The Adams Family

New accomplishments

2012-01-26T08:08:00.003-06:00

Ryan is doing so much lately. I didn't know that she could trace her letters so well. This iXL is awesome b/c she gets to practice outside of school. Thanks Nana!!

The pictures below are of her tracing the little "r." You can't see it very well, but you can kind of see it in one of the pictures.

She is also getting into playing her "geeetars." Pretty Gramna and PawPaw gave her one with a strap and everything. She played her guitar all Tuesday evening and didn't even ask to watch tv. I really hope she loves to play music or sing or do something that she absolutely loves. I wish I could get paid for doing something that was my passion. Basketball players have it made!!

Ryan is going on a week now (knock on wood) with no accidents over night. She had one while we were making Phillip his chocolate covered strawberries for his birthday, but she is learning from it. I am trying to teach her and tell her that she can always stop what she is doing, go to the restroom and then come back. If she never has accidents, how will she learn from them? Oh wait...if she never has accidents then I would be a happy momma. :) I can't win! Just kidding.....we all learn from our mistakes and that's what life is about.

We have also been having really good mornings (again, knock on wood.) We have been getting her up to go to the restroom the moment we hear her. She goes and then she has her time to wake up and watch a little tv. I don't want her watching it all the time, but when we get her up and try to get her dressed and rushed out the door, it seems that it makes it worse. We all need our time to get ready and not be rushed. She is just like us, just smaller. I have to remember that sometimes she wants to be left alone just like everyone else. We all need either our time to slowly wake up or our down time in the evenings. She isn't a baby anymore. She is a big girl.

We are so blessed.

Happy birthday

2012-01-24T14:10:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday to the most wonderful husband in the world!!! Happy 35th Phil!

Fun weekend

2012-01-24T12:23:00.004-06:00

Saturday we went to a birthday party. It was a carnival theme. There was face painting, cookie making, balloon popping (obviously NOT my favorite), ball toss, sand art and more. Ryan didn’t want her face painted so she had a flower done on her arm. Cooper on the other hand was full on tiger. However, he wasn’t a fan after getting it done either. He looked so cute though.

Ryan is successfully sleeping at night in big girl attire. She is no longer wearing diapers or pull-ups and it has been 5 nights. I am so proud of her. Her teachers at school have been a huge help and I am so appreciative of the time that they are spending with her. She loves being a big girl.

I have mentioned in past blogs that she has in the past month gained more of a mature way talking. She is asking more questions as well. She is so interested in a lot that we do. Phillip has been teaching her about recycling and didn’t really know if she understood….until this morning.

Ryan: “Oh mommy, look at these bottles. These are recyclable.” She saw two water bottles on the counter. I am such a proud momma and know that Phillip is very excited. I had to call him right then and call him.

Ryan loves her iXL and I believe it will help her with her sounds. It speaks the letter and then the sound that it makes. It is for fun, but there are some learning things on there as well. She also traces letters which will help her write. She was listening to the Kai Lan music this morning while bobbing her head and said “This is a good song.” She is so funny.

Still amazed at how tall she is getting. I found a picture of her when she turned 2 and then compared it to the one below.

Holding her cow named Blanca. She says it's because white is Blanca in Spanish.

One Fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish........

Wearing cupcake shirt for her daddy's birthday.

Hollywood Jr... for those who don't know, I was named Hollywood when I was little because I showed up for softball tryouts in sunglasses and jewelry.

Playing with the balloon.

Just like her mommy and was hoping it was colored sugar....yes, she tried it. It was real sand!

Not a baby anymore......

2012-01-20T14:43:00.002-06:00

Well.....it happened. Ryan told Phillip that she didn't want to wear a diaper or pullup to bed. She wanted to wear her big girl undies all night. And...she stayed dry all night. I know there will be accidents, but wearing a pullup was my one thing that made her my baby still. She isn't anymore. She is all grown up.

She has also been going around the house acting like her teachers and telling us to go sit on the rug or hold on to the rope. The funniest part of it all is when she said that we were going to be on her "leeest." Not list..but leeest (long E). We couldn't figure out why she was saying it that way, but she has a teacher that is either Hispanic or speaks another language. So she said it how the teacher said it. We were cracking up.

We are so blessed. She is so much fun and I know I have said that before, but this girl is a hoot.

3 year stats

2012-01-17T12:07:00.005-06:00

Ryan went to her 3 year appointment yesterday. She was in the 75% of her weight and 50% of her height. The Dr never once mentioned her weight. I think she is getting taller day by day. I am not sure where she gets the height, but we don’t know where she got the blonde hair either so this isn’t a shock to me!

She did really well. Everything that the Dr asked if she did, she was up to par with and even beyond. And yes, of course I asked her to perform but only a little. Like when the Dr gave her a green ring, I asked her to say what color it was in Spanish. I hope she continues to love to learn. She takes so much in right now. I always try to count or do colors in the car on the way to and from school.

She did receive an iXL for Christmas that is helping with sounds. It was say “Big A (input sound A).” So every time it says a letter, it says the sound in which it makes. I like that. It can only help her when they talk about sounds at school.

Her personality continues to amaze us. The other day I was preparing her for the Dr’s appointment. I told her that the Dr was going to look into her ears, her mouth and in her eyes. Ryan’s response was, “No, mommy. I can look in my own eyes” as she closes them and smiles. I said, “What do they look like?” She says, “Pretty!” That’s my girl.

She is also asking more complex questions. We were in the car and she said that the truck next to us was going home. I asked her where she thinks the truck lived and she said, “Mommy, I don’t understand what you are saying.” Whether she knew what she was saying, it made sense. It was more complex than I had heard before.

Ryan is learning so much. She comes home, takes three balls and says to watch her. I asked what she was doing and she says, Jungling. :)

We always go have ice cream after her Dr’s appointments. I want to associate something good afterwards so that she has something to look forward to if she were to have a not so good experience, like shots. On a side note, they have needleless shots now. I didn’t read much up on it, however Phillip saw something on the wall that had information about it. So those who have shots coming up, you might want to ask. We had to take her to school after the appointment, so we went to get ice cream after school. She had a presentation regarding International day so hence the hat. I am not sure what the hat stands for, but she said Pirate. I went with it!!!

I am loving this girl. I love how we can go places and I don’t have lug around a stroller. I love how we can have a conversation and she can understand most of it. I love how she is independent, yet I would love a little cuddle bug. She did cuddle with me for a few minutes last night, until her daddy came in and then she wanted to cuddle with him. I love how she can figure things out and wants to do it by herself. I JUST LOVE THIS GIRL.

I am not sure is I posted this the other day, but Ryan found the stash of pacy's. I keep two around *just* in case a baby came over. I had them santized and everything. Well, not anymore.

The twins are two

2012-01-17T12:04:00.002-06:00

Brendan and Connor turned two. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of them. I will have to go on facebook and copy a few. But here are a few funny ones that Erin sent me. She had a picture station set up with props to use. The theme was Toy Story, so she had hats and an Etch a Sketch and few other things. So clever!

Year #3

2012-01-12T08:35:00.002-06:00

3 years old!!

I can’t believe Ryan is 3 years old. She is such a happy girl. We are so blessed to have a daughter that is so care free. She IS 3 and has her moments, but overall she is so much fun.

Some of her favorites are Tangled, princess things, playing with her dolls and pushing them in the shopping cart, and of course her Yo Gabba Gabba things. She received more plush dolls for Christmas. She now has Muno, Brobbie and Foofa. She sleeps with all of them.

She loves to copy mommy and daddy. I told her once that we were too short to reach the bars on the playground and so now she says she is short. However, I don’t think that will be the case when we go to the Dr on Monday. She looks tall for her age, which is odd considering her mother and father. Phillip is average, but we all know I am not.

