Today we went to the movies with Ms. Christa and Ms. Alicia and all the kiddos. We saw Rio during one of those summer kids' movies [translation: dollar movies with lots of crying babies, perfect for us and our eight kids]. It was a good time though. The movie was cute and the kids were super well behaved and seemed to really enjoy it. This was both Abby and Chloe's first movie theater experience. Abby sat next to me and had very minimal wiggles and stayed in her seat. I wore Chloe in her snugli so she wouldn't try to throw herself out of my lap repeatedly. The snugli worked great, along with a large supply of cheerios.
Super cool moment: at some point in the middle of the movie, the birds are all singing and dancing and one of the birds says something along the lines of clap your hands. So Chloe, in her snugli on my lap, lights up and goes crazy clapping :) Yup, she one hundred percent knows what she's doing when she's clapping.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
CMC
I've been putting this off way too long, so here goes. But I must confess I am more than a little overwhelmed by the thought of everything I should put in this post. So we'll see how it turns out I guess. Chloe Marie is well over ten months now. And I didn't do a post with her nine month checkup info. Oops.
So think back to early May :) Chloe weighed in at 14lbs, 10oz at her nine month, which is off the bottom of the chart for weight. She was 27ins which is maybe 25th percentile. [they give us charts now instead of the numbers, so it's a little harder [for me at least!] to read]. Her head was 17.2 ins which looks to be right about 50th. The next question is usually: how does that compare to her sibs? So here's Ryan's 9month stats:
He weighed in at 17lbs 2 oz and is 28.5 inches.
And Abby's:
She weighed in at 16lbs 11 oz and is 27.25 inches.
So wow, our Itty-Bitty really is an Itty-Bitty! [although basically as tall as her sister was].
So let's see, current day, Chloe is ten plus months old. She sits like a champ. And one of my favorite of her tricks, is that she can spin in circles while sitting. She uses her feet and rotates around and around on her bum. Another family favorite trick is Chloe's turtle pose. She spreads her legs way apart to sit [better for balance I think], and she is quite fond of bending forward until her face touches the ground. We make silly kids.
She's been rolling all around for some time, but she recently added an army crawl to her repertoire. She still doesn't pick her belly up, but we're all different, that's what makes us us :) Now that she army crawls, moving forward is a lot easier, which means things like crawling in between the corners of the couches. Or crawling around the legs of the barstools and under the table. She also likes to beeline for the bathroom, which is just nasty. cat litter crumbs. big sibs using the potty. Enough said.
Chloe can be a good eater sometimes. She's not a huge fan of her bottles [four a day, about six ounces each]. Typically she much prefers food, but the past week or so, she's been pretty opposed to it. In fact for about three days last weekend, she flat out refused anything on a spoon. Mouth sealed shut, arms flailing. She only drank and ate cheerios. I think her teeth were bothering her. That's what you say when you don't know what else could be wrong. She likes her cheerios and star puffs and teething cookies and yogurt bites. She doesn't pick up much else. I think her teeth bother her. She'll eat anything mushy, except avocado. When her teeth don't bother her, that is. While I feel like I am doing my best to enjoy the baby stage, this third and final time around, I do look forward to her eating more finger foods soon.
Speaking of those troublesome teeth, she has two on the bottom and four on the top. They are big, like her Mommy's. Sorry! The ones on the top have all come in together at basically the same time the past couple weeks.
Chloe loves the grass. She loves baths. She loves the pool, especially if the water's warm. She got that from her Mommy :) She is a big fan of splish splashing. Yesterday was her first time in the float and she was about as happy as I've ever seen her. She loves her big brother and sister. Ryan is really good at getting her to laugh. And they both adore her. She loves to swing. She loves to chew on things.
Oh my goodness! I am ten months old already!
She's a great sleeper, although very light. Almost everything wakes her up, but she just rolls over and goes back to sleep. I don't even try to kiss her when I say good night before I go to bed. Even pulling the fan chain will startle her. She naps ideally twice a day still and sleeps almost twelve hours at night. She's usually the first kid up, shortly after 7:00, but she's happy to lay in her bed until whenever. She seems to be attaching herself to a little purple elephant that we gave her for Valentine's Day. I love it! She sucks her left thumb [all the time!!] and always falls asleep on her right side facing out into the room. I love that she usually has the elephant in her arms.
