A Total Nothing

Yet it means everything to me - it's a glimpse into our every day life.

I was attempting to video Kathryn saying, "Uh-oh" because she says it with such an adorable tone. I was somewhat successful, but it's not nearly as cute as it can be - and then the noisy one comes in. Doing what he does best - being Ryan. I totally laugh every time I see Paul walk in when I watch the video. In his shorts and work socks. It looks so goofy and I don't think he had a clue that I had the camera going.

In jammies, near bed time.

Kathryn turns 11 months on Thursday. A mere 31 days until her first birthday. How on earth can her first year go by so fast?

Still no crawling, but hinting more and more that it's on its way.

She's still my sleeper.

I'm pretty sure she does it to get a break from the noisy one.

He's all action all the time.

I am so so so lucky I have healthy happy children.

I've said it before and I will say it over and over again, it's an honor to be their mother.

Happy Father's Day

The boys.

About to enjoy a fried chicken dinner from a local restaurant. It was gooood. It was Paul's Father's Day gift from me. Fried chicken is so not on our routine meal plan, but Paul loves it. So I hope it was a treat for him. Kathryn had her first bite of fried chicken and second and third. She liked it. Ryan went more for the mashed taters and biscuits. Oh, and the water. It was in a "real" cup with a "real" straw and he seemed more excited about that than his food.

Trying to help with the photo taking

I swear this was not staged!

The pediatrician I worked for in Beverly Hill's wrote that book. It came out in April and I have slowly been trying to read it. It's been hijacked by Ryan however. It's HIS book now and he "reads" it. He also won't go to bed without it. It's a pretty good book actually. For any new parent who wants a basic, common sense approach to babies. He spells it out fairly clearly. I like it and I don't think I am being biased. I need to

e-mail him that photo.

Just being goofy

Weekend went to the birds

Literally!

This weekend was for the birds!

Saturday was spent in Oak Harbor with my in-laws, celebrating "Papa's" birthday. It was a deliciously beautiful day, so wanted, needed and deserved after our wet, dreary spring. Paul's parents have a wonderful home, on some land with chickens at the back of the property. Ryan's first order of business was to feed the chickens - after of course wishing his Papa, a happy birthday.

We had a fabulous day -lunch and dinner with Leonard and Soon.

A trip to an amazing/huge park for Ryan, near their home.

And of course a few laps in the battery powered golf cart - Ryan sized. He giggles and giggles as he powers that thing around the driveway.

I witnessed Ryan completely bite it as he was running down a slight downhill on the driveway. His legs were moving faster than his body and I swear it happened in slow motion. I saw him hit every part of his body that got scraped. As he was coming to a stop, truly during his tumble, he was yelling out, "I'm OK!" What a trooper. It's a right of passage in childhood to take falls like that, but to witness it made me a bit sick to my stomach briefly. It's hard to know that in about 0.5 seconds that's really gonna hurt!

His G.Q. pose? Ribbon compliments of Grandma Soon.

Tooth shot!

You can just barely make out all four of those little teeth peeking through.

Posed to crawl. . . . but not quite there yet!

Ok - and for our Sunday bird installment.

The kids were up at 0530.

WAY.TOO.EARLY.

especially after a long day prior.

We were in the living room watching CBS News Sunday Morning. That show is so nostalgic for me. Dad watched most of my life, growing up.

Anyway about 0730 I hear a loud Blue Jay squawk. I thought to myself that was odd for as loud as it was. I know there is a family of four Blue Jay's taking up residence in a tree very near our house. I see them in our front and back yard daily. In fact I saw one of the Blue Jay youngsters get caught in some netting we have over our vegetable garden. We don't have the netting on the garden to keep the birds out -it's to keep my dog out! It freed itself after a minute or two, thankfully. I was thinking to myself how I would attempt to free it if need be - fortunately not need be.

Back to this morning,

I start to hear rustling in the chimney and am hearing bits of dirt drop into the fireplace. Dread. I ask Paul if he hears it too. Yep. More dread. There is something in the chimney, probably sitting on top of the flue. Not knowing if it was truly a bird - it could be a rat - there was no way I was going to find out. More and more dread - thinking that whatever it is, is going to die there.

I don't know what Paul did to the flue. But whatever he did, it must have moved it enough for Mr. Baby Blue Jay to get himself out of the chimney, down into our fireplace and then into our living room! Yipes! Fortunately none of us were in the living room at the time it made it's entrance. Ryan was outside, and Paul and I were in the process of cleaning Louie's turtle tank in the back yard. We move the tank back inside and there he (or she) is jumping around on our living room window sill! I immediately start jumping around, freaking out and at the same time looking for my camera! Paul - getting irritated at me for wanting a picture - opens the front door and out if flew.

Bye Mr. Baby Blue Jay.

Please, if you again want to land or play around our chimney, don't fall in.

(Bummed I did not get a picture)

Throwback Thursday

6/12/08

Standing under his own volition.

Kathryn shows glimpses of being interested in moving to and fro, but still not going any where fast (or slow).

6/3/09

Apparently warm enough to be in the pool this time, last year. Hard to imagine with this frigid early summer we are having!

Just cute

Taken by Korryn

She lovingly and generously watches the kids while I work, every Friday.

Thanks!

Operation D/C Binky

Paul and I knew it was time to discontinue Ryan's night time binky habit. We've known for a few months. We would talk about it now and then, but never really set a date or time. Saturday we decided it was time. We talked to Ryan about it a few times that day, and had a longer talk about it that evening, saying this is it, last night. He didn't seem to mind. Again mentioned it on Sunday once or twice, he still seems to shrug it off. That evening it all came to reality. I truly think this was way harder on me than him because his tears were heart wrenching! We said our goodnights and talked about the cool John Deere tractor toy he was going to get in the morning after he slept all night without the binkies. (He has had two of them in bed with him for well over a year). We closed his door and listened while he sobbed and sobbed. Three to four minutes later I hear. "Mommy! Mommy!" I go to his door, look inside and he is standing by the door. He says, "I need a hug Mommy, a hug". He cries on my shoulder and I ask him if he would like to sleep with the big snoopy that is on his dresser. It's a stuffed Snoopy that has just been there for a while. I tell him he can hug it at night if he wakes up and wants his binkies. Through his sobbing he says yes - goes back to bed, and puts Snoopy on the pillow next to him, talking to the Snoopy as he settles back into bed. "Snoopy, you'll sleep right there, ok"? Pulls the covers back over him and over Snoopy. I give Ryan a kiss, then Snoopy - Ryan giggles at that and says, "Ni night." Didn't hear a peep the rest of the night. The tenderness of that moment in our lives is really lost in my translation as I put it into words. To be able to console him, yet stick to our decision for no more pacifier was HUGE for me. Minute in the grand scheme of thing, yes.

But it was a proud Mommy moment for me.

Oddly enough, that pink binky was his favorite.