She loves her music toys and plays her guitars often. She will sing and jam in the car. She has her favorite songs which are usually ones that I listen to on the way home from school.

Oh and she is completely infatuated with the dart rail train. She loves seeing it and will say, “I’m sorry baby, no train today” if we go over the tracks and don’t see a train. She also loves to say what Nana taught her as we go over the tracks…..”Pick your feet up.”

I can go on and on about how much fun she is, but I should probably save some stuff for the next blog. I will post her stats from her Dr appointment in a few days.
Today was PJ day at school. The picture below freaks me out b/c she looks so old. She loves to say how she is a big girl and she doesn’t need to do this or that b/c that’s what babies do. She will also tell her dolls things that we have told her or taught her to do. My favorite is listening on the monitor and hearing her talk to her babies.

I am the happiest and most blessed mommy ever.

Ryan's birthday party

2012-01-09T13:01:00.006-06:00

We had Ryan's birthday party on Saturday. It was at a gymnastics place. It looked like all of the kids had a really good time. I hope they enjoyed it.

I decided to make the cupcakes instead of ordering some. I made over 60 mini cupcakes and some normal size ones. I only brought one normal for Ryan to have her candle on. I thought I did an ok job. I would like to toot my own horn if that's ok.... toooot toooot! :)

I thought having smaller cupcakes would work better for the smaller people!

I am waiting to get a few more pictures from those that took some. I was watching more and couldn't find my camera, so I thought I would sit back and just enjoy.

It was a great time!!!

This is my favorite picture. The look on Ryan's face is priceless. Ollie and Colin came over after Ryan's party. We hadn't celebrated our Christmas yet, so we all exchanged gifts.

We gave Ollie a Super Hero dress up kit. Ryan was Robin. She would run after Ollie and growl. I told them that they had to go and save people and they both said, "We are the monsters." Monsters.... not sure....

Then Ryan runs through the room saying, "Badmans....." She heard Ollie say Batman, but obviously didn't understand him correctly. :)

PS..... got my hair chopped off. I like posting the picture b/c I am able to go back and see when I got it cut. I found the picture from Aug 2009 and took it with me. It doesn't look just like it, but somewhat the same.

2009

Birthday and Christmas

2012-01-05T13:03:00.003-06:00

Happy 3rd birthday to the most precious thing in my life. Dec 30th was her birthday and we went to Nana's for dinner. Bronwyn and Cooper were there, hence the dress she is wearing. All three of them have to dress up when they go over there.

I have more pictures from Christmas and her birthday on my camera that I will add along with her birthday party pictures. Her birthday party is this Saturday at ASI Gymnastics. She loved it when we went for Bronwyn's birthday, so I decided to have Ryan's there too.

I can't wait to post pictures. I am making mini cupcakes instead of ordering them. So we will see............

We celebrated with a friend before her birthday. I decided to make her a princess cake. I have a large cupcake silicon maker and used the top of it as the dress. She loved the cake and I was so happy it turned out good. She was holding up 3 fingers b/c she couldn't quite get them to work on one hand.

Ryan loves her Gabba bedding. She had an accident the other night and literally cried as if she was hurt physically b/c she had to take them off to wash. She was so devistated that she couldn't sleep on them for one night.

No theme.....just random

2011-12-21T08:02:00.008-06:00

My favorite picture.

Where is Ryan?

Sunday, we went to dad and Barb's for the Finigan, Adams, Medlock, Matzen and Struwe Christmas. This is the best I could get. All 6 kids, 2 grandparents and 2 great grandmothers....in one picture....priceless.

Ryan and I went to a toy store last week. She did so good. I don't know why I took her b/c it's like taking me to a candy store and telling me I can't even touch the candy. There was a play area and I let her play for a bit. She had a good time.

No, it's not Halloween. It's Ryan playing dress up. I didn't get a picture, but she wore that thing with her high heels. (See picture in previous blog)

Saturday, Nana had a bingerbread making party. She put the house together as Ryan watched and then the little ones decorated it. Next year we will get them their own. Bronwyn needs to express her creativity on her own house :)!!

2011-12-16T13:30:00.001-06:00

I love mornings like this. Everyone in the house woke up early and in a good mood. The funny part is that Ryan got out of her bed and the first thing she put on was her high heel shoes. She loves walking around in them.

Ryan got to help with dinner. She loves standing on the stool to help with things.

She also had her holiday party. She wanted to sit on Santa’s lap so bad. She is not afraid of anything or anyone. She is one of a kind.

A look back....

2011-12-14T11:38:00.008-06:00

This posting is from the last few weeks. I have been bad about blogging lately. I have been totally comsumed with the holidays and Ryan's potty training. We have been dealing with the redness from not going to the restroom. She has a mental block from the summer when the diaper rash was so bad. She thinks that if she goes to the restroom, then we will have to clean her and it will hurt. I am so sad and it's heartbreaking seeing her get so upset over it.

Well the other night we had a break through. She went both on her own a few times from after school until she went to bed. We were so happy. It was like something clicked. I know it's not a cure, but at least she knows that it doesn't hurt anymore. We are thinking that it had been stress related b/c everytime she would spend the night somewhere, she would come back irritated and red. It had to be that she was nervous and stressed about not wanting to go that it made everything upset. So we have tried to calm her down, tell her it's ok, bribe her, tell her that Santa knows..... but nothing was working. Well, something clicked and at least she is feeling better at this point. Just cross your fingers that this is a starting point.

Ryan and I went to the mall the other day to go to the Ice Palace. I thought it was a place that was made of ice that she could touch. Well we got there and there was a line to get in. All it was, was a little place to walk around in until you saw Santa. We had already had Santa pictures taken so we went to the play area instead.

I love to watch her play and she loves to play.

We then went for ice cream and headed home. Mommy and Ry Ry day was fun.

Bronwyn and Cooper statyed the night last weekend. Aunt Hay Hay stayed with them at my house while Phillip and I went out and then I woke up with them on Sunday and made forts. Poor things got kind of bored b/c Aunt Hay Hay was asleep in the play room and I wouldn't let them go in there until she woke up. :) But we improvised.

Hands down favorite picture of her face....well the whole duck face is Aunt Hay Hay's fault. :)

I love these pictures. Ryan and Nana and Ryan and her daddy.

Sisters.....Sisters.... blah blah blah blah blah blah Sisters!!! (Can't you hear the tune in your head? From White Christmas)

Hay Hay had a great birthday party. I love our sister pictures.

So we put the tree up a few weeks ago and Ryan wanted to put on the first ornament. She HAD to be the one. I couldn't put one on and then she do it. She was so excited to help.

We also put lights on the Chrsitmas looking tree on our porch (ok, so we never took them off from last year). She loves to turn them off in the morning and turn them back on when we get home.

Random pictures

2011-11-30T12:44:00.006-06:00

(Ignore the water on her shirt...she is a toddler. I had to do a fast cleaning job)

Ryan is so funny these days. She plays with the most random things and asked for a pink broom from Santa. Santa told me that he was going to get it for her. I know one thing, my house better be spotless. :)

We for some reason have 3 new fly swatters now. Ryan found one that hadn't been used and has been playing with it. She takes it in the car, her room, anywhere she goes. It's her fise (the word wise but with an F) swadder.

I love having an older girl cousin for Ryan. She gets the pretty hand me downs.

Saturday, we went to have lunch with Mema. Her apartment (Assisted Living) is so awesome. It is REALLY like a cruise ship. They have a movie every Friday night, happy hour, awesome food and other entertainment activities. Mema was just appointed as a Resident Committee member. GO MEMA!!

This girl is something else. Pretty Granma wanted a sweet picture with Granny and this is what we got....

Love this picture of Mom, Richard and Maizie. Merry Christmas Ross Family!

