady's diaper and look what I saw for the first time yesterday!

Grady has officially learned to grab for his feet and toes. He was trying to bring them to his mouth, but he's not quite there yet. I just love it when babies learn this, so I'm pretty excited about this stage. Also when changing his diaper, he loves to get a death-grip on your arm and not let up. Makes more fun times trying to get a new diaper on with one hand, especially those cloth diapers.

Also, here's a picture I took yesterday of the kids together. I feel I need to get as many as possible while Grady is still relatively immobile and can't run from me. :)

Sick 1, sick 2, sick 3

2008-11-19T09:20:00.003-06:00

Ryane's Dr. Suess' Cat in the Hat book with Thing 1 and Thing 2 makes me think of our home lately with Sick 1, Sick 2, and Sick 3. Ryane, Grady, and I have all three been sick with a cold. It started out with Ryane, then she shared it oh so kindly with Grady and I. This is Grady's first cold and it makes me sad to know he can't breathe that great and has a little cough. I am definitely not his friend when it comes to using the trusty blue nose sucker. Thankfully, Ryane is a good nose-blower.....well, since we have to do that every 5-10 minutes. A couple mornings ago she wakes me up at 5:45am yelling from her room "Tissue mommy, tissue". Poor girl! :(

I know it's that time of year and cold season is upon us, but I'm ready for spring already! Each time I start to think the kids have turned the corner and are getting better, they wake up the next morning all congested and coughing. Hopefully, everyone will have time to get better before all the Thanksgiving traveling.

Ryane has pets...

2008-11-18T08:26:00.003-06:00

These are the perfect pets - they don't need house trained, you don't have to feed or water them, they don't shed, they always mind, perfect!

Ryane really loves playing with her play doh. These little containers are one of the best things she got while trick or treating. I made a kitty cat one time for Ryane, so that is all she asks for now. I can only make so many cats, so I've branched out and made horses and dogs as well. I need to think of more things for her, but my creativeness is gone when it comes to animals to shape and mold. Any ideas?

2008-11-16T09:40:00.007-06:00

Friday night, we went to watch the ESU volleyball team become the MIAA champions. Even though I went to Emporia State, I had never been to an ESU volleyball game. So, it was Ryane's, Grady's and my first ESU volleyball game. Seamstress Nana sewed Ryane up the cutest little cheerleading costume and it was her first opportunity to wear it. She was just so darn cute wearing it and cheering on the hornets repeating "ESU, ESU, ESU!!" and shaking her pom-poms.

Picture after arriving before the game started.

I asked Ryane to smile and this is what I got...

Ryane is using Grady to practice her base skills for cheerleading stunts.

Proof that we were really at a volleyball game

All that cheering made her hungry. This little girl would only eat Raisins and popcorn if we'd allow it.

Love this picture

2008-11-09T20:44:00.003-06:00

Just sharing a picture of my boy. I love it as you can tell he is really growing up. He was busy chewing on yet another toy and he looks like I was really interrupted his busy schedule.

Sibling Play

2008-11-09T20:32:00.005-06:00

Ryane sure loves her little brother. She's really into talking to and playing with him now that's he is more interactive. It's so cute to watch them together - melts my heart everytime. Lately, Ryane has really been into having Grady ride her back as she pretends to be a horse.

Looks like Grady really got into the pretend play and found some reins! :) It's one of those situation that I don't really want Ryane to get hurt, but Grady does need to get some paybacks in.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T08:50:00.005-05:00

I brought the kids in this morning for trick-or-treating before taking them to day care.

Here is the family ready to head down our street and back trick-or-treating. I grew up with my mom always dressing up with us, so Matthew and I were dressed as well, myself as a witch and Matthew as a baseball player. I was very excited for trick-or-treating as it was our first time taking Ryane. We walked with our good friends and their little boy Luke, who also live on our street. "Uncle" Chuck also joined us. Off to visit all the neighbors we went. I was surprised to find out it took us a whole hour to trick-or-treat just our 3-block long street.

