Sunday

A really crummy photo of a really amazing service :) Ryder is on stage singing with all the other kids :)

Last Bonfire at the Yucca House!

We went from snow earlier in the week to mid to high 70's today! Felt like a summer bonfire!

Welcome Spring!!

Welcome, Spring! We have been missing you!!

We have spent most of the day outside today: we drew a race track on the driveway, played catch in the grass, went on a 3 mile walk (Ry biked) with Laura over her lunch, and visited daddy at work!! So much fun!

The kids crashed so fast for afternoon nap :)

For the Record

I thought this would be fun to document and look back on. This morning we woke up to 3 1/2" of fresh snow. As much as I'm craving spring, it was actually really beautiful...especially at sunrise. I snapped a couple photos with my point-and-shoot on my way out the door to work...couldn't resist capturing something.

Then this evening, we had a good melt and enjoyed a walk around the neighborhood.

"Camping Trip" [Updated]

This post was updated to [finally] include photos :)

Interview with Ryder inside our tent:
Mom: What's your favorite thing about camping?
Ryder: Playing baseball with girlfriends.
Mom: Where's your favorite spot to camp?
Ryder: Where we camped "yesterday"[Pine Island].
Mom: What do you think about sleeping in a tent?
Ryder: Yah, that's a good idea. And Erin can go on my tent.
Mom: What's your favorite food to eat when you're camping?
Ryder: Marshmallows
Mom: What kinds of things do you do when you're camping?
Ryder: Erin just turned 6, Mama. Playing baseball with Erin. Soccer and baseball and golf.

This kid cracks me up...

Fun With Friday Friends!

Here are a few photos from our Friday playdate with Everett, Cora and Jen.

I think my favorite moment was when I took Ryder to the bathroom and he sprinted out the door (after washing his hands), yelling "I'm coming Everett!!"

I also enjoyed watching Cora and Logan wander around the toddler area on their own :). Logi was walking / toddling between toys - pretty exciting :)

Buds :)

This is about as close as I could get these two super-fast kiddos!!  Even though they're not full on walking yet, the are soo mobile!

The awesome adventure center!

Moving Fun

These little guys are loving all the boxes we have around!! So far they are taking the whole moving process very well.

On our walk on Saturday, Ryder volunteered the following:
Ryder: When we go to our new house, I'm not going to cry.
Me: You're not going to cry? (I was a bit confused)
Ryder: Cuz I'm going to be excited!!

Then tonight, during story time, Ryder and I read a book about emotions. I asked him to point to what he will feel when we get to our new house. He pointed to the "surprised" (looks excited) face. I asked him how he'll feel about leaving our current house. He pointed to the "crying" face...but followed it with a smile. Pretty cool that he seems to understand what's going on :)

More April [Snow] Showers

Crazy what a difference 48 hours can make!! We went from spring, right back to winter!! After the almost 2 hour drive home from work, I was anxious to get outside and play in the still-falling snow. Logan was sleeping again, but Ryder was all in!

I can't remember the last time we had this much snow so late in the season! They're officially calling it Storm Yogi (just like our little Yogi Bear! Had to post a clip from weather.com)

Sure, I'd rather be BBQ'n by now, but we're still havin fun :) We played catch with snowballs, threw snowballs into the creek and covered every inch of our yard with footprints!!

A Taste of Spring

It's April 16th...and we were excited to experience the 40's today. Crazy. It warmed up enough to start to melt last week's snow, so with the sun shining, it actually felt a little bit like spring. Most of our outdoor gear is packed in storage, but we do have Ry's Scuut and a stroller, so we enjoyed a walk through the neighborhood...one of our last through this neighborhood (we move in 14 days!) it was sooo nice to get outside!!

It'll be short-lived though, as they're forecasting more snow for the next 3 days...

Logan's First Steps!!!

I can't believe it!! My baby has started walking!! He took 1-2 steps over the weekend, then last night (I think due to the excitement of Nana and Bumpa coming over) he took about 8 steps!!

