The Winds of School Cancellation

Hurricane Ike flew through here on Sunday. We had 40 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 80 mph. Lots of fun. The whole family sat outside for a while in the wind, enjoying the blowing and watching what the winds were doing to the newly planted lawn up the street. At one point, Kris was down the hill from our house looking for Ryan's picnic table, which at the time was one of the only things left outside (we found it). The power was out for about 3 hours, which bothered Ryan since he couldn't understand why we couldn't turn the tv on. Luckily it was in the afternoon, so it was still light out. Because of the storm, school was cancelled for 2 days. One thing I thought was hilarious was that the local tv stations didn't have any other background for school closings than the snow one they use in the winter! We had some roof damage and a lot of trees limbs down, but little else. There are people who were still out of power today, so we're praying they can get everyone back up soon.



Ryan was sick this past weekend, finishing the first full week of school by bringing home a horrible cold. He probably wouldn't have gone to school on Monday if he had it. He threw up on Sunday and Daddy was lucky enough to get to clean him up. He made it to the potty for the third round. So most of the weekend Ryan played cars, either with me or Kris.

I went to a mom to mom sale on Saturday and returned home with a toy to sit at for Emma. I'm trying to encourage her to sit by herself as much as possible. She enjoyed the toy (but not as much as Ryan did for some reason). Other than that, we've been busy figuring out how to use our new tv, installing the wall mount for it, installing the shelf in the garage and finishing the porch chairs. Well, this is to say Kris was doing all this, while I kept the kids busy (mostly putting them down for naps - that's all I seem to do anymore). Kris wanted me to mention that the shelf in the garage was designed by him with inspiration from the TX house.



We're getting ready for our families to come in to town for Emma's baptism this week (no I can't tell you the difference between a baptism and christening - to me they are one in the same). So I got to take both kids to the grocery store on Tuesday (big mistake) and try to get the house in order. Luckily, we are almost there. The troops start rolling in tomorrow, with my mom being the first one here and the Harpers to follow early Friday. Kris is excited to get some help chopping down a tree and mounting the tv.

Happy Birthday to Me and 1st days

Yes, I'll say it - Happy Birthday to ME! I turned 31 on Thursday and enjoyed having 5 hours of peace with Emma. Kris gave me a beautiful framed picture of the Michigan Big House that will go in our Michigan/Penn State basement once we start that project (the new tv came this week so we're starting!). We went out to Macaroni Grill for dinner and had a nice time. I received some great gifts from my parents and in laws (mother, sister, brother).

Ryan has been enjoying school. Thursday he took another nap on the bus ride home, which is great for him since he spends quite a bit of time on the bus. Luckily so far, it hasn't effected naps on the other days. We've moved his bedtime a little later so that 1- I can get Emma to bed first and 2 - he will hopefully sleep later. So far I've got number one, but not the second. It has eliminated him running around his room for an hour after we put him to bed though. So in all actuality he is going bed earlier now! I must say I enjoy playing and being with him a lot more since I get a break. Even yesterday wasn't too bad with him all day. Probably since I don't have so much to do when he's home!

Emma had her 4 month appointment on Friday that went well (read more at her website), then we played with some friends at B&N. She's doin great but being a bit fussy. We still think she's teething because of all the drool, but she's also trying to get her naps in order which has been making her crabby when she doesn't get enough sleep.

Today, although I was looking forward to a nice afternoon with the kids (and a little time to myself while they both napped) a migraine decided it was more important so my day was shot. Kris, who's been painting our porch chairs all weekend, took the kids out to get me medicine and to the park so that the house was quiet. I was so thankful. Even Ryan was great. When he got up from his nap, the first thing I told him was that I wasn't feeling good and to listen to Daddy. He found me a few minutes later in the bathroom because I got nausous and gave me kisses and hugs. When they came home from the park, he cuddled with me on my chair for a half hour not asking for anything more than to sit with me. It was great and so unlike him!

1st Day of School

Yesterday was Ryan's first day of school! He seemed to have a great time and was excited to go back today. I drove him yesterday to be able to see his room and make the start a little easier on him since we weren't able to attend the orientation (plus we had to bring in so many things). We waited in the lobby for his teachers to come get him. Although he seems to get more nervous, once in the room, he sat down and waved bye to me. He came home on the bus, which made me very nervous since I had no idea what time he would be dropped off. Amazingly, for a 3 hour preschool, he will be gone for almost 6 hours. He is picked up over an hour before school starts and dropped off over an hour after school ends.


This morning, we waited together for the bus and I got the following two pictures of him waiting with me and then getting on the bus.

Vacation Days

We returned from vacation with the Zebrowski's on Saturday. We were supposed to come home on Sunday but Emma wasn't sleeping very well in the pack n play, plus some teething going on, so we decided to cut our losses and come home. Of course the night we got back she slept for 10 hours straight!

Ryan, Emma and I drove to MI on Monday the 18th after having an oil change on the car and meeting the Fortners for a last goodbye breakfast and then meeting with Ryan's new teachers - Mrs. Nickell, Miss Stephanie and Miss Chris. We had our best drive ever making it in 5 hours and 15 minutes and only stopping for 15 minutes. Kris flew in to MI on Wednesday and we made the rounds visiting the McCarthys, the Deckers, the Scramlins, the Stones, the Igels and my grandmother.

Sunday morning we drove to Traverse City to begin the real vacation! While there we shopped downtown, visited a few wineries, explored Old Mission Penninsula, took a ice cream sail, went to the pool and the beach. Here are some of the many pictures from our trip.