Here's our little stinker for his First Halloween. He was well rested after sleeping in daddy's arms during most of the trick-or-treating.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-30T20:29:00.002-05:00

Nothing like getting around to carving your jack-0-lantern the night before Halloween!

Tough

2008-10-29T18:59:00.001-05:00

Does this hairdo make Grady look tougher? :)

Pumpkin Painting

2008-10-29T18:54:00.000-05:00

Neewollah

2008-10-28T21:31:00.006-05:00

We went for our annual trip back to Matthew's hometown for Neewollah - such a fun family tradition. It was at Neewollah last year we announced that Grady would be joining the family. No special announcments this year! We had a good time. Friday was pretty darn cold for the kiddie parade, but Saturday warmed up very nicely to make being outside more pleasant. Here is picture overload of our weekend.

Getting ready for the kiddie parade to start on Friday. Our little princess witch turned her prince brother into a frog.

Ryane standing by her brother after the parade

Such a happy little frog

Watching the Grand Parade on Saturday on Aunt Sarah's lap

Waking up from a nap on Nana's lap to watch the parade

Taking a turn on mommy's lap

Dancing with Cousin Carson to one of the many bands

Looking down the street watching for the next band to boogie down to

Enjoying the carnival rides and games Saturday night. Had to ride the horse first...

...then the Ze-ba!

Teaching the boys how to drive.

Dancing with Aunt Sarah during the Teri Clark concert.

Playing Duck Pluck game. It took forever to pick them up, the water was running pretty fast.

Family photo time!

Ryane - 2 Year Dr. appt

2008-10-28T07:47:00.004-05:00

I took Ryane in for her 2 year appointment yesterday. I know it is a little late, but it was easier to schedule both kids' dr. appointments at the same time.

Weight = 26.5lbs
Height = 34.5inches

In true fashion, Ryane wouldn't talk once we saw the doctor. She wouldn't repeat anything, she wouldn't point to any body parts, and she wouldn't show the doctor she could jump. Dr. Schmid just had to take my word for it I guess. Ryane's hearing also checked out perfect! That just shows me she just ignores me sometimes, it's not that she can't hear me. Wonder when her dad taught her to do that?! :)

Grady - 4 Months Old

2008-10-27T18:55:00.009-05:00

Grady turned a big 4 months old on Sunday. He has changed so much over the past month and is doing so many more new things. Grady has become such a little smiley-pants for almost anyone and everyone. He loves to chew and suck on his fingers and hands. He is holding toys and bringing them to his mouth. Grady also lets out giggles now and then as well. Grady's favorite position is to be standing up.

I took Grady for his 4 month Dr. appt. today and he is up to 15 3/4 lbs and is 24 3/4 inches tall. He is the same height Ryane was at that age, but he has her by about 2lbs in weight. The doctor said Grady is developing perfectly. At the end, Grady was given an oral vaccine which he didn't think much of it, at the least the part that stayed in his mouth. Then, he was a stud when it came to getting his cocktail shot (3 vaccines in one). He whimpered a little, but was fine when I picked him up.

Here is his 4 month picture I took tonight. Check out those muscles! Got your tickets for the gun show? :)

Big Boy holding his own bottle.

Working on getting the whole hand in the mouth at once

Eating cereal for the first time last Wednesday

Starting to use the activity jumper mommy's friends at work bought.

Couple pictures taken on Sunday with cousin Gavin who is 2 months younger.

1 photo with 2 kids

2008-10-22T06:08:00.012-05:00

Why is getting a photo with both my kids so hard to ask for? Well, let me tell you the main two reasons - I have a 2yr old (that's probably reason enough by itself) and a baby who can't set up on his own yet! While we were at the pumpkin patch, that was one of my main picture goals - to get that cute little fall picture of the kids together with pumpkins. You all know that one I'm talking about that just makes you go "aawwww" or "how cute!" or "that is the cutest thing I've ever seen". Well, it wasn't for trying that we got these little treasures! I'm including my thoughts/conversations at the time.