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School Thanksgiving Festival...view video next.

2011-11-22T17:01:00.004-06:00

Today was Ryan's Thanksgiving party. She was so good and so cute.

Spelling Video

2011-11-22T16:59:00.001-06:00

Daddy loves to dress his little doll

2011-11-18T08:14:00.001-06:00

Phillip loves his little girl, no doubt. But when we go shopping he tends to migrate towards the super hero clothes. However, he loves picking out clothes for Ryan. This sweater is his favorite. He picked it out and got her dressed this morning.

Love him............

ABC's

2011-11-18T08:12:00.002-06:00

This girl is such a ham. She coughed in the middle of her singing so she thought it would be fun to keep doing it. The first cough is real, but the second one is fake.

She also changed her dogs name like 6 times. First it was Cookie Addison, then bobo, then GoGo. She is so funny.

Good weekend

2011-11-14T08:48:00.010-06:00

Saturday, I took Ryan to my mom's Fall Fest Carnival at her church. They had rides and food and silent auction going on. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks Nana for Ryan's precious outfit.

Please excuse the shiny glob of chapstick under her nose. She wanted to wear her "lipstick."

The first thing she wanted to do was run to the rides. This was a fun helicopter ride. It didn't go to fast, but fast enough.

The train.....that she rode twice.

The last thing we did was find the bounce house. She was having so much fun. There was a period of time where she was the only one in there and go to bounce as much as she wanted!!!

Me and momma. It was a really windy and cool morning, but we had a good time. This was the only moment we had to get a picture of the two of us....while Ryan was on the train :)!

Here is a random picture. I don't sew, but made an Advent calendar at MOPs. We did it the fast way so that's why you can see the strings. We sewed buttons on a pattern that was 7x4 squares. The ornament is for us to move every day till the last day....Chrsitmas.

I might fix the buttons if I have time b/c I really got into the sewing part.

Phillip, Stacey and Alan and I went to a friends house Saturday night. Stacey and I only wanted to have ONE drink. So........

PS...update on Ryan. She is on antibiotics still from Strep of the bottom. She is doing well but has had a decrease in her appetite. She has taken the medicine like a champ and her bottom is clearing up. Thank goodness!!

Nice cool crisp morning

2011-11-11T08:31:00.003-06:00

I am loving the cooler weather. This is my favorite time of year.

Even though Thanksgiving hasn't even been celebrated yet, we are telling Ryan about Santa Claus and what happens on Christmas Eve. I have been singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town to her and she loves it. She will move her head back and forth and then sing, "Santa Claus is coming in the morning, I give him a hug and then we go see Brownyn and Cooper." :)

Ryan has stayed with Grammy and Granddaddy this week while I go to bootcamp. She has had fun playing with Granddaddy on his motorized recliner and playing "Where is Ryan" with Grammy. Grammy and Uncle Eric asked her what she was going to ask Santa for and she said "Toys." Well that about covers it, doesn't it.

This morning was a pretty good morning. I have figured out that I have to get her ready all in one swoop. If I break it up and let her play, it's over.

Phil has been working nights so I am getting her ready so that he can sleep. She did very good this morning. I had two braids under my hat today so she wanted two ponytails.

Good morning

2011-11-10T09:08:00.004-06:00

Today was a good morning. I can't say that about every morning these days, but today was good. This girl turns on a dime for no reason. Oh wait....the reason....ALMOST 3 years old. That's why!!

Had to take a few pictures and post today. She is growing up way to fast and I want pictures to remember the sweet days.

Starting "Ryan Funnies"

2011-11-09T15:40:00.002-06:00

Ryan and I went to the park last Saturday and she played for 2 hours. She had so much fun.

This Spanish speaking dad and his three kids came over and started playing. She had to do everything that they were doing, but she couldn't understand them.

Ryan: "Mommy, what is she saying?"
Mommy: "They are speaking Spanish."
Ryan: "Ooohhh..... Rojo.....Verde."

That's my girl.

New doll, new attitude

2011-11-08T08:19:00.005-06:00

Ryan is showing her new Tangled Doll. She got it b/c she went #2 in the potty at school. I picked her up from school to take her to the Dr and she told me. She also reminded me that she gets her doll now. :) I told her that if she went again, we could "maybe" get her some new clothes or hair bows for her Tangled Doll. She says, "Ummm, maybe not." Well ok then!

I took her to the Dr and she has a strep strand of the bobo. It is taken care of with antibiotics that she was prescribed. Phillip said that she was better this morning and after he cleaned her up and got her ready for school, I asked her how her bobo felt. She said, "Clean." Ahhhh, the simple things in life.

Nana bought Ryan a new coat. I love this little coat. It's so cute. Her face not so much. She was being silly at this point of the evening. Thanks Nana.

PS....Ryan is 34 lbs and 38 inches tall. This girl is growing. She goes back for her 3 year appt on Jan 16th. My baby is all growed up!

She will probably never forgive me for this.....

2011-11-07T08:35:00.001-06:00

Good weekend

2011-11-07T07:52:00.006-06:00

Saturday was Bronwyn's birthday party. Yes, she had to wait a month but it was worth it. All of the kids had a great time. My camera was on a weird mode that I didn't realize until we were eating cake. I didn't get good pictures of Ryan jumping or running.

We found a new park for Ryan to play at. We were there for 2 HOURS!! This girl played and wanted to swing for long periods of time.

No clue.....she just wanted to wear her daddy's jacket.

The next post is a video of her on the swing.

Video...need sound but could be loud.

2011-11-07T07:49:00.002-06:00

This girl is so silly. She wanted to swing and then would laugh but say, "It sounds like I am crying." I told her not to do that b/c people would think she was really crying. She is so funny.

Almost "3"

2011-11-03T09:00:00.003-05:00

This girl will be 3 years old in less than 2 months. She has grown up so fast. Here are some almost “3” updates. She knows that her birthday is in December. She says, “It’s almost my birthday.” She has had two cousins and about 4 friends that had birthdays in September, so she knows it is coming.

She is doing really well with potty training. She likes to say that she has to go multiple times during dinner, but you can not “not” take her b/c that one time you don’t will be the time that she really has to go. We have told her that people need their privacy and to not go into the restroom if someone is in there. We will say, “You need to give them their privacy.” So she told Phillip last night, “Daddy, I need to give you my privacy.” So he left and she went.

We are still having a little trouble with the other potty situation. She will wait till she goes to bed and will go “2” in her night time diaper. I am not concerned about it right now b/c she isn’t 3 yet and we let the whole potty training thing kind of take its course and not pushed and she has responded. So we tell her that she needs to try and go before bed all the time. I am just waiting for the time when she will go. She has gone before, but it’s few and far between. We are concerned b/c she is having issues of diaper rash and it gets really bad. Well it’s more of an infection that women get. I think that it has to do with poor diet (when we have pizza or give her cheese a lot) and lack of probiotics. When we give them (probiotics) to her on a regular basis, she does well.

I am blogging about this so that others can learn from our situation. But, mostly to have something to refer to if this happens to our second child, whenever that may be.

She also takes things that we say and says them to her dolls. It’s funny b/c you don’t realize what sticks with her and what doesn’t. I heard her telling her Ken doll in the bath tub the other night “It’s ok Sweetheart. It’s ok.” That’s what Phillip says to her. Soooo cute!!! She will also say, “Oh mommy, that’s my favorite” if I tell her we are going to a party or to see her cousins.

Some favorites:
Tangled, the movie, Gabba Gabba (still and will probably always be her favorite), using her “Maggiedoodle” (Magnadoodle) and making her daddy draw happy and silly faces, singing songs from school, telling her daddy secrets (it’s actually tickling her daddy and then her daddy tickling her. I don’t know why they call it that), puzzles, and just being happy. Her favorite foods are yogurt and Panda Express noodles. We like to go to the mall and play and then go have Panda noodles for dinner.

