Happy 1st Birthday, Ryan!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Ryan. Happy birthday to you.

 Digging into his apple crisp!

Ryan -- 12 Months

Dear Ryan,

You reached 12 months, your 1st birthday. A year has flown by so quickly, it was just yesterday that you were just born and we were wondering who you were, what color eyes you have, etc.

This past month we've enjoyed the last days of summer. You love spending time in the backyard, particularly when we make the rounds to find you blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherry tomatoes to eat. Then you eat until all the ripe ones are gone!

There's been playtime with Jake.

And on your own.

Sometimes it is naptime. This month you have gone back and forth between 1 and 2 naps a day. If your nap is more towards the middle of the day, then you have no problem making it until a 7pm bedtime, and you crash hard. If you have 2 naps then it's pretty difficult to put you to bed on time. We just go with the flow for that day.

It's always playtime.

Oftentimes it is time to eat! Despite having only 1 and a half teeth at this point, you still love to eat. Mommy's granola is a favorite.

We also discovered you LOVE broccoli, which is awesome.

Your other favorite thing to do this month is to walk around, but you need hands to hold to do it. Mommy and Daddy spend a lot of time walking you around, and it's pretty fun to see where you want to go and what you want to see. 

While you're not walking on your own, yet, you have been practicing standing for a few seconds here and there.

And you love to play with the walker. Sometimes you stand or sit on it while we push you around, sometimes you push it around yourself.

You play, you talk with us both in sign language and by saying simple words, and you dance. Boy, do you love music! You often instruct us to put music on, and it is one thing that will soothe you when you are having a screaming fit. Thank goodness for Raffi and Bananaphone!

You're my sweet, sweet baby. Everyday is a joy with you, even though you have become an acrobatic nursing monkey this month!

 

Keep growing, baby boy. Right now you're 20 pounds of healthy and growing just right. Someday you'll be big like your brother but for now you're just the right size.

We love you so much. Happy birthday, Ryan!

Routine

So it looks like we've had no adventures this month. Really, we've been having the "adventure" of finding and settling into a new routine that comes with a new school year at a new school.

School evenings now involve starting dinner between 4:30 and 5, eating dinner by 6:15, bathtime, reading a book and bedtime for both boys between 7 and 7:30 each night. Jake and I recently finished Charlotte's Web and are now reading Pippi Longstocking. Daddy and Jake are reading James and the Giant Peach.

Then all 4 of us wake up/get out of bed around 6:30am, dress, feed Jake breakfast, make his lunch, brush his teeth/comb his hair, and head out the door to school by 7:35am. Sometimes I get breakfast if I've been fast enough with dressing, etc. but most of the time I wait until I return home. If we're lucky, we don't get stuck behind a school bus on the way to school. The school bell rings at 8am, and it's amazing that it takes 25 minutes to drive to school (with traffic), find a parking spot, walk to the school and then enter the classroom. After drop-off, Ryan and I return to the car for some milk before heading home if we don't go to Gramma's house for a cup of tea.

Our days are also filled with Mike and me working, me running at least twice a week, Jake going to gymnastics class once a week, and playdates. Every weekend there have been birthday parties. Ryan has been great about just going with the flow on all of this!

Jake's First Day of Kindergarten

Today Jake started Kindergarten. He is attending a public school with an awesome Spanish-immersion program that is just 4 blocks from my parent's house. We had to go through the lottery to get in. First preference goes to siblings in the program and in-district residents. We are out of district, but live only a 10 minute drive away. In May we found out we'd gotten a spot on the wait list and were listed as #3! (There are about 180 applicants for 52 spots. 20 make the wait list.) It wasn't until August 25th that we got the call that a position had opened up for Jake. Yes!

My Kindergartener!

'I'm not going to school! I don't want my picture taken! I'm still brushing my tooth!'

Entering the hallway outside his classroom.

Happy to see his friends Luna and Diego and their little brother in the tie-dye.

Here I go! School day is from 8 to 2:15.

Inside the classroom. After checking on Diego and Luna and then being re-introduced to Douglas (on the left in the glasses), Jake sat down and began playing with plastic-colored worms. We said good-bye and everything was fine. I love how confident and social he is.

After school I had freshly-made chocolate chips and almond milk in the car. Jake was thrilled. He'd had a great day and sat with Douglas at lunch and played 'Superheros' with him during recess, and they had a fantastic time. He thinks his teacher, Sra. Lagos, is really, really, really nice and doesn't think they spoke any Spanish today :)

After school. Quiet, restful play time.

I think he's really handsome! <3

Well of course I look cool. Now bring me a banana.

BBR Summertime! Part 2

More games of And Rollin', with chocolate sourdough cake on that night. Soooo yummmmy.

And games of Parcheesi.

Getting ready for another afternoon at the pool.

The kitchen curtains turned out to be highly entertaining.

Monday Mike worked in Bend. After he returned and had dinner, he and Guthrie headed back to Portland. I had all day Tuesday alone with the boys before my parents arrived. I decided to make a day of it so we rented a bike trailer and planned a long afternoon outing.

We biked to the Big Meadow. From left to right, 3-Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and the slope of Black Butte.

We saw this path which is new and thought we'd check it out (despite the warning).

Black Butte.

Jake is learning to take pictures, which I love!

We then rode across the bumpy bridge to Paulina Springs.

Jake worked on what he called "rock balancing."

Then we ate a picnic lunch. So pretty.

Side story -- between the Big Meadow and the bumpy bridge, I spotted on the bike path some cow dung which looked on the fresh side. This was very strange. Nearby was a wooden step ladder that straddled a fence. I wondered. Later, as we were picnicking at Paulina Springs, a BBR worker approached me and asked if I'd seen a cow! A cow had somehow escaped. Hilarious.

Then we rode over to the Lodge area to the sand playground and played there for an hour or so. Jake is under the playstructure in the background.

Finally, back home. Ryan fell asleep. They really need a better design for the bike trailer/helmet combo.

Mornin'! Lying over the heat vent. It became cold during the middle of the week.

Play ball with me?

Working on a puzzle book.

We had some wonderful guests come for dinner one night.

Cooked carrots and beans for lunch.

Again came Friday, and Mike and Guthrie returned with Voodoo donuts!

The hot temperatures also returned, and we did some toenail painting.

Mike and Guthrie came back with a bike trailer from a friend of mine that she didn't want/wasn't using. (Many thanks, E!!) We had a fun family bike ride before going to the pool with a picnic lunch.

We left on Monday, to get back to town for getting ready for school and work.