Me: Ryane, let's get a picture of you and Grady by the Big Pumpkin. You can set here (pointing the ground) and hold Grady.
Ryane: No! (running away with the 'get me outta here' look)

Later, we see a nice pretty little setup for pictures. I got Ryane all setting on the bench being cute.
Me: Hey Ryane, will you hold Grady so we can take a picture?
Ryane: Nooooooo! (getting down so it's not an option)
Me: Please Ryane? I will give you raisins! (yes I am THAT bribery mom!)
Ryane: Okay

Alright kids, look at daddy for the picture!

Oh Grady, please don't cry!

No Grady, now is not a good time to start arching your back.

Ryane, please look at your dad and try not to squeeze Grady SO hard. :)

Fine, I give up. Obviously, this picture isn't going to happen! Naptime for everyone-including me (I can wish, can't I?).

It's moments like these that I realize Ryane is truly MY child with her stubborn attitude! hee hee :)

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-18T20:38:00.004-05:00

We took our 2nd annual trip out the Roga Pumpkin Patch today. We had Ryane pumped up to pick out a pumpkin on our drive there, she was excited!! We arrived and she turned shy and it took her awhile to warm up to everything. There were kids running around everywhere - busy day at the patch! Grady wanted to run around as well, but we made him stay with us. :) We all had a good time and made it home with a carvable pumpkin and then Ryane picked one out for herself. She was pretty proud of it (seen in the last picture). I think we'll have to set down and paint it together.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the patch today. I have some others that are more blooperish and I'll try to share those throughout the week.

Weekend at the lake

2008-10-13T11:24:00.009-05:00

I took the kids this weekend for some Grandma and Grandpa Pollman time! Matthew had to stay in Emporia and work by covering some ESU games with his Athletic Training skills. So, nervously, I loaded up the kids Saturday morning for our first trip out of town without their daddy. It was only an hour drive, but I was fully expecting to have to stop a couple times. We made it there with only 1 stop - yeahhh! We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. We took in Yates Center's fall festival as G&G were contestants in the chili contest (sadly, they didn't win). Then, we were off to their lakehouse for "camping". The weather was absolutely perfect for camping, not too hot, not too cold - perfect! Ryane had a good time exploring and seeing what she could get G&G to do for her. Yes, we came home with a few bumps and scraps, but that is what being in nature is all about! Yesterday afternoon, I loaded the kids back up to come home. A few miles out, Ryane was getting fussy so I told her we were going home (thinking it would cheer her up) and she answered in a crying pitiful whine "Noooo, Laaakkke" meaning to go back. Well, 2 seconds later I look back and she is fast asleep from exhaustion. So, I had a peaceful trip home with both kids napping. Honestly, silence is pretty boring! :)

Playing with the pretty fall flowers G&G's good friends and 'lake neighbors' gave to her

Biology lesson of the trip! Grandma saw a walking stick, or whatever they're really called, going up the house. Ryane was pretty reluctant to touch it, but had fun watching it.

Playing with Grandma's Pinwheels - fun to watch in the breeze

One of the MANY golf cart trips. Who can say no to a little cutie asking "Ride pleeeeaaaassee?" It was cute to watch the differences in my mom and dad. Mom would hold onto Ryane tightly on her rides (as seen the pic) and dad would just let her set there by herself and go slow...

Walking with G&G down the path to the lake. The leaves were starting to change colors, so pretty!

We told Ryane she could walk in the water. It was a touch cold in October. Notice Grandpa is not getting in.

Picking up little seashells. She made it home with a pocket full. Now, I just have to remember to empty the pocket before washing them...

Bath time hair

2008-10-07T19:16:00.005-05:00

Bath nights in our house are usually accompanied by hairdo's for the kids to amuse me. :)

Tonight's choices were....