She is the best thing in the world. I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Last note: today at school a mother said, “Oh my gosh, she looks *just* like you.” I told her, “That’s what I have been told.”

The pictures below are when we went to Buy Buy Baby with Aunt Hay Hay. She found this backpack and called it her Hello Kitty packpack…..it was a mouse. It looks like she is ready for Kindergarden. Phillip didn’t like that statement.

Hay Hay said she was smiling in this picture as if I was taking the picture from the front.

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T09:28:00.004-05:00

It was dark when we headed out this year for trick or treating. You couldn't tell in this picture because the flash was on. But Phillip bought her a light up necklace and she wore her light up shoes. Her daddy wanted her to be seen and safe. I took her to a few houses while he handed out candy to the kids that came by our house.

My little trick or treater..... she was so polite. She said "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" to everyone that gave her candy. She loved it. She sang songs and screamed as we walked up and down the streets. She would hear other kids scream and then do it herself. Such a silly girl.

Ryan helping her daddy pass out candy. She only got to help because we ran out of candy. Phillip wanted to go get more, but 8pm was to late. He loves to hand out candy and will end up being the dad who sits on the porch in a mask encouraging kids to come get candy. He is a "Sucker" for kids on Halloween. He said he wants them to have a house to go to that has great candy!!

Halloween weekend

2011-10-31T08:36:00.006-05:00

Saturday, we met up with Heather, her kids, Hay Hay, Jeff, Katie, Ari, Grammy, Grandadday, Uncle Eric, the twins and Dylan. We all had a good time. It got kind of cold, but Ryan did really well.

Ryan and Ari are so cute and are going to be friends for life. I mean look at how they pose already!!!!

Ryan is Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba. I am so surprised that she kept the hat on the entire time.

Clown Haters: Beware!!!! (That means you, Stacey and Heather)

I love this picture!!!

Sunday, Ryan and I went on a walk. We walked to the park and played. She did so good.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-28T15:12:00.001-05:00

My office dresses up every year and goes all out. This year my sub department and recruiters did The Addams Family. I was Pugsly, Wednesday's sister.

(Minus Lurch and add Cousin IT....note Cynthia's hand as The Thing on Gomez's shoulder)

School Project...Pumpkin decorating

2011-10-27T09:41:00.004-05:00

Ryan went on a field trip a few weeks ago and got to pick out her own pumpkin. Her school project was to decorate it and for it to be entered into a contest. She picked out one of the smallest ones. We have had a little time to do this, however we waited till the last minute. This will NOT be any indication on how any of her projects will be done in the future.

Phillip had a great idea to make it look like her since the stem on the pumpkin was long and curved like a ponytail. Ryan helped put on all of the jewels on her shoes and clothes. She had fun and did a great job.

Poor thing had to stand next to the finished project so that I could get a cute picture. However, her smile started to fade a little. I was a bit obsessed this morning. Phillip did such a great job and I wanted to get a good picture of her with her twin. :)

I will take a picture and post in a day or so of some of the other entries. There are some creative people out there. But Ryan’s is the cutest by far.

10 Years

2011-10-21T07:54:00.002-05:00

We are celebrating 10 years in this building here at work. Cynthia and I have known each other for that long and it's been so great working and traveling with her.

We wore our work shirts and got cupcakes from the company.

Ride at the State Fair 2011

2011-10-19T16:21:00.002-05:00

I can't figure out how to make right side up....sorry.

State Fair 2011

2011-10-19T12:24:00.003-05:00

What a day! Fair day was great. Ryan and I went with Heather, Bronwyn and Cooper. The small ones sat in their stroller which made it so much easier. Poor little Ryan always wants to walk like “a big girl” and I like that she is independent, but this was not the place for her to be walking around. Speaking of big girl… she went all day with no accidents. Her potty training is going very well.

Heather and I didn’t try as many foods as we had liked, but got our Fletcher’s Corny Dog. We would talk about what we wanted, but end up heading to the kid’s rides, the food and fiber building or somewhere else.

The kids really enjoyed the rides….I mean Heather and the kids. Her favorite is the Tilt-a-World which they have a Bear ride which is a smaller version. She got to go with all the kids and laughed the entire time. Poor Coop looked like he might get sick…wasn’t his cup of tea I guess.

Ryan on the other hand is a thrill seeker. When the Dumbo ride stopped, she asked to go again. Ahhh the innocence of not knowing the value of fair tickets, but the controller let her go again for free. Her cuteness and blue eyes are already showing their powers.

We also walked through some buildings where we found a Foofa doll for Ryan. I was whispering to Heather not to say anything and to turn the other way when Ryan screamed, “GABBA GABBA Mommy!” So we went over there and she got her a little Foofa doll, which she carried 75% of the time.

All in all it was a great day. There was a little frustration from only getting a 30 minute nap and being tied to the stroller all day, but Ryan was a trooper. Bronwyn and Cooper were troopers too and did great.

"Please Mommy"

2011-10-14T08:12:00.005-05:00

Ryan is getting so big. She is starting to really know how to use the string that is wrapped around our fingers. She loves to get water from the water fountain at school and used to go get a drink and get water all over her shirt. I told her that she needs to ask me and say please when she wants something. So everyday she goes to the fountain, smiles and says "Please mommy." Wow....how can you not let her have a drink after that??

She also knows what sharing means. I had some grapes in a bowl to eat after I dropped her off. She saw them and said, "Mommy, you share wiff me right?" Oh how she spins every lesson we try to teach her.

I love this girl!!!!

Today, Ryan and I sported our Cowboys gear. Yes....mine is old. It's a Bledsoe Jersey. Talk about old......

I am trying to do more things with Ryan's hair. Her hair is on the thinner side that some of it falls out of ponytails or braids. But, I got this braid in that stayed all day.

Ryan humored mommy and stood next to the Fall setup at school.

Kevin came in to visit. He and Ryan played with leggos and we watched the Rangers game.

First field trip.....maybe

2011-10-12T08:25:00.003-05:00

Today is Ryan's first field trip.....if it stops raining. Her class is suppose to walk next door to the Life Care Center at the pumpkin patch. They might not walk over if it is still raining.

On a side note, Ryan is now on her third day of big girl undies at school. I am so proud of her. She goes in the potty and doesn't even have an accident during her nap. Now I am not saying it won't ever happen, but as of now she is doing great. On our way to becoming a big girl....completely. Not a baby anymore. No pacy, no diapers, no pullups.....where has the time gone?

Getting so big

2011-10-10T18:57:00.005-05:00

Wow...I can't believe how fast this girl is growing. She has had the outfit below yet the last time she put it on, the shirt almost came to her waist. She is in a new Preschool Junior class which is a potty training class. I have blogged about her training in the past, but today she received a certificate for being trained at school. She went to school for the first time today in big girl undies and did perfect. They said that she was to go to big girl undies if she went two weeks at school with not going in her pull ups. Well.....she did it and now we go to school in them. Where has the time gone?

She does flash cards at home and can recognize in and out of order up to 29. She is singing in the car and memorizing the words. We continue to say our Spanish colors and words and is doing great.

I am so happy and blessed to have such a happy girl. She loves school and loves to learn. I can't wait for the next milestone. What a smart girl.

Ryan went to an Elmo party. She was not scared at all. She loves mascot like characters. She wasn't into the activities at first, but warmed up real fast.

Pajama Day

2011-09-29T11:56:00.002-05:00

Today is pajama day. We bought her some new cute pj's, but they are long sleeve and it's the hottest day in Sept.

So, these are the ones that momma sent her home in last week. They are sweet, but a bit short.

Random.....

Bad quality, but here are pictures of me and Ryan with pig tails. I did mine for fun and she wanted to be like MaMa.