Chloe's personality seems to be pretty laid-back, taking it all in. She is always super observant. She likes to watch TV and she nailed the vision test at the doctor. She was in a trance watching that screen, even the tech commented on it and she watches kids watch tv for a living. She is lot like her big brother in that she seems to want to be able to do something perfectly before she'll do it. They were both late sitter-uppers and crawlers and walkers.
Chloe can clap and is getting pretty good at doing it when we encourage her. At first it was pretty random and we weren't convinced she knew what she was doing. She definitely does now and seems to love the attention when she does it. A couple of times I've thought she waved, but she certainly doesn't do that on a regular basis.
Oh, she had a physical therapy evaluation in late May. Dr. Bowman was a little concerned since she has been physically a little behind at both her six and nine month appts. But she did great and the therapist did not think we needed any sessions, yay! She agreed that Chloe's a little behind, but there's no reason for concern. She did several things to test brain and reflexes and that sort of thing and Chloe could do them all. It just comes back to she's lazy :). Her upper body was a little weak, which explains the lack of crawling, so there's a few exercises that she suggested that we don't do as well as we should. But she's off and moving around so much more than she was even then. She'll catch up in her own time. She'll learn to walk before we know if and as my friend Christa likes to remind me, no school or job application is ever going to ask when you learned to crawl or walk. Early or late, it doesn't really matter, almost everyone averages out in the end. [she is convinced Ryan is above average, but that's not relevant to Chloe's post :)]. Anyway, the PT appt was pretty interesting and fun in its own way , all the different exercises and whatnot. It was nice to focus solely on Chloe for an hour.
Alrighty, Chloe Marie, we love you Little Peanut! Sorry for the delay on your post, but the quantity [and hopefully quality too] perhaps will make up for it! I am all out of words!
So think back to early May :) Chloe weighed in at 14lbs, 10oz at her nine month, which is off the bottom of the chart for weight. She was 27ins which is maybe 25th percentile. [they give us charts now instead of the numbers, so it's a little harder [for me at least!] to read]. Her head was 17.2 ins which looks to be right about 50th. The next question is usually: how does that compare to her sibs? So here's Ryan's 9month stats:
He weighed in at 17lbs 2 oz and is 28.5 inches.
And Abby's:
She weighed in at 16lbs 11 oz and is 27.25 inches.
So wow, our Itty-Bitty really is an Itty-Bitty! [although basically as tall as her sister was].
Hmm, there's not a very good 9month picture. It's getting really hard to get her to hold her signs! They are so much fun to wave around and to chew on.
Chloe started sitting up at the end of April, just in time for her 9month pictures. She's a little, err, lazy. I suppose that would be partially my fault. She's my third and my baby. I carry her a lot and she spends a lot of time in her stroller or carseat while the Big Two do all the things they do. Plus she still spits up. All. The. Time. So after she drinks a bottle, I put her in the blue chair to digest. It seems to be a catch 22 there. The doctor tells me as she gets stronger she'll spit up less, yet if I let her down to exercise she spits up everywhere. We will need new carpet by the time this phase is finally said and done!
So let's see, current day, Chloe is ten plus months old. She sits like a champ. And one of my favorite of her tricks, is that she can spin in circles while sitting. She uses her feet and rotates around and around on her bum. Another family favorite trick is Chloe's turtle pose. She spreads her legs way apart to sit [better for balance I think], and she is quite fond of bending forward until her face touches the ground. We make silly kids.
She's been rolling all around for some time, but she recently added an army crawl to her repertoire. She still doesn't pick her belly up, but we're all different, that's what makes us us :) Now that she army crawls, moving forward is a lot easier, which means things like crawling in between the corners of the couches. Or crawling around the legs of the barstools and under the table. She also likes to beeline for the bathroom, which is just nasty. cat litter crumbs. big sibs using the potty. Enough said.