'Where did I park my Camaro?'

'Where's my dog Dollar?'

Hamburger

2008-10-07T07:27:00.004-05:00

Conversation with a 2 year old and confused parents:

(Ryane and I were setting and playing on the floor)
Ryane (standing up): Hamburger?
Me: what?
Ryane: Hamburger!
Me: Hamburger?
Ryane: yah!
Me (still confused): Alright, hamburger?????
Ryane (walking over and picking up her blanket): Hamburger!
Matthew: Ryane, do you want to be a burrito??
Ryane: YAH, BURRITO!! my turn!

So, Ryane remembered it was some kind of food that she wanted to be, but just picked the wrong one. :) It had a been a few days since Matthew played 'burrito' with her, so I was all confused what she wanted. Grady was already burritofied sleeping, so she must have noticed him and wanted that too. Who knows what is really going on in that beautiful head of hers???

Ryane is a Trooper

2008-10-03T07:00:00.003-05:00

First, thanks to everyone who noticed and commented on my new header picture for this blog. Aren't my kids just so darn cute??!!! :) Such a cute picture and of course there is a story behind it like most pictures. It was definitely a team effort between Matthew and I to get the picture taken. do you know how hard it is to get a 2yr old and a 3 mo. old to look at you at the same time? We'd get Grady to look, then Ryane would be looking elsewhere or talking to him trying to "help" us get his attention. Then, we have Ryane looking and Grady looking off somewhere. Ryane was tired of us at this point and just wanted to get up, so we were busy bribing her -- telling her we'd let her 'feed her piggy' (a few pennies for the piggybank brings so much joy to her). Then, Grady was being a typical 3mo. old and got ahold of his sister's hair - ouch and that when we got the picture. Ryane couldn't move, but still managed to squeeze out a beautiful smile of hers.

I thought I would share the full uncropped picture.

..and then the cropped version. The whole angle to the crop came from trying to get as much of their faces while cropping out the fist full of hair.

Rollin'

2008-10-02T07:18:00.001-05:00

Out of nowhere, my son decided to roll over last night for the first time. I placed him on his tummy for tummy time and he was all looking up, so I grabbed my camera for some cute pictures. Next thing I know, he starts to tip to the side, so there I was excitedly screaming/squeeling to Matthew (who was outside), "He's going to roll over, he's going to roll, he just rolled over!" It happened that quick! Matthew and Ryane rushed in and we got the video camera out for Matthew to get it on video. I put Grady back on his tummy. No sooner than I let go he rolled again....before his dad could even get the camera on. Soooooo....here is his 3rd and final roll of the night. He was pretty worn out! :)

2 Year Old in the House!!

2008-09-29T05:45:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if I should say Yipppeee! or Yikes! about having a 2 year old in the house?! Ryane is officially 2 today -- Happy Birthday to my little girl!

Let's see, where do I start to catch you up on the little toddler?? Here's my total brag blog on Ryane... Ryane has recently started singing/practicing the ABC's on her own without us prompting her to. It usually comes out "A B Q S W X Y Z, now I know my A B....yeahhh." (see video below) She is also counting a lot more as well. She and I really worked on counting this summer and she just wasn't as interested in it as I was. But, something has now clicked in her head and if she is on a roll, she can count to 5. However, it commonly comes out "1 2 2 4 5 7...yeahhhhh!" or "3 4 5 7 9 10" Not sure if I've blogged about it before, but Ryane adores the #7, so she always makes sure to include it. Ryane is potty-trained and I've very proud of her for that. Her language skills improve every week. She is speaking more clearly each day and is putting 3-4 word sentences together. We hear "I'll do it" a lot. She is also loving all her ba-gillion books. She is always (and I mean always) asking us to "read it, read it". Just last night she was starting to ask me to count things as well.