October Fest

2011-09-27T12:42:00.003-05:00

Aunt Cici, Uncle Alan, Ollie, Colin, Phil, Ryan and I all went to McKinney OctFest last weekend. It was the first time for face painting for Ryan and Colin.

Those boys are so so cute. They look exactly the same with paint on their faces.

Someone had a red sucker.

Daddy made her fly like a butterfly. :)

God is Great, God is Good, Let us thank Him for our food.......

2011-09-27T12:33:00.001-05:00

This is how we roll....

2011-09-27T12:29:00.002-05:00

Ahhh....I can remember the Friday nights where we would get dressed up and go out. We wouldn't need a sitter. We could fly by the seat of our pants.

And now.........

This is our Friday night.

Hat photo shoot at Walmart. Nothing better!!

And the winner is........... "Animal from the Muppets." Her daddy wanted her to have this one.

Go Cowboys

2011-09-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Go cowboys!!!

Cooper's bday party

2011-09-26T07:55:00.006-05:00

We are ready for Cooper's 3rd birthday party....hats and all!!

Even the big kids like to play.

No one was scared of Chuck E Cheese. They followed him around everywhere.

Time for cupcakes!!!!!

Coop opening his gifts.

Growing like a weed

2011-09-16T13:22:00.001-05:00

I love this outfit that Aunt Hay Hay got her, but not sure what she is doing with her face. I asked her to smile and this is what I got........

I can't find a picture of the last time she wore this outfit, but I swore it looked more like a dress on her. She is growing so much. I am going to get my measuring tape out and start blogging on her height. I love how she is so big now, but miss holding her with one arm.

Silly Girl

2011-09-15T16:06:00.003-05:00

Today was crazy hair day. LOVE HER HAIR

Mema gave this toy to Ryan that she hasn't seen in a while. She loves to walk him and say "Come on boy." She calls him her dinosaur.

Great weekend

2011-09-12T07:58:00.005-05:00

The weekend started off great with my cousin, Grant's, football game. Ryan did so good. She watched the cheerleaders flip, played games on my phone and saw the Eagle mascot. She talked about that mascot the entire way to the car, on the phone to Phillip as we left and until she passed out in the car. I think she really had a good time. We got to spend time with my dad, Aunt Linda, Aunt Hay Hay, Aunt H-E, Uncle Josh and kids. It was a great time.

Jeff, Katie and Ari came over Saturday for a play date. We went to dinner, made a fort, played cards and had a good time. Those girls stayed up playing till 9:30pm. The girls wanted to play cards b/c we were. They were so cute. Great idea that Phil had..... play the matching game with Ryan with cards. Ask her to put all of the same numbers/letters together. She did a great job.

I was getting ready to go to MOPs and I hear Phillip telling Ryan how to use the vaccum. It serves two purposes....helps her learn how to clean but to also get her to use it and then be donw with it so that we can get it done.

She looked so cute.

Don't have a picture but Bobbi came with me to MOPs and we had a great time. It's the start of a new semester and should be a good one.

Mixmatch Sock Day

2011-09-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

Good morning....today is mixmatch sock day. Thought I would post a picture. One of the teachers said that she loves it when Ryan is in yellow b/c she looks so happy. That was sweet.

2011-09-06T12:18:00.002-05:00

Jeff and Phillip put Ryan's new trampoline together this past weekend. It didn't take them long at all. Look at them go......

Ryan has been jumping all weekend long. She knows how to get it, zip it up, jump, unzip and get out. We just sit on the patio and watch. It's AWESOME!!!!!

2011-09-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness.....this weather is awesome. We got out a few times over the weekend and had good family time.

Monday, we had to get Ryan's jacket out. She was so excited. Our little blue jean baby!!

Last swim day

2011-09-06T12:14:00.001-05:00

Saturday was our last day to go swimming at the pool. We invited Ari, Katie and Jeff. The girls had a great time. Ryan of course was all over the place and down the slide all day. Ari had a harder time getting on the slide....she didn't get on it at all. Maybe next summer.

Wear red day

2011-09-02T08:02:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was "Wear Red" day. She looked so cute. She is letting me put bows in her hair and most of the time she keeps them in. I was also surprised to see that she was still in her *white* skirt that was half way still white.

Ryan is doing so good in her new class. I was a little timid because it was the actual training class and with her 3 week diaper rash (infection) that she had it was a little hard to transition. However, she did really well.

She knows how to spell orange, within a song of course, but she knows how to spell it. She is tracing shapes and doing ok on that. I wish I knew more of the what they do on a daily basis so that I could go over it with her in the car. I know some of the things, but wish I had a daily form of what they do. She will soon be able to tell me more, but for now we have fun singing and dancing in the car on the way home from school.

PS on the potty training... we had two success stories from last night. She went two separate times (one of each type). We had a party. It gets a little better every day. I am sure we will have set backs, but at least she has experienced it and knows what to do.

Have a great and safe Labor weekend. There will be pictures from the weekend.

Spoke to soon.....

2011-09-01T09:52:00.004-05:00

Ryan has been doing really well in her big girl bed. I was telling Katie, Ari's mommy, that Ryan was doing so well in her bed. We had taken the girls to the mall and got to talking about how similar our girls were....even though they are 6 months apart. Side note, Ari is moving up to Ryan's class Monday. We are so excited.

Staying on track..... Ryan has now slept in her big girl bed for 4 nights. We went 3 without her falling out. About 11:30 last night I heard her cry really hard. I didn't even look at the monitor, I just ran. She was sitting on the floor crying. She had fallen out. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Poor thing was scared. She didn't hurt herself obviously...the bed is a foot off the ground. But it gave her a good scare.

This morning when I went to get her up I asked her if she feel out of her bed. She said, "No mommy, I feel out of Colin's bed." She had napped over there about a week ago and tried out a big bed during nap and feel out. She didn't even remember falling out last night.

Update on potty training.....

Ryan is doing ok. I would like her to do better, but I am going to let it take it's course. I know she knows what to do, however she isn't at the spot where she knows to tell us BEFORE she goes. It's a learning process and it will happen.

It is funny because at the beginning our problem was getting her to sit on her potty. Now the problem is getting her off. I know giving her a toy or ANGRY BIRDS (that girl is addicted) will help her sit, but it also distracts her. We have now started telling her that we are setting a timer and she has to get off when the timer goes off. Do you think that sat well with her (no pun)? Nope...she now tries to throw a fit. She has never really thrown a fit where she cries so loud that she screams. What wonderful things she is learning at school.....because she didn't learn that at home. :)

We tell her that we don't throw fits and she will go to time out. It has worked so far and they ususally don't last long. But the cry.....or scream that she does.... so pathetic. I can throw a better tantrum than that. Just kidding....it's not cute.

So we are doing well at the Adams' household. It's an adventure, that's for sure.

More pictures to come this weekend. We will have the new trampoline that Pretty Granma got Ryan all put together. Here are a few pictures of her trying to help.......

Big girl bed

2011-08-28T12:11:00.002-05:00

Well, today is the day. We took the side off. Ugh..... where has the time gone. All these new big girl things. It's going to fast for me.

Sweet moments

2011-08-28T10:45:00.004-05:00

Now that I am printing out these blogs and making them into books, I want to post this picture. I want to look back on it when she is 14 and see the sweet moments we had. She is watching Tangled with daddy. She normally doesn't sit in our laps or let us stroke her hair. This is definitely a moment to record :).

I love it when little babies cross their legs too~

Fun photos

2011-08-28T10:20:00.009-05:00

What a fun photo weekend. This girl has been posing all over town. Except for the first picture, she likes to have the picture taken and and the see it.