Chloe can be a good eater sometimes. She's not a huge fan of her bottles [four a day, about six ounces each]. Typically she much prefers food, but the past week or so, she's been pretty opposed to it. In fact for about three days last weekend, she flat out refused anything on a spoon. Mouth sealed shut, arms flailing. She only drank and ate cheerios. I think her teeth were bothering her. That's what you say when you don't know what else could be wrong. She likes her cheerios and star puffs and teething cookies and yogurt bites. She doesn't pick up much else. I think her teeth bother her. She'll eat anything mushy, except avocado. When her teeth don't bother her, that is. While I feel like I am doing my best to enjoy the baby stage, this third and final time around, I do look forward to her eating more finger foods soon.
Speaking of those troublesome teeth, she has two on the bottom and four on the top. They are big, like her Mommy's. Sorry! The ones on the top have all come in together at basically the same time the past couple weeks.
Chloe loves the grass. She loves baths. She loves the pool, especially if the water's warm. She got that from her Mommy :) She is a big fan of splish splashing. Yesterday was her first time in the float and she was about as happy as I've ever seen her. She loves her big brother and sister. Ryan is really good at getting her to laugh. And they both adore her. She loves to swing. She loves to chew on things.
Oh my goodness! I am ten months old already!
She's a great sleeper, although very light. Almost everything wakes her up, but she just rolls over and goes back to sleep. I don't even try to kiss her when I say good night before I go to bed. Even pulling the fan chain will startle her. She naps ideally twice a day still and sleeps almost twelve hours at night. She's usually the first kid up, shortly after 7:00, but she's happy to lay in her bed until whenever. She seems to be attaching herself to a little purple elephant that we gave her for Valentine's Day. I love it! She sucks her left thumb [all the time!!] and always falls asleep on her right side facing out into the room. I love that she usually has the elephant in her arms.
Chloe's personality seems to be pretty laid-back, taking it all in. She is always super observant. She likes to watch TV and she nailed the vision test at the doctor. She was in a trance watching that screen, even the tech commented on it and she watches kids watch tv for a living. She is lot like her big brother in that she seems to want to be able to do something perfectly before she'll do it. They were both late sitter-uppers and crawlers and walkers.
Chloe can clap and is getting pretty good at doing it when we encourage her. At first it was pretty random and we weren't convinced she knew what she was doing. She definitely does now and seems to love the attention when she does it. A couple of times I've thought she waved, but she certainly doesn't do that on a regular basis.
Oh, she had a physical therapy evaluation in late May. Dr. Bowman was a little concerned since she has been physically a little behind at both her six and nine month appts. But she did great and the therapist did not think we needed any sessions, yay! She agreed that Chloe's a little behind, but there's no reason for concern. She did several things to test brain and reflexes and that sort of thing and Chloe could do them all. It just comes back to she's lazy :). Her upper body was a little weak, which explains the lack of crawling, so there's a few exercises that she suggested that we don't do as well as we should. But she's off and moving around so much more than she was even then. She'll catch up in her own time. She'll learn to walk before we know if and as my friend Christa likes to remind me, no school or job application is ever going to ask when you learned to crawl or walk. Early or late, it doesn't really matter, almost everyone averages out in the end. [she is convinced Ryan is above average, but that's not relevant to Chloe's post :)]. Anyway, the PT appt was pretty interesting and fun in its own way , all the different exercises and whatnot. It was nice to focus solely on Chloe for an hour.
Alrighty, Chloe Marie, we love you Little Peanut! Sorry for the delay on your post, but the quantity [and hopefully quality too] perhaps will make up for it! I am all out of words!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
"I got three"
Abby has mastered her three fingers. In fact, she's figured out that most of the time if someone asks her name, they'll next ask how old she is. So now she'll answer "Abby" and hold out her three fingers before they can ask. And then she'll tell them: "I was two, but I got three." Sweet Abby Girl!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
PA :: five days :: 1800 miles
We are becoming quite the travelers this summer! I think we must be making up for last summer when I was huge and miserable and waiting on Chloe's arrival. This past week my Dad and I drove the kids up to PA and back. We had an amazing time!!
