She's Finally Getting It

Emma is finally taking off in the walking world! This video is from 2 days ago. Before that she had usually taken a few steps, fallen down and continued crawling to what she wanted. This was the first time she actually stood back up. In fact, she came so far that she smacked her head on the camera right after I turned it off! She's doing great though.

Funny Days

We've had a few funny or notable things happen in the last few days that I had to put out here so we remember them later!

1- A few days ago after dinner, I said that my belly hurt and I ate too much. Ryan replied that his belly didn't hurt. He said 'I no eat too much, I eat one much!'. Out of the mouths of babes.

2 - Ryan's potty training is going well. The complaining has really toned down, mostly to his catch all 'I play' phrase. No accidents today yet. 4 yesterday in an hour or two - but all pee ones.

3 - Ryan fell asleep on the couch today. He has never done this before, never been a kid to be able to really calm down unless he is in his bed. But he was watching his letters movie (Leap Frog Letters) and fell asleep before getting to T. Since he has underwear on, I had to move him because I really didn't want to clean the couch! And he got up, peed and went to bed with very little complaining! I'm loving this new Ryan.

4 - Yesterday, I was making potty signs and charts for Ryan with the markers, which made the kids want to paint. I set Ryan up the water colors and got Emma set up with her new Tadoodles paints (birthday present from Grammie). Well, Emma is still on the mouthing phase and put the paint stick in her mouth, then she flicked at the paint stick and ended up with it splattered all over her face. She looks pretty goth! She was also very mad when we took the paint away from her!

End of School Days

Ryan had his last day of school yesterday. They had a picnic in the park and all 4 preschool classes put on a performance for all the other classes and parents. It was very cute. Ryan's class did the Very Hungry Catepillar and Ryan was the apple. He was a great apple (except for trying to take his costume off immediately after being 'eaten' by the catepillar). I'm sure that Ryan will miss school after little break from it, he really thrives on the structure. My mom came down to visit and see the performance before she heads back to work next week, so we all went out for ice cream at McDonalds afterwards.

Here are the pictures comparing the first day to the last day of school.

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This past weekend, Kris decided to finish painting the garage. This task has been on his 'to do' list since before Emma was born (we won't go into the microwave vent). So with nice enough and not too hot weather, he wanted to get it done with. The kids and I kept busy by going to the gym, taking naps and playing in the pool. Both the kids loved the pool and fought over the slide - one was always on each side which made using it very difficult. They also loved the garage sale look of our front yard since all the garage toys were moved outside for the painting. Here are some of the pictures from this weekend.

We started potty training Ryan for what I promise is the last time today. He's had 4 accidents, but they were after he had drank 2 full glasses of water - it was 4 times in just over an hour. None since then and he was dry when he got up from his nap. Emma is still giving us trouble over her nap schedule and continues to be tired around 11 am. Yesterday she napped in the morning for 2 hours and then again later in the day. Today, she napped in the morning and then cried for over an hour this afternoon before giving into to sleep. If she only takes an afternoon nap she sleeps for about 3 hours which is great - but seems so tired by 11 that it's hard to keep her up. We'll figure it out some day I'm sure.

Also, the post below is new also. I posted it earlier today. I'm a little behind!

Three Springs Carnival/Memorial Day Weekend

Sorry this is taking me so long to get to. But things are busy around here.

Anyway - over Memorial Day Weekend we travelled to PA for the annual Three Springs Carnival. This is one of Kris's favorite times to be home and Ryan especially has a great time. They have a few rides and food stands, games and some great music. Ryan loved the fun house and went in it about 10 times (in a row). He was even allowed to stay up until 11pm one night to ride the rides. Emma didn't have the wonderful time that Ryan did. She only got to go on the Merry Go Round once, it really wasn't worth it to pay for a wristband for her. And she didn't end up feeling good that day, so we went home earlier than the boys. At one point, Ryan got lost because earlier he had been told to stay with Doug (Kris's cousin) until Kris got back from taking Emma and I home. Evidently Ryan didn't realize that ended when Kris showed back up and continued to follow Doug (without him knowing). Eventually, he lost sight of Doug and got a little flustered - luckily Daddy was watching the whole time.

We spent a lot of time with the Harpers and Kris's mom and even got to visit with his Grandmom for a little bit. It was a great trip - but we were glad to be back home in our own beds!

Maifest

We had a great time at the Maifest this past Sunday. We spent the afternoon and evening strolling the MainStrasse in Covington - seeing all the vendors, eating some great food, enjoying some wonderful music and riding some fun rides. For some reason, we looked like the people to give your left over tickets to. We ended up with 21 tickets in all, never purchasing a single one (and they were 20 for $18!). Ryan rode a bunch of rides and was especially excited to ride the roller coaster. As you can see in the picture, he had a big smile on his face the whole time! Emma got to go on her first ride too - the Merry Go Round. She loved it. I got to go on that with the kids and Kris took Ryan on the Dizzy Dinosaurs and the Himalayan ride (a big ride). We all had a great time and even started our Christmas shopping!

Having Fun!

We've been having some fun since we got home from Michigan. We've met friends at B&N and the park to play. We've washed some of our outside toys that were caked with mud - was that fun for all! We've also been taking advantage of the nice weather when we can and play outside. We've played at the gym and today we got to go swimming (which knocked Emma out as you can see!).

Let's see - Kris ran the Toyota 10k at the Flying Pig marathon a few weeks ago. He beat his previous time and we were all proud of him. We spent the morning walking around Cincy and enjoying some time together! Ryan even got a tattoo.

Ryan is coming to the end of school. Only 8 days left. What I'm going to do with him once he's out is anyone's guess. He's full of advice and suggestions and is always very worried about what and how much people are eating. Not sure why - but it makes for very repetitive meals. Since Emma's birthday he has been very excited for his own. He knows we're going to Chuck E Cheese and can't stop talking about it! He loves to play in Emma's bed especially if she is in there (although he'll play by himself too). He's getting much better at playing without me or help. Yesterday, we moved all the toys around the house and now there seems to be a brand new set of toys to play with - even though all of them were out before! He had a great time at the pool today going down the slide and walking through the water falls. He is very excited for it to be warm enough for the outside pool to open.

Emma is driving us nuts lately. Two days last week, she decided against taking an afternoon nap. So at the suggestion of friends, I have tried to move her to one afternoon nap. Unfortunately, it hasn't lengthened her nighttime sleep at all - and she still gets up too early for us. Today, she fell asleep in the car and we put her on the couch until she woke up. She slept for about 30 minutes total and now won't go down for her nap. I'm really not sure if teeth or the books in her bed are a factor. She has been walking all over and is loving the independence. The other moms with 1 year olds at the park were amazed at the space I give her to climb and go down slides. She's great at all that stuff and takes after her mom in the climbing! I took her to get her 1st birthday pictures taken, so some are shown here.

In Sympathy

We are up in Michigan right now. On Sunday, I found out that my friend, Amanda Igel's husband Damon past away. He had surgery to remove his adnoids, tonsils and repair a deviated septum and died a few days later after developing an fever. At the moment, we don't know any more than that. But we are so sad for Amanda and their families. It is such a tragedy to lose someone at 34. It just seems unfathomable and really makes you reflect on your life. Tonight, Kris and I attended the visitation and tomorrow I will be going to the funeral. I am glad to know that Amanda is surrounded by family and friends to help her through this time. I have so much sympathy for her and cannot imagine being in her shoes. God Bless her!