When you say children are like a sponge, that is putting it mildly. More like a "Sham-Wow." (Google if you need to. :) )

She loves Angry Birds. I swear we only showed her a few times. Now she knows how to make the screen smaller or bigger, change to other screens or repeat the same level.

Good morning pockets............

Now this photo shoot was an impromptu shoot. I know it looks like I found a great spot, but in fact it was...............wait for it................at Dennys!!

"I love flowers."

Love this one...........

"Cheese"

"Ahhh... just relaxing on a nice 100 degree weather day."

"I'm asleep."

Girly day with mommy

2011-08-27T20:35:00.004-05:00

Ryan and I went to the pool this morning and had a great time. There were at least 2 moms that commented on how fearless she was. She was going on the slides over and over and their children just watched. We were one of 5 kids for about 45 minutes. She had to run of the park. Then it got more crowded.

Nana gave Ryan a headband and we all know that she doesn't wear much in her hair. However, with a little bribery, anything can be accomplished. :)

Ryan for some reason started showing us her nails and saying how pretty they are. They never had polish on them, but we agreed that she had pretty nails. BUT... they were just a tad bit cuter with nail polish on. She looked so old. She wanted the same color as mommy. However, it didn't last long. After her nap, the polish came off. She wants a color with "sprinkles."

Backwards Day

2011-08-25T07:55:00.002-05:00

Ryan is doing really well in her new class. She did transition over to the class some before she actually moved, so the move was worse for me.

She is back with all the friends who are a little older than her and move a few months before her. Now we are just waiting for Ari to move up. She is 6 months younger than Ryan so it will be a month or so.

Today is backwards day. She wouldn't stay still long enough to get a front shot. She looked cute though.

Rock Stars

2011-08-24T19:47:00.003-05:00

Ryan and Ari aren't in the same class anymore. Ryan moved up to the Preschool class. Ari isn't to far behind.....we hope. :) I know they miss each other and want to be in the same class..... well all of us want it.

Both girls were in skirts and guitar shirts today. So cute.

Potty training….

2011-08-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

I never thought it would be so hard. I knew it was going to be hard, don’t get me wrong, but I am so drained and it’s only been a few days. Her daycare is doing a great job by keeping her on a schedule, but the mornings and evenings are turning out to be different than we thought. I don’t know what I thought it was going to be like to tell you the truth.

This little girl at first wouldn’t even sit on her little potty at all. Now she won’t get off. She has a complete melt down when she has to get off to go to bed or get ready for school. When she wants to put a pull up on, that’s my sign that she needs to go to the restroom. However, when we tell her that she has to go in her potty she doesn’t want to. She then decides to hold it.
After 30 minutes of asking her to go, we decide to say that it’s time to get ready for school. Here come the water works. She wants to go “potty.” Yet she won’t go. She keeps saying she needs to go but won’t. So it’s a back and forth game in the mornings.

I know there are ways that have worked for other people, but offering stickers or candy or toys don’t really work. I did give her a new toy for going both in her potty on Monday, but since then…….NADA!!

The reason I blog this is because I have started printing out each year of my blog. I have one book so far that I can look back on. I hope one day Ryan and her sibling will appreciate or at least enjoy reading about their lives when they were little.
So I am blogging about this experience.

I do love this age though. She can express herself, talk to us, share stories, sing songs and do lots of things. Her favorite song right now is the Bruno Mars song, Lazy. She likes it because the one time she saw the video she saw monkeys. She calls it the monkey song and can sing some of the lyrics. It’s pretty darn cute.
She is also into puzzles. That’s another struggle at night and in the mornings. We have to ask her to put them up and she will say “One more time.” Of course if she has only put it together once, we say ok to the one more time statement. It’s when we tell her after 4 times and she still wants her puzzles. I love that she loves puzzles. She has gotten pretty good at it too. Granted she works on the same two over and over, but it’s good “figuring out skills.”

Ryan has been keeping her hair in rubber bands more too. After she turned two, she knew how to pull her hair out and would do it everyday. Now that her hair is longer, I need it to stay up. Yes, I bride her with smarties. I have created a monster. It could be worse. Smarties are little and not like a cookie, so yes it could be worse.  I need her to be my girly girl….yet I was a tomboy when I was young so I don’t have room to talk.

I will post more on her progress. I know she isn’t even 3 yet, but she knows what to do, where to do it and has done it before. So I know WE can do this!!!

Movin' on up

2011-08-19T08:03:00.002-05:00

Bronwyn isn't the only one moving up. Ryan is moving to PSJ on Monday. PSJ? What is that? PRESCHOOL Jr. Not toddler............but PRESCHOOL. My baby is going to a PRESCHOOL class. Ugh.... tissue please.

Ryan is one of the cover babies on her school's folder. I know....it's only a folder, but this folder is for all prospective parents wanting to enroll their children. Who wouldn't want that precious face on the folder to get new people in?? :)

"Play Ball"

2011-08-19T07:59:00.002-05:00

Mom, her girls and grandbabies went to dinner last night. We went to Scotty P's and had a good time. After that, we went to get a few more things for Bronwyn. She is starting kindergarden on Monday. What a big girl :)!!

At the clothing store, they had a small area with tons of balls where the kids played while mom and H-E shopped. Each of them had a picture with a ball. I know, it's weird.....but anything to get a shot of each kid. Love these three together.

End of Summer party

2011-08-17T09:03:00.003-05:00

Today is Ryan's End of Summer party at school.

SeaLife Aquarium

2011-08-17T08:46:00.009-05:00

Monday we went to the SeaLife Aquarium. It was my dad (Grandaddy), Hay Hay, Bronwyn and Ryan. We had a great time. We went through and saw the fish, watched a short movie on a turtle, played around a bit and really had a good time. I didn't have time to read much, because with a child this age there isn't much time for stopping. But I did read that sharks don't have bones. I think she needed to be maybe one year older. However, it was a blast.

Model B and her understudy.

Bronwyn in a bubble.

No flash allowed, so the color was off. But cute picture of Ryan near the fossil.

Hay Hay and her girls.

Stingrays

Hay Hay and I ruined our lunch by having a LARGE snack. :)

Hayley and Bronwyn at lunch.

My favorite picture.

We went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Ryan was scared at first of the animals, but once we told her that they were fake she was ok. She did as after each time the monkeys moved if they were going to "go again."

What a great looking group. Just before we ate lunch. Thanks dad for a great day!

A little play time after lunch. The girls were singing "We're going to the candy store. We're going to the candy store." Ryan did so good not having the stroller with us. What a big girl.

Shoes....shoes....and more shoes

2011-08-10T08:00:00.004-05:00

Aunt Katy bought Ryan some really cool light up shoes. They have tons of bling and lots of lights. Ryan turned off the lights to see if we could see them better and I got a blurry, but picture of the shoes lighting up.

Thanks Aunt Katy.

Love Love Love little people (kids) in fun shoes. Nana bought her some Dora slippers. She wore them as soon as she got home and then after her bath. She even got into bed with them on. I had to remind her daddy to take them off. Such a man....no attention to details :)!

Thanks Nana!

New pool

2011-08-08T07:57:00.003-05:00

I had found a new pool that I took Bronwyn to and HAD to take Ryan. I just knew that she would love it. She had to warm up to it a little, but once she went down the blue covered slide once it was over. She went over and over and over again. Mommy and Ryan had a GREAT time.

It was hot, but once you get in the water it was fine. The water was low enough for Ryan to play and high enough for me to sit in it and not be hot. I love this pool.

She found the jets that shot water out. She liked them b/c the water didn't come out to hard. Some of the shoots around the pool shot a lot of water. I need a water proof camera to get some of the really fun times she had in the water.

"Switch"

2011-08-08T07:52:00.004-05:00

Friday night we did the cousin switch. Ryan went to Cooper's house and Bronwyn came with me. As soon as Ryan got in the car, she was doing exactly what Cooper was doing. He had his headphones one and listening to Diego. Ryan was very excited.

