Updates

Ryan - 2 years old on 2/27

Ryan knows all his letters and numbers and is actually starting to try and write them now. He has been able to count to 10 and sign the ABC's since about 18 months. He is still fearless and loves nothing better than to run and play with Luke. He gives the best hugs ever. Not into kissing but if you ask for a hug he will squeeze you with all his strength. It lights up my day when I get a hug from my sweet Ba :)

Luke - 3.5 years old

Luke LOVES puzzles and legos now. He has a great time building things and then immediately destroying them. Luke cracks me up with his little expressions that he picks up. The other day he looked at me while he was on the potty and said "I've had a long day". It was only 11am. Luke can write his name and can also write letters and numbers (when he feels like it). Mainly he wants to play but will show me how smart he is when he sees Ryan showing off.

Both guys are amazing and I love them with all my heart. They teach me to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. I love how excited they both get to see and try new things. I am so blessed to be their mom.

Love you guys!!

Neglect

I feel so terrible for not keeping up with my blog! I am not even sure where to begin??

Well, here goes:

Luke, 3 years old

Luke has all of a sudden become so grown up to me! He is going to school 3 days a week now and seems to really love it. He is so sweet when I drop him off in the morning. I guess he hasn't hit the stage where he is embarrassed of me so I always get a kiss and I love you from him :) His teachers call him Lukey. I think that is really neat b/c that is our nickname for him at home. Luke also sometimes refers to himself as Lukey too :) I think it shows how wonderful his teachers are to pick up on it and to how they must really like him. My friend Charlotte once told me she thinks other children gravitate towards Luke. I could not agree more! Luke is smart, athletic, and fun to be around. He is not shy at all and has the courage to approach other children and invite them to play. For a 3 year old, that is a BIG deal. It is so amazing to watch him literally grow in front of my eyes into a real little boy. He is such a thoughtful child. The best time in my day is when he for no reason tells me he loves me.

Ryan, 19 months

Ryan is often described by other people as "all boy". He NEVER stops. He is very physical and absolutely loves to just run! Ryan has also had somewhat of a verbal explosion. It sort of happened overnight. He says a ton of words now and loves to chat when we are in the car. Right now he is very into butterflies. Ryan calls them "booflies". It is precious! We see a lot of butterflies at the park and it is the highlight of his day when he sees them. Ryan still gives the worlds best hugs and his laugh is filled with joy. We went to the vet the other day and Luke got Ryan to laugh by running around him. The vet, the vet's helper, and me totally started laughing when we heard Ryan's laugh. It was so funny. The vet honestly busted out laughing and apologized to me for not being able to keep a straight face. I think Ryan is going to have a terrific sense of humor. Oh, his other thing is to say "bye bye see ya soon". He melts my heart!

I promise to be better with my blogging!

Oh, shout out to my pickle -- he has been working now for about 18 straight hours. LOVE LOVE YOU

Bye Bye Paci!!!

Day 1 of no more pacifiers for Luke and Ryan.

So far, Luke has not had a paci ALL DAY!! I bought him the biggest spider man I could find in hopes that it will work as a replacement. I am a little nervous about bedtime.

Ryan is proving to be a little harder than I thought. He had a TOTAL meltdown at nap time. So, I caved in and gave him the paci. I am happy to report that he has not had a paci at all besides nap.

We will see how tonight and day # 2 goes.

Wish me luck!

funny times

I am very proud to announce that Luke is totally potty trained! It was actually not that difficult of a process. You will be surprised to find out what a bag of chips and cookies can motivate a 2 year old to do! We only had a few major accidents. One was a tinkle on the couch and the other was a poop on the floor. Thankfully, there are no stains and I feel like I can now totally trust him. I am so happy that this is over with! I feel a little guilty that I worried so much beforehand. I promise to never underestimate my Luke again!

Ba is growing up so fast too. He is now in the pointing stage and loves to see new things so he can point to them and show everyone. He says "ok" all the time. It's hysterical. If I am eating something he wants he will just walk up to me saying"ok" and that is his way of saying I want :) He also says "choo choo" whenever he sees a train or really any kind of heavy machinery. Ba is always polite and says "hi" and "bye bye" to anyone entering and leaving a room. He loves being outside and can putter in our backyard for hours.

Luke is in camp this week and next week. I was so excited for him to start so I could get a break in the mornings but I have to admit that I miss him when he gone and Ryan and I get so excited when it is pick up time.

These are some very special times that I will always think back on with a smile. I can easily ease any pain with a hug and a kiss and nothing is better than seeing their smiling faces.

Happy Father's Day!

I once had a couple of my cousins ask me what it was like to live with my Dad. I remember thinking it was sort of a strange question but I think my answer had something to do with yes, he is just as funny at home as he is at a party.

Anyone who knows my Dad appreciates how unbelievably funny he is. When I say funny I mean laugh so hard your belly hurts. Our family was really blessed is the sense of humor department. My brothers and I probably have at least 5 funny Dad stories that we can tell in the blink of an eye. Since this is my blog I'll tell you mine. I am pretty sure no one else will appreciate these except for my Dad and me. Here goes:

1. The story he tells when my Grandmother went to get his and my uncle Glenn's shirts tailored. I think the tailor described the measurements as that of a seal and an orangutan.

2. Thanksgiving Day 2007 when my mom cut into onions and proceeded to run into the room telling my Dad and me that she was totally blind.

3. Talking to my Dad on the phone after my mom's fist colonoscopy. I think he referred to the night before when she had to drink that stuff as the Passion of the Christ.

4. Cutting down our Christmas tree when I was in college (yes our family actually did that) and somehow the ending dance scene in Dirty Dancing came up when Johnny leads the entire audience down the aisle before the lift with Baby.

5. Any time he imitates Larry Cox. It is unreal how good he is!

I'm actually laughing now even writing this. I should, however, point out that he has done much more for me then just make me laugh. My Dad makes me feel like I can do anything in the world. If I am ever nervous or scared about any big event I call my Dad. I remember before every exam or oral presentation in college I'd call my Dad. In fact, before I had Ryan I called my Dad from the delivery room b/c I started to feel nervous. I hope that I will be able to do the same for my children.

There is no Father's Day card in the world that will do justice in telling my Dad how much I love him. I'm hoping that this little blog entry will come close :) I am by far the luckiest girl in the entire world to have you as my Dad. I love you so much!

Happy Father's Day.

The Guys

I have been slacking so much on updating my blog! I guess the truth is that I am pretty busy these days.

Luke is almost 3 years old now and our latest adventure is potty training. Luke has done a great job so far! Only problem is that he has to be totally naked in order to remember to use the potty. I am trying to figure out how to slowly transition him back into clothes b/c things could get awkward :)

Ryan is 16 months and chatting up a storm! His main words are "uh, oh", "no", "ok", "mama", and he makes that hysterical fish noise that Luke used to do. Ryan only wants to run around and play as much as possible. He still gives the worlds best hugs so I hope that never changes!

This weekend is Father's Day and we plan on heading out to see the Nationals play. I'm looking forward to a night out with my main squeeze :)

We are also officially house hunting again. I am very curious to see where we will end up.

Wherever it may be I hope there is a big backyard for the guys to play in. Oh, and a decent sized master bathroom would also be a nice touch!