We left a week ago Sunday after church. We picnic lunch'ed in the car and had Taco Bell for dinner. We drove to Roanoke and stayed at a Hampton with an indoor pool. Thanks to rain, rain, and a little more rain, we arrived around 9pm. But of course we'd already promised the pool and thus a week of late nights began. Ryan was sooo excited about staying in a hotel and the pool was a huge hit. It was great and very warm. Chloe and I didn't swim Sunday night since it was a quick swim, but we did get up and all swim Monday morning before we left. Chloe liked the warm water, and Ryan and Abby are becoming quite the little fishies. We had a continental breakfast before heading out. Among other things, Ryan had a sausage biscuit and asked if we could come back to this hotel again so Daddy could get one too :)
After a longer then expected day of driving, we arrived late to Aunt Kathryn's farm in Troxelville. I love that place!! Oh, and on the way we passed my Dad's Grandmother's old apartment which was really neat. It was a little rainy at the Kathryn's, but we still had a blast. Kathryn is doing great! I think we decided she is 93 and she lives by herself. Her daughter Glenda comes to visit a lot and her grandson Brian runs the farm. The kids did well with her, especially Chloe. She's not always great with strangers, but she would literally reach and try to roll/jump out of my arms to Kathryn, I've never seen her do anything quite like that. [Abby sure, R&C no.]. I think Kathryn liked it too! Grandpa and I took the kids to see the four cows. They weren't overly sure about being that close to the cows. Aunt Barb met us at the farm, and we played in the corn crib and the hayloft. I remember playing in the corn with my cousin Matt as a kid. Funny though, the corncrib was not nearly as big as I thought it was! The hayloft was great fun too. We climbed up as high as we could and Ryan jumped once or twice [not to the bottom or anything, just off a stack about three haybales high]. Since we were late arriving, we went out to dinner with Aunt Kathryn. Oh and Dad's cousin Ken and Jane were there too, what a nice surprise! And Glenda went to dinner too, we had a nice little crowd going. The restaurant in Troxelville was closed on Mondays, so we went to the next town over. It was a great little place with delicious food. I loved my view out the window of a beautiful old white house set against a hill in the rain. Chloe sat in a highchair between Kathryn and I and she kept reaching for her and messing with her sweater. After dinner, we headed back to the farm. The kids sat on tractors, and we climbed the hayloft one more time before dark. We then went inside and visited with Aunt Kathryn and the cousins until close to 10:00. They popped real popcorn and we chatted and the kids played. Chloe hung out with Kathryn a good bit. Did I mention I love Aunt Kathryn's? It was so peaceful being in the middle of nowhere. And the atmosphere and all the family gathered around was great. I am so glad the kids made it up there to meet Kathryn and experience the farm!
We made it to Aunt Barb's late Monday night and woke up there Tuesday morning. We slept in a little and then headed to the Amish store. Among other things, I bought several things of dried fruit since the kids seemed so excited about that. So even now, they still call it "the dried up store." We also bought sprinkles of course. It was still drizzling Tuesday. We got subs from a country store along the road and I had a birch beer [tasted a lot like root beer]. We picnic'd under a pavilion at Whipple's. It was an awesome lake in the middle of the mountains. [I had no cell service this day :)]. Fortunately the rain let up a little and we walked around the lake and Ryan scootered a bit. Ryan and Grandpa also went down towards the damn to check it out. They stepped across the rocks and Ryan even took a quick swim if you know what I mean! Pennsylvania is soo pretty. We then went down to the beach area and waded in the water. That pretty quickly turned into the kids taking their shirts off [I keep extra underwear in the car but not tops!] and all but swimming. They loved it. The water was crazy cold, but it was alright as long as I only got my feet wet. The afternoon was spent back in State College, looking for camera batteries for me. My battery died at Aunt Kathryn's and if you know me, you know how upset I was! I ended up buying a flash drive and taking Aunt Barb and then cousin Teri's photos. When we got back from Wal-Mart, Katelyn and Julie, cousin Matt's kids, were at the house. Katelyn's softball game was rained out that night, so after a really really yummy dinner of chicken pan pie, we headed to Spring Creek. The kids scootered and we hung out by an old wooden bridge. Ryan then waded in the water with Katelyn and Julie. The girls are 12 and 8 and they were sooo good with my kids. They all played great and Ryan and Abby loved the big girls. Abby eventually got in the water too. They looked so cute holding hands and wading up and down that river. Although in Ryan's opinion, the best part was scootering in the parking lot right before we left. There was a huge puddle that apparently was awesome for riding through. Back to Aunt Barb's for baths and bed.