Now, I will say Ryane is a 2 year old -- meaning, she can really toss in a good ol' let-me-cry-and-throw-myself-on-the-floor-to-make-mommy-feel-bad tantrum. Ohhh, good times!!

My Little Model!

2008-09-27T22:03:00.007-05:00

I took Ryane's 2-year old pictures today. She has really been into getting her picture taken since Grady came along. A side-effect that I am VERY happy with. This is our first official photo shoot and she did so good. But, when she was done, she was done!

Now, I say she was good, but she wanted to do her own thing. There was no showing her how to do anything or forcing any props on her. So, there I was asking her what she wanted to pose with and this is what I got. Feel free to let me know your favorite. Maybe after I get through the many, many pictures we took, I will share the whole shoot with you.

Grady - 3 Months Old

2008-09-26T21:39:00.002-05:00

Seems like a lot longer than 3 months since Grady has been in our family. He is such a blessing! He has changed so much over the last month. He no longer has colic in the late evenings and is the sweetest, smiliest baby. He enjoys "talking" to us in the evenings. Actually, he is probably just playing with all the slobber in his throat, but I'll take it as talking. :) Grady is also a big bubble blower. It's not uncommon to look at him and he'll have about 1000 bubbles setting on his mouth. He's just pretty darn cute!

Anything for Ryane!!

2008-09-22T20:46:00.005-05:00

Being at home with Ryane for the summer gave me a good sense of what she liked to watch on TV, which wasn't much. She did ask for Elmo often. She never really called it Sesame Street, but rather "Elmo" or "Monster" (cookie monster). Matthew and I figured a Sesame Street birthday party would be fun and Ryane would enjoy it.
As I was frosting the cake, Ryane was beside me on her step-ladder watching and asking "What's That?", "What's That?", "What's That?" pointing to all the icing, cake, and everything else around. I answered her other questions but didn't tell her what the cake was. She was guessing it was a hamburger and I just kept frosting away. I had the mouth, eyes, and nose done and started with the red and I hear "ELMO!". All my work was worth it to hear the excitement in her voice.

Last week, we were pretty busy preparing for the party. I was so focused on Ryane's cake and scheduling it with the whole baking it one night, then decorating and such, that I didn't give much thought to anything else. I then realized Ryane needed a themed shirt to wear, so a-shoppin' we went. Couldn't find anything in the store. After looking online I was faced with the fact that it was too late to get a shirt on time without paying like $15 in shipping (ummm, no thanks!) So, I saw the design online and thought "Well, I can do that!" So, I bought the shirt and fabric paint and Viola!, Ryane got her "Monster" shirt. She's always done a good impression of Cookie Monster--as she is doing it in the last picture.

Grady's Baptism

2008-09-21T20:58:00.003-05:00

What a special day for Grady and our family. We had Grady's baptism with many family members and some friends present. We chose full immersion for Grady's baptism as Fr. Darren encouraged it and we liked the sybolism of it all - he entered into this world unclothed and he entered into the church unclothed. He was a very good baby for this baptism. Of course he had the uncertain look on his face as Fr. Darren dipped him 3 times, but not a peep from him. I was definitely impressed by Grady - especially since I just woke him up 2 minutes prior. I still have those flashbacks of Ryane crying during 95% of hers. We chose Grady's godparents to be his Uncle Bismark and his Uncle Luther. I'm sure his uncles will always be there for him and will give him good guidance and direction in life.

I just love this picture of Grady's special occasion. I think it really shows the purity of it all. Credits go to Aunt Sherry for taking it.

Party Time

2008-09-21T20:57:00.004-05:00

We celebrated Ryane's 2nd birthday party as well while family was in town. She had a great time. Here is Miss Ryane blowing out her candles. This just one of many pictures. I will share more later, possibly after I get a chance to scrap them. Right now, sleep is calling my name....

What's with our garage?

2008-09-18T20:44:00.004-05:00

Seems to always be a partily disassembled/assembled mustang setting in it...