Tonight he has just been taking a few steps here and there, just walking till he falls to a crawl. No more than 5 steps or so, but he keeps trying. I don't know who gets more excited and proud about it - me or Logi! I don't have good footage yet, but will post it when I do :)

A Snowy Day in [Mid] April

Right when we thought spring was on its way, we got hit with a snowstorm!! Our family actually took it quite well and we were excited to get out and play (though if we knew the snow was going to last, I don't think we would have been so optimistic...). Being it was a Friday, I was thankful not to have to drive in to work and to get to play in our yard instead.

Ry was so excited: "What should we do first? A snowball fight, build a snowman, or shovel the driveway?" He wanted to do everything. So we did :)

(Logan doesn't have a waterproof snowsuit, so it was okay that he napped through our outdoor playtime.)

Easter and Moving

This is a bit late but I still wanted to post about our crazy Easter weekend and the moving process. We were so thankful that the weekend before and Easter weekend Nana and Bumpa came over and spent pretty much the entire weekend at our house watching the kids so we could get our house ready for the market.

We packed, we painted, we (Matt & Shawn) installed flooring, we moved furniture...

They were both crazy weekends (as was the week in between) but we also made some pretty amazing memories during those times.

A few notes about Easter morning: Ryder had no idea that it was Easter when he woke up, so I ran to the store that morning for goodies! Logan found his basket first. It was in the tub: a favorite spot of his - whether there's water or not. Ry found his next - behind the chair in Logi's room. A spot he always likes to go when he's not supposed to (like when I'm feeding Logan). When he saw his basket, he said "Mom! It's my favorite sport!!" and he carried it around with him all morning :) In addition to bunny grahams and bunny crackers, the Easter Bunny brought him the movie Sandlot, which we all enjoyed watching together. Daddy found his basket last :)

Logan: 11 Months

Little Logan - you are 11 months.  I love that we are starting to see more and more of your personality as you grow!  You are curious, determined, strong!, happy...you are a climber!  Your favorite spots in the house involve climbing: you crawl at top speed to the bathtub if we leave the bathroom door open (yes, you have gotten into the tub by leaning and sticking your arms out to catch you as you fall!), you "run" to Ryder's room and try to sneak onto his bed and climb up to the window before we catch you, you crawl through the slats of our kitchen island stools like it's a jungle gym, you climb onto the kiddie chairs and stand on them!!  You pull out the drawer beneath the oven, take everything out and climb into the drawer!  We have to tape it shut.  We really have to keep our eyes on you!

This month, we also discovered that you can climb stairs, you nod "yes" (though I don't think you really understand what "yes" means), you started swimming lessons and keep your mouth shut when we do your "zoom", you love to pretend to talk on the phone (with phones, remotes, etc), you eat more solid finger food...though sometimes is seems like you prefer for us to feed you.  You have been spitting bananas out, but you love cheese and sweet potatoes. 

You sleep through the night (as long as you're not sick, not off schedule and take your evening bottle...) from 7:30pm to either 5:30am for a bottle, then go back to sleep till 6am or you'll sleep until 6/6:30am, drink a bottle and get up to play.  I stopped nursing last month due to our Europe trip, but you have been on 50% frozen breastmilk and 50% formula.  You drink four 6oz bottles a day (6am, 10:30am, 3:30pm and 7:30pm).  You still generally take two long naps at 8:30 and 1.  Sometimes on the weekend you take more naps, but shorter.

You and Ryder constantly make each other laugh! And you wrestle! He loves you so much and is even pretty good about being gentle with you. He lets us know when you climb on his bed or are somewhere unsafe. He also gently pulls you down when you are standing at the fireplace or tv. And you two both love to scream!! Not because you're upset, but just for 'fun'.

You also took your first steps tonight!! Unassisted, you took 1-2 steps at home this evening :)  I am having so much fun watching you grow and learn...you are a happy, easy going, active baby!