"Welcome to Cici's."

Bronwyn and I went to Cici's for dinner. This girl is so awesome. She said that she had to eat her carrots before she had her pizza. I wish I could take credit for making her eat them, but it was all her. Testiment to her parents for sure.

Saturday morning, Bronwyn put on a concert for Uncle Phil.

I took Bronwyn to a pool in Plano and had the best time. She forgot a swim suit so I got to buy her one and think this one is so cute. She did tell me that she will pass it to Ryan when she gets older.....how sweet.

Crazy family

2011-08-03T09:17:00.001-05:00

Ok, now I thought about not posting these because it would really show how silly we are. But.....they are to funny not to post.

I found this app on my phone and so we played around with it.

We have Irish Baby, Jail Bird Momma and Football Daddy.

Little things in life.....

2011-08-02T08:04:00.001-05:00

Nana bought Ryan some new shoes that she is finally able to wear. She was so excited that they lit up that she wanted me to get a picture of them all lit up. But the camera couldn't catch it.

Sunday Funday

2011-08-02T08:00:00.004-05:00

Sunday, we went to Stacey and Alan's community pool. The kids and even adults had a great time. It was the perfect depth for Ryan. She could even swim on her tummy in one of the pools and then touch in the other one. It was perfect for the guys (Phil and Alan) b/c they could sit on the bottom, the water to their necks, be completely submerged, but watch the kids and be right there.

We had a blast. We swam and then went to lunch afterwards.

He DOES swim......

Trying to go under the shooting water.

Fruit break

Ry Ry and Poppa

2011-08-02T07:58:00.003-05:00

Saturday night my mom and Richard came over for dinner. I was pretty impressed with how it turned out. Steak, pots, green beans and banana puddin'!

Ryan loves her Poppa.

Matching...

2011-07-29T15:39:00.002-05:00

This girl is so funny. She says, "Look mommy, they maaatch." I love how she says match. She loves to point out things that are similar.

Then she stacks them and makes them high. So cute. I love her.

What's next?

2011-07-29T11:31:00.002-05:00

Where us the time going? My little girl is wearing lipstick now! :)

Ryan likes to use her fake lipstick, but loves daddy's lipstick..... chapstick! So he mentioned getting her those lip smackers flavored chapsticks. So I got her pink lemonade and strawberry. She is drinking pink lemonade and eating fruit like you wouldn't believe.

So this is my baby girl putting on her lipstick before school. She keeps it in her purse. Thanks Nana...she carries it ALL the time AND everywhere.

Just on other notes, she is starting to memorize lyrics and sing them when they come one. Her favorite song is the Lazy song by Bruno Mars. She calls it the Monkey song b/c after watching the video once she knows that the song has monkeys in it. She she asks for the Monkey song almost everyday. She can sing part of the chorus and sing the "oooo ooooos."

She is also climbing up and down off our bed all by herself. It seems like yesterday she was in the bouncy seat on our bed when we would get ready. Now she climbs up there herself and watches tv.

The other night at dinner she wanted something from her daddy's plate. Of course he shared but when it came time for her to share she wasn't so willing. So we talked about her sharing b/c daddy shared with her. So the next morning she grabbed my bag of cantelope, looked at Phillip, knodded her head and said, "Mommy share her
cana-lope?" So the moral of the story (I guess) is she is sharing :)!!

Ryan is still learning so much. If you ask her what state she lives in, she says Texas. If you ask her if she lives in Garland or Plano, she says "Playdo."

We are the proudest parents ever. She is so much fun, sweet, helpful.... I would be here all day if I kept on.

Grandparents

2011-07-27T09:11:00.004-05:00

I just had to post. I love my grandparents. My mema called today and we talked about the Bachelorette. We have our weekly decussion about who the person will pick, who is starting drama....you know, all the normal stuff :)! Mema is in her 80s and doing well. She lives in the most popular assisted living spots in Garland. She is the hospitalty committee member and hosts all parties for new arrivals and birthdays. That's where I get my party planning from.

Grandpa.......my Grandpa. He is 95 years young. He is the most wonderful man in the world. He still goes outside, checks on his garden, checks on my cousins sheep and does everything an older man would do. BUT he does it in this heat. I asked him if they heat was getting to him and he said that he still goes outside and everything. I love this man. What an honor...to be his grandchild.

My little mini me!

2011-07-27T08:09:00.003-05:00

I wanted to show off my new shoes and asked Phil to take my picture. I have to bribe this girl sometimes just to get next to her spot for one picture. She loves pictures, just doesn't understand that she has to stand there for a moment for me to take it.

Well not today. She got in the picture without me asking her. She posed all on her own too. :)

Love it!

"Up high, Down low...you're to slow"

2011-07-27T08:06:00.002-05:00

This video is funny, yet shows the frustrations I have. She will perform like you wouldn't believe. And then the minute you want to capture the funny moment.....nothing!!!

Coop taught Ryan this and I think it is the cutest thing. However, when it was her turn she ran away. So please excuse the "UGH" moment that I have. I think it's funny now, but at the time all I wanted her to do was PERFORM. Is that too much to ask?

Ok.....so it is for a 2 year. So sue me! :)

"What's that?"

2011-07-26T10:30:00.004-05:00

Ryan has become so intrigued with everything. She asks "What's this" and "What's that" to just about everything. She will point sometimes, but most of the time she assumes I know what she is looking at.

She is not like her mother at all and will look at and pick up anything. I don't get close to much with the possibility that it is a bug.

We have lizards in and around our house and what does not make sense is that I don't mind them. You know why...........because they eat BUGS.

We have seen them around the house and Ryan has tried and actually caught a lizard. She doesn't care at all and will pick up and bug, inside or outside. That's good for me because she can be my little bug catcher.

She has been all about ladybugs lately. She will see something that is the same shape and call it a ladybug. So Nana bought her a new ladybug purse.

This girl has carried this purse around since she got it. She takes it everywhere we go and even asks to take it into school. She can't take anything into school that isn't requested. I understand that because if anything ever happened to this purse......I don't want to see what would happen. She keeps her Elmo in there, pencil, her lipstick...I mean makeup (you have to call all makeup, makeup), and who knows what else.

Thanks Nana.

Photo below of her new purse.....and her new face. It used to be for yucky stuff.....now it's just for whenever she is being silly and wants us to laugh at her. She makes the face when we tell her no to something and she wants us to laugh and forget about why we were telling her no. She thinks it's funny. Well, ok......it's pretty darn cute.

Good times

2011-07-25T08:18:00.010-05:00

Our friend Kevin is leaving and moving to NC this week. He came over to hang out so Ryan and I made him cupcakes. Not only does she like to eat them, but she likes to help make them.

Have a great and safe move Kevin.

It's funny that this girl makes anything into a hat. Yet, she won't keep on one to save her life. She likes hats, but not to wear for long periods of time.

Saturday, we went to the mall with Heather, kids, Bronwyn's friend Logan and Hay Hay. I didn't get many pictures b/c they were always on the run and to fast for the camera. So these two pictures were the only ones that I could get.....snap shots of when Coop comes to pick Ryan up in his convertible.

After Heather and the kids left, Hayley, Ryan and I went to the candy store. Hay Hay decided to get Ryan some smarties. They weren't just any smarties. They were over sized and perfect for Ryan.

Some might think that it's been a long time coming, but when toddlers want something you let them do it...meaning staying in their high chair.

Ryan likes to sit in her high chair. However, her feet go past the foot rest. She is long and ready for a big girl chair. I ask her if she wants a big girl chair, she says no and she wants "her chair." These are the times you pick your battles and let them sit in their chair.