On Thursday, we drove to Frankenmuth. While there we explored the town and the hotel which had a lot of pools and play areas. Ryan took a horse and carriage ride with Nana & Buppa and really enjoyed dancing to German music with anyone else who would (we have some great videos). We also indulged our shopping needs at Birch Run. Here are some pictures from that trip!

We had a great time in both places although by the end we were ready to get home. Emma did great at the beginning but it steady degraded until I was barely able to stand it. Ryan loved having Nana and Buppa to play with and it was so nice to have some breaks from entertaining him and keeping Emma happy! Ryan loved being at the beach, really enjoying driving cars in the sand and burying Daddy and himself. We enjoyed having connecting rooms, thus a place to go to after we put the kids to bed. Overall, it was a great trip. We're looking forward to our trip to Boston with them in November.

Other news - Emma learned to roll from her back to her stomach and has been rolling herself away. While this seems to make her happy, she has decided not to be the perfectly happy newborn anymore and is increasingly fussy if no one pays attention to her. She has found her feet though and is able to keep herself busy playing with them, especially if she has the pjs on with the ducks on the feet. Ryan was supposed to start school tomorrow, but they decided to only send half of the kids the first day and the other half the second day so that they had more one on one time with the kids. So he will not start until Wednesday. And we were all prepared except for the few problems I had encountered (such as the bus not calling to tell me what time they will pick him up!!). But this gives us a day to get him a bigger backpack since the one we bought for preschoolers won't hold the folder we need to send back and forth to school. I'll update again on Wednesday to let you know how it went!!

Getting Ready to Go

We've been quite busy for the last few days. For one reason, we're getting ready to leave for vacation. In fact, we're leaving today. Kris has been in CA since Wednesday and anyone who knows me, knows that I have a kiddie meltdown after 4 days. Which is exactly what happened on Saturday. I was just so tired of Mama being shouted at me 766 times a day, plus Emma was crying and I didn't know why. I played a stealth version of hide and seek (not telling Ryan we were playing) and was able to call Kris and have him attempt to calm me down before Ryan found me.

This past week and a half have had some interesting things happen.

Here are the Ryan things. One is I put together the new bike Ryan got for his birthday. He's had a great time tooling around the driveway. He still can't pedal, but it's coming along. Second, is while out shopping for a new tv for our basement, Ryan learned how to jump off things. Previously, his 'jumps' were all a big step. He could jump on the ground wonderfully, but that getting off things needed practice. He found a little step at Circuit City and practiced jumping for a half hour while watching Cars in their surround sound room. The third thing is Ryan got into my makeup. He's always been able to get into the drawer that I have my makeup in, not because it doesn't have a latch, but because the latches don't line up well, so if you pull hard enough it just opens. First I found him 'dusting' with my hairspray. Then, I heard the door shut to his room, since it has a childproof handle on the inside, so I knew he'd be in there for a while. I was nursing Emma at the time, which any nursing mom knows that is when the other kid will get into trouble. But I turned on the RyanCam and saw him playing intently with something that didn't look like his cars. I figured out it wasn't something of his and by the time I got in there he had foundation all over his face (and carpet) and some eye liner near his eyes. Thankfully, the eye shadow and mascara hadn't been touched. Here are some pictures of his bike and make up!

And for Emma, she's great as always. Last night, I put her in her crib so that I could get Ryan out of the tub and dressed for bed and she fell asleep. It was amazing for two reasons. One because she doesn't sleep in her crib yet and two because I hasn't nursed her since 6pm. She slept until 2:30, which is when she has been getting up. I was just amazed. We got some of the playful toys out and Ryan loved showing her the dinosaur that he used to eat. She likes doing the same thing! Also, I got a cute picture of her looking in the mirror at herself!

On a sad note, we're off to say goodbye to the Fortners. Max is probably, Ryan's best friend at the moment and he will miss him a lot (mostly because he's the only kid I'll let Ryan wrestle!). They are moving to Minnesota and I'll miss meeting up with them!

Now, we're off. We have to get an oil change, meet the Fortners for breakfast and be back here to meet Ryan's preschool teacher (a whole other story) before we drive to MI.

Facts

Here are some of the things the kids did this week:
-Ryan learned to open the childproof cabinets. He thought Tums were candy (but didn't eat any).
-Emma started nursing every 3 hours instead of 2. I'm thankful for that.
-Ryan decided to sleep in his new reading chair. At first sitting up, and then in a fetal position with butt in the air.

Shade Gap Picnic 2008

Last weekend we travelled to PA to attend the 125th (I think) Shade Gap picnic. We left early Friday morning, Emma did well, but Ryan stayed awake for most of the trip with a few snoozes. The same happened on the way home on Monday. We got to visit with Kris's mom on Friday and then started getting ready for the picnic. Saturday, was a nice relaxing day. We had a great time catching up with all the Harpers, enjoying the food and music. Ryan went on a bunch of rides, while I kept Emma happy! The fireworks were wonderful, even if a little (ahem) loud. Sunday, we went to church, lunch, cake to celebrate Ryan's birthday and to the pool with Kelli after naptime for all. Overall, a great weekend.

Today, we had Ryan's 3 year old doctors appointment (quickly followed tomorrow with an eye exam, required for preschool). We waited a long time, but did great. He is in great shape - even if he's not too excited for school.

Other than that, we're just living our lives. Since I left my small camera at the farm, I don't have any pictures from the picnic. But here are some recent pictures of Ryan reading on his new chair and shaving (both birthday gifts) and above are pictures from our last pool time at home.