Church Directory

Church directory pictures are everyone's favorites, I know, and it's even better when it falls in your 3rd trimester so not only are you puffy and without a lap for little ones, you also are missing a soon-to-be-added family member. We decided to suck it up and take the picture to be included in the directory because we really enjoy looking through them, but decided to just take the free 8x10 this time. There were only 3 to choose from and this is the only one both boys are looking and somewhat smiling (smirking?) Hopefully we can take a few pictures as a family of 5 soon!

This is a picture-of-a-picture but just wanted a quick reference to what our family looked like before our new addition!

Last of Warm Weather

We've enjoyed a great summer outdoors and took advantage of a few unseasonably warm days this Fall to spend more time outside.  One afternoon, we decided to build a ramp/race track for the remote control car and learned a lot about inclined planes and how to move boxes to adjust the heights until it was something this low-powered card could handle. We also experimented with how sharp of a corner the car can take weaving through buckets (not very sharp). I loved seeing Ryan use problem-solving skills and sharing his car with neighbors.

Another night, the boys were playing in the backyard and a task of using the hose to rinse out the beetle jar escalated quickly into the sprayer first dripping all over Cohen, then Ryan using the mister to make a make-shift sprinkler, to just giving in and getting out the actual sprinkler and letting the boys strip down to their shorts. They had a blast and we actually got it out one more time before the month ended.

September Outdoors

Here's a variety of things we've been up to so far in September.

JV football games

Checking the beetle jar (bury a jar so the lip is even with the ground-they fall in at night).

Playing football

Varsity football games

Kittens

Clocking pitches at NWC Fall Ball Scrimmage with Cousin Colin.

Cohen: 1 Year, 9 Months

Cohen has become a regular chatter-box and part-time comedian. He'll repeat just about anything you say and adds new words to his vocabulary daily. He loves playing outside, especially with chalk or water and likes riding or pushing in the little car Saylor is loaning us.  He falls down easily which usually results in a scraped face and he loves to run in a funny way, kind of like high-stepping it while saying "walka-walka-walka...RUN!" He loves to laugh and joke, like when he asks for a "nak" (napkin) at the table and then pretends to lick it or eat it, then giggles at himself. He also asks for pepper to put on his food at every meal.

He LOVES dessert and will ask for a "kee-kee" (cookie) but will want ice cream if Ryan is having some. He is sure to get every last drip!


Cohen got in some trouble this month when he took his crayons to various walls and toys. Not sure he learned his lesson because he actually thought scrubbing it off was fun for a while!

He loves playing up on the bed, falling over and snuggling up in the pillows. He will lay down just about anywhere and pull a blanket over him, then declare it's time for "nigh-nigh." His favorite music now is a "Wee Sing" CD and he's starting to learn some of the words to Eensy Weensy Spider, Hickory Dickory Dock, and Ring Around the Rosy. He also likes to count in his books, pointing to objects while saying "Wahn, Toooo, Free!" He also asks for his new book "Read, Read, Baby" by name. His favorite thing to cuddle is "George" but he also loves his blue blanket.

Our little man suddenly seems pretty big and it's hard to believe he'll be a big brother soon! He pats my tummy and says "baby" but we're sure he really has no idea what's in store!

Enjoy your last full month of being the baby of the family, buddy!

Happy Birthday, Adam!

We celebrated Adam's birthday by going out for Mexican food with his parents. The boys did pretty well at the restaurant (Ryan polished off 3 tacos plus plenty of chips and salsa). They didn't fare as well at the photo op:

We tried again at home, but with similar results:

I think this is the best we can do:

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Happy Birthday, Saylor!

Ryan counted down the days to Saylor's Birthday Party. He had picked out her present (a remote-controlled Jeep) and couldn't wait for her to open it! I hope she enjoys it along with all of her princess dress-up clothes!

We enjoyed a very fun princess party with delicious cupcakes from her Aunt Whitney that the kids couldn't wait to eat. Saylor put on her new Elsa dress and had a great time. She just didn't like us singing Happy Birthday to her!

Nothing a cupcake couldn't fix!

It's been fun to watch Saylor grow her own little personality and I love listening to her play with Ryan.

Happy Birthday, girl!

First Day of Preschool

Ryan was excited to return to pre-school this year to see all his friends and meet some new ones!

Ryan: 4 Years, 11 Months

Ryan transitioned well to a new daycare this month, although he misses his old daycare provider and her kids a lot! He is having fun at the new place, though, and really enjoying making crafts, baking, playing outside, watching the puppies, building with blocks, and coloring a lot. He has started to skip afternoon naps most weekdays even though the rest for a while on couches in the afternoon. Preschool starts soon and he was excited after going to his Open House and having a home visit from his teachers. He definitely talks their ear off but they said they enjoy his stories and his willingness to "share facts he knows" about whatever they are talking about. 

He still has a big interest in science and nature and we love the variety of Usborne and other science books available at the library. Next month we are going to be starting the "1000 books by Kindergarten" program through the local library. Even though I'm fairly certain we've already attained this goal, it will be fun to see if we can do it again before he enters school next Fall.  He is also starting to understand math concepts and can do basic addition and subtraction word problems (usually using his fingers to help). A few books we've liked for this include Bedtime Math and Usbrone's First Picture Math, but I would only recommend if they are showing an interest and asking questions--don't force it!

He is also into imaginative play with various figures, usually involving the Angry Birds from his Knock on Wood game and characters from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (although he never chooses to watch the show anymore). Sometimes his DC Super Hero friends also get involved. He also likes to put the Angry Birds into various vehicles (Batmobile, Spiderman car, etc.) to create his own "Angry Birds Go!" characters. (Disclaimer: These are Amazon affiliate links, but I just wanted a good reference for what toys an almost-5-year-old boy is into, in case this helps anyone else, too).

Another thing that's relatively new is his attachment to a stuffed Mickey Mouse he's been "borrowing" from Adam's mom since the 4th of July sleepover. He takes it everywhere (it has to stay in the vehicle but sometimes he straps it in and sets up a book for Mickey to read while we are away from the van), sleeps with it, and genuinely plays with it every day. He has had several stuffed animals but hasn't been attached to any of them in the past year or two. He's even graciously given up his Curious George and Moosie to Cohen (which Cohen loves).

He is growing a lot and seems to be pretty tall for his age. He had a checkup this month before preschool and is in the 92% (46.25") for height and 87% for weight (45.5 lbs). He wears many size 4 clothes yet in shorts and tees, but needs size 5 for pants and sleeves to be long enough. He is also just getting into size 12 shoes. He's not terribly picky on clothes and will get dressed in whatever we've laid out the night before. But, I do have to take him shopping to try things on or ask his opinion when ordering online now.  Thankfully, he loved the  pajamas I got him after my Boston trip--guess you can't go wrong with Batman!

Ryan is looking forward to preschool starting, football concession stands, Pumpkin Land, and his birthday only 1 month away!