Well we took the tray off and pulled her up to the table. She liked it.

Not Aunt Hay Hay's finest moments

2011-07-21T15:02:00.001-05:00

We all know that this little girl loves her baths and even pictures. Well, for some reason Ryan was so over the fact that Aunt Hay Hay was taking her picture in the bathtub. I can't get over this picture. It is so funny to me.

ENT appt....elaboration!

2011-07-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

Ryan had her ENT appt yesterday. The last time we were there, she wouldn't sit long enough to have the head phones on and for the audiologist to get actuate information. So this time, I of course bribed her with ice cream.....which we didn't get b/c I am a bad mother. I thought two packs of smarties and a sucker was enough :)! She did better and kept the head phones on for just the right amount of time. (side note...I need a personal assistant to go with me everywhere I go so that they can snap shots of the cute moments) She looked so cute in her little head phones. However, they were tight so she kept taking them off, but I would put them right back on. It was so funny b/c when the lady on the other side of the window would ask her a question, she would yell "YES." It just tugs at my heart how sweet and innocent she is sometimes.

After that, the lady looked in her ear and said, "Hmmm...well there is something in her ear. We will just call it a foreign object." Ok....I was thinking to myself, "Object...what could she possibly have in her ear?" She said that the Dr will look a bit closer and we will see what it is, but she said it was green.

Before we saw the Dr, the audiologist said that Ryan's hearing is just fine. She has no concern for loss of hearing.

Once we got into the room, Dr Huang (or Dr KONG as Ryan calls her) looked in her ear and said maybe a green crayon. A GREEN CRAYON?? How did she get that in there? Ryan did fantastic while the Dr looked in her ear. Ryan even asked her to look again....yes....my child is crazy. Dr Huang got the ear wax with the green on it out of her ear and all is good. We won't go back for another 4 months.....not 6 weeks. YAY!

The kicker to the story is that Becky read the blog where I mentioned the green crayon and said, "Are you sure it was a crayon?" I asked why and she said, "Remember when we kept her and said that if she had any green on her it was b/c she got into the green markers?" Ahhhhh Haaa... the truth comes out! Pretty Granma was the one who is responsible!!

Thanks PG.... you are a riot. I love it. At least we now have it "documented" as you say!!

ENT appt

2011-07-20T19:55:00.003-05:00

I took Ryan to her ENT appt today. The Dr was very pleased at the look of her ears. She had no fluid and she can hear just fine. We did find some green crayon in one of her ears, but she is a toddler. :)

She did great. We played with my phone while we waited. I can make it a front camera so she can see herself. She is a ham!!

Ryan loves to look at herself.

Wedding

2011-07-20T19:47:00.003-05:00

Saturday, we went to Phillip's cousin's wedding. We had a great time. Everyone looked great.

I LOVE the juice mustache!

2011-07-13T12:58:00.003-05:00

We are sooooo in trouble. This girl is so funny. I love this little outfit and wanted to take a picture. Well, she got her picture taken alright!!!

Phillip made us strawberries and whip cream for dessert last night. We had to show them off.

You just can't help but laugh at this face.

Sleep over

2011-07-13T12:52:00.005-05:00

Ariana stayed the night a few nights ago. We put them in the same room thinking they wouldn't be upset before and would talk and then fall asleep. WRONG!!!! The girls were up till at least 10:30pm. Ryan would show Ari the music and lights on the ceiling, they would read to each other, they would jump......it was a full night.

There was one part though where Ari was upset that her parents were leaving and all you could hear on the monitor was "Ari...it's ok. Your mommy will be back in the morning." Ugh....so sweet. She was really trying her hardest to get her to calm down. Ryan is going to be a great big sister some day. I said some day..... you grandmothers can calm down now. I wouldn't say it over blog :)!!!!

Having breakfast. Ari is a lap sitter. She is always sitting with her mommy and so when Phillip had more breakfast, Ari took the opportunity to sit with Phillip.

Of course Ryan got jealous and had to come over there.

Discussing which stickers they want and then showing them.

Going to the mall....

2011-07-09T20:59:00.002-05:00

Phil and I took Ryan to the mall. She loves to play at the play area and then go have Panda noodles.

Daddy bought her a cookie. Not just any cookie......but the biggest one they had.

Big girl......big cookie!

Making sure daddy is watching her eat the cookie....and no one else.

More 4th pics

2011-07-07T09:11:00.004-05:00

Here are additional pictures from Grandpa's house. The kids played bubbles, fed the sheep and we played with water balloons. Obviously if there is water around the person....they didn't catch the balloon without it breaking. Well.....ok that was everyone except Uncle Tom and Hayley. :)

Hat day at school

2011-07-06T14:42:00.000-05:00

Today was hat day at school. She wanted to take the one that Aunt Cici gave her. It's too small, but who's to argue.

And I have no idea why she wanted to stick it in her nose. That is definitely Phillip's child :)!

Annual Balloon Toss 2011

2011-07-06T14:36:00.003-05:00

Monday, we had our annual water balloon toss. I didn't get any pictures of that, as I was playing and getting hit with water, so I will add some as I get some from my cousins.

Bronwyn led her crew to the end of the hall for who knows what. :)

Momma and her girls and me and Grandpa. (He will be 96 in Feb)

Josh and Phillip

Leslie telling Ryan about the sheep.

Aunt Betty brought bubbles for the little ones to play with while the adults did the water balloons.

Cousin Leah. SOOOOO Cute.

Playing with friends

2011-07-06T14:30:00.005-05:00

Sunday we went to Ari's house to play. The girls swam and had a great time.

Ryan started kissing Daisy so I asked her to keep doing it so I could get a picture. Daisy was sweet at first and then she didn't like me asking Ryan to keep doing it :). ( check out seconds picture of the cat)

They have to do EVERYTHING alike.

The parents!

The girls playing dominos with their daddy.

Katie reading to the girls before bed.

Swim party/ 4th of July weekend

2011-07-06T14:18:00.010-05:00

Saturday was our annual pool party at my Aunt Linda's. We had so much fun. Josh, Coop, Eric nor Nelson we able to come :(. We missed them.

We swam, ate, played...it was a great time.

Aunt Linda playing with the kids.

Me and Phil!!!

Nap time.

Ryan being fearless and jumping to Aunt Hay Hay.

Cousin Grant!!

The "bigger" kids going down the slide on their own.

Mema and her mini me!!

I made the cake that she has been making for probably more years than I have been alive. She always made it for my dad and so I took on the challenge. The one person I made it for loved it. My dad said I did a good job. Thanks daddy-o!

Scott taking Ryan and his boys down the slide. None of them liking it all that much.

4th of July party

2011-06-30T08:30:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was Ryan's 4th of July party. It was fun to watch her have so much fun, but holy moly it was hot. The girls (Ari and Ry Ry) stayed near the smaller playground set and played together. I know Ryan LOVES the bounce house, but I was hoping she wouldn't see it. It was so hot in there and it would be hard to get her out. She loves to bounce.

We didn't have to go through that b/c she and Ari played, went into the animal area, and had a good time.

Sweet girl....with her little red cheeks!

Ryan played the duck game. It was a matching game. She had to match the numbers on the bottom of the ducks. I thought she really wanted to play...I was wrong. She really wanted to play in the WATER. Who wouldn't? It felt good. And of course whatever one does, the other has to do.

Right before we left, Ryan begged for a popsicle. Even though I knew she was going to get really messy, I didn't care. She was so hot and wanted one. So cute....

"Little Miss Firecracker"

2011-06-29T08:23:00.003-05:00

Someone is happy today. It's her 4th of July party. I won't get there when it starts to hear her Yankee Doodle song :(. She sang part of it last night. But I will be there to let her play for a little bit. No rain in the future, so this one should be outside today. It is going to be hot, but less crowded.