Matthew started putting together Ryane's birthday present. I can't wait to see all the fun she has with it. I'm sure she'll probably drive like her mom, so stay off the sidewalks!!!

A Whole Year

2008-09-15T20:34:00.002-05:00

It has officially been a whole year since I started our family blog--Happy Anniversary to me! One year and 107 blog posts later, I still feel like there is so much more to share. It has been fun being able to share all the pictures and little happenings in our lives over the last year. I started close to Ryane's first birthday last year and we are closing in on that again. We are having her party this weekend so that means I am going through the fun task of baking and decorating her a cake--an Elmo cake! Wish me luck. We are also having Grady baptized this coming Sunday. If anyone would like to join us, he will be baptized at the Sacred Heart Church at the 11:00am mass. Here he is in his baptism jumper that his Nana made for him.

Fashion Show

2008-09-07T21:04:00.005-05:00

I leave the room and come back to hearing Matthew say "Show your mommy". I walk into the room to see this:

Cute board shorts Ryane!! Earlier I had gotten Ryane's baby clothes out to try to find a new home for them. In this picture Ryane has on a pair of 0-3 month pants and they are fitting her! I was pretty amazed. She also has a pair of shorts on underneath that she was wearing. She has a pretty small bum and considering she is wearing big girl undies, it means she wears smaller shorts and pants than she should. We put a pair of jeans on her on Saturday and they want to come down. This winter should be fun dressing her in our pants and jeans selection--she might be wearing "capris" all winter.

Ryane continued with her fashion show by putting on another pair of pants that were out, 0-3 month as well and they are on backwards. Glad we have her around to entertain us.

Scrappin'

2008-09-07T17:35:00.004-05:00

Just sharing a couple of recent scrapbook pages with you.

I wouldn't be an ordinary mom if I didn't take bathtime pictures of my baby! Grady tends to enjoy his baths, but gives us the big look of surprise when his bare bum first hits the water. :) We have always included Ryane in Grady's baths from the very first sponge bath we gave him after bringing him home. She has moved into more of an observer than a participant like she used to be. Don't get me wrong, we still have to beg her for the washcloth back now and then.
page credits: free download kit from twopeasinabucket.com and the font is chiller

We attended ESU's first football game a couple weekends ago. It was a Saturday night game. Ryane was really into the game this year and lots more fun. She enjoyed watching the football, guys running, and doing some of the cheers with the cheerleaders. We tell her to say "Go Hornets!!" and it always comes out "Go Cornets!!" She knows who Corky is, so I'm not sure where the C comes from, but we've tried and tried to help her in her pronunciation, but she insists on saying "Cornets". Grady may have had his eyes open for a little bit of the game, but overall, he slept through most of his first ESU football game.

Too early for Halloween Jammies??

2008-09-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

Not at our house!! :) I just love the day after holiday sales, or even the week after the holiday sale when "the goods" are even further discounted. I bought Ryane these Halloween pajamas as well as another pair to wear this year. I also got Grady a cute outfit as well. Yes, we just found out we were pregnant last year at that time and I was thinking ahead and buying him things. Can't wait to see what Halloween stuff they have in the stores this year that I can pick up at least 50% off on Novemeber 1st.

Gavin's photo shoot

2008-09-03T10:06:00.002-05:00

I feel blessed to be able to take Gavin's newborn photos. You can view them here! I really don't get the opportunity to do many newborn pictures, so it's been fun to have 2 of them in the last couple of months. Here is a first time newborn photo for me. I could never get my kids to curl up, so Gavin showed me what a good baby can do! :)

Meet my new nephew Gavin

2008-08-31T12:58:00.003-05:00

We finally were able to meet our newest family member on Saturday. Gavin Luther was born 8/22 and was 9lbs 7oz. and 20in. He is absolutely gorgeous!! Here is a picture of the sleeping boys together (guess who is who - ha). I also took newborn shots of him that I will share later. :)