Happy Halloween

To infinity and beyond!! (Buzz Lightyear)
Trick o' treating in the Village with Skylar and Mia.
Skylar and Jake -- notice the linked arms. They walked around the Village holding hands for about 45 minutes. So cute.

Ryan - 1 Month

Dear Ryan,

Today you are 1 month old. It was just a short time ago that you arrived and yet you have always been with us. You have changed our lives and we are so happy to have you as a part of our family.

You are the sweetest baby, and since you were a week old you have loved to give us smiles. It has been really amazing to talk with you and get so many smiles and have you copy our facial expressions. You especially love it when you get to play "stick out your tongue at me and I'll copy you."

Your level of eye contact and communication is amazing. Daddy has been noticing your ability to sign "milk" since you were a week and a half old. Your brother, Jake, is able to tell, from your cries, whether you want milk or a clean diaper.

You have been a good sleeper, and I love sleeping with you. Starting at 3 weeks old you decided that 3am was a good time to party, and your favorite activity is dinner and dancing (with lots of diaper changes). You've been forcing mama to get her exercise in the middle of the night, as I dance around in the other bedroom while singing, willing you to go back to sleep so we can crawl back into bed. Hopefully this phase won't last too much longer! I have recently discovered that when you are tired but crabby, sometimes you like best to fall asleep in your swing. This is strange for me as I'm so used to the idea of keeping my baby in my arms at all times, but I need to honor what you like to do. I'm thankful that you do like to be carried in the wrap on mama's body, something that Jake was not too crazy about (maybe because it was summer). I love having you in the wrap while I do chores or be on the computer, it is so nice to have you right there with me so I can watch you sleep and kiss you anytime.

Jake loves you so much, he wants to hold you as much as you can (while sitting down) and help you have milk. I can't wait until you are a bit older and can interact with him more. It is so sweet to see the 2 of you brothers together.

And you now know and recognize your Daddy. It took a few weeks, but you smile when you see him and will sometimes lift your arms for him to take you.

All of us love you so much, sweet Ryan.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

For the 3rd year in a row now, we went to Lee Farms for some fun. We went on a cloudy but not-rainy Wednesday afternoon, and loved how un-crowded it was.
Saying hi to the goats.
And little baby chicks. Mike picked one up and Jake petted it.
The fun hay maze. Jake went through this one and the bigger one at least 20 times.
And made Daddy join him.

Ryan and I hung out and watched the boys play.
The giant slide is a favorite!


The bounce house was fun, too. (Bedtime was really easy that night.)

Brother Love

Cute matching pajamas from Aunt Amy.

Lately...

Lots of catching up to do with photos that have been taken the last week and a half...

This was one week after Ryan was born -- doing his "Born at Home" paper with footprints.
Love the little silver foot.


It's lego time, all the time, around here...
With breaks for games.
Theo the cat showing his first acceptance of Ryan -- before this he wouldn't go near the baby.


Lego robot.
At a birthday party today -- scooter fun!
Yes, I wear this outfit a lot.
And I'm cute.

Growing

There is just a bit more than 1 week's difference between these two pictures and you can really see how Ryan has filled out -- same outfit but in the second picture the outfit fits much better, more filled out!! He's growing so fast...

Who?

Here are my 2 babies, can you tell which is Jake and which is Ryan?

Ryan's First Bath

He was okay with his bath! He didn't cry, but just seemed suspiciously curious about what was happening.

Here is a picture of Jake's first bath...

Babymoon...

Aunt Amy came for a visit.

Mike and Jake have been doing non-stop Lego play for a few weeks now. They both love it and mainly love to build vehicles -- cars, trucks, airplanes, etc.
I am in love.

Birthday Present

I celebrated my birthday with 2 wonderful sons, my husband, parents, and sister.

There was halibut, forbidden rice, salad, devil's food cake, and wine.

My mom's birthday is October 2nd so now we have 3 generations with birthdays 3 days in a row. Lots of celebrating to do!