Wednesday morning we woke up leisurely again. My cousin Teri arrived around 10am with her sons, Brandon and Noah. It took the kids a little while to warm up to each other since all the boys are shy :) Katelyn and Julie came back too, and pretty soon all the kids were playing well. They loved this huge beach ball that Katelyn had brought over. They would throw it from the ground level up to the deck and back down again. Over and over. They also played a little soccer. Wednesday afternoon we hiked Mount Nittany. It was a nice trail and a perfect day. We made it to the first outlook with awesome views of State College. On the way back down, Ryan took a little tumble and got himself one nice looking boo-boo on his forehead. It's already almost better though. Ryan had a great time hiking and he really took to the big boys. Abby did pretty well too, although she did manage to talk cousin Teri into a piggyback ride on the way down! After our hike we stopped at the Sheetz gas station for ice cream treats. Ryan and Abby had their first ever slushy and loved them. In fact, yesterday Ryan told me that the slushy was his favorite part of the trip. Silly kid! We went back to Spring Creek again to cool off in the river. It was a bit more crowded and didn't have any more puddles for scootering, but we still had fun :). I pushed Abs on a swing for a long time. We went back to Aunt Barb's for baths [poison ivy rinsing-off after our hike. paranoid mommy.]. My cousin Matt and his wife Krista [Katelyn and Julie's parents] joined us for a wonderful dinner of meatball subs and plenty of yummy sides and desserts. We then went to the ball fields where Katelyn was finishing up her softball practice. We all enjoyed an evening of picture taking [THANK YOU cousin Teri!!!] and baseball. It was fun to watch my dad hit, it's been a long time since I've seen him play. When we got back to Aunt Barb's, the girls went to bed, but I let Ryan stay up. Hey, we were on vacation! He had such a great time playing with the big kids. I know they played never have I ever and duck duck goose. It was right about 11:00 when he went to bed! But it's not everyday we get to see these guys and I knew we'd be spending the whole next day in the car, so it's not like he needed to be rested up!
Thursday morning we hit the road about 7am. We stopped in Mechanicsburg to see Grandpa's cousin Paul and his wife Judy. We were pleasantly surprised to meet two of their grandkids as well. Megan is going into 10th grade and is in marching band. Erin is going into 6th grade. They were both super sweet girls and Erin Loved my kids, thus I liked her! Erin took right to Chloe, picking her up, coo'ing right back at her, making faces, picking up stuff that Chloe would throw, she even put the girls in their carseats and knew how to buckle them. I wish we had teenagers around at home! Erin was great. We all ate breakfast together at Perkins. I went out of my comfort zone and had some really yummy chicken and gravy biscuits. I'll give you one guess what my kiddos ate. Yup, chocolate chip pancakes. The drive home took forever. Lots more rain and potty breaks. A dinner stop at Chick-fil-a in Christiansburg. We dropped Grandpa off at about 12:30am and we were home a minute or two before 1am. But it was worth it! All 1800 miles of it!
Thanks so much to Aunt Barb for hosting all of us. Especially Wednesday night when all the cousins were there! If I counted right, there were eleven of us under her roof that night! Sorry for the chaos and mess :) We had such a wonderful trip and we really appreciate all the amazing meals and good times and beds. Thanks to Dad/Grandpa for sharing the driving with us and for the gas and food and hotel. We couldn't [and wouldn't] have done it without you! And thanks to both Aunt Barb and cousin Teri for taking pictures for me. I still can't believe I forgot my battery charger! What a great trip. Pictures to come eventually, but I wanted to try to get down as many details as I could while it's all fresh in my mind.
We left a week ago Sunday after church. We picnic lunch'ed in the car and had Taco Bell for dinner. We drove to Roanoke and stayed at a Hampton with an indoor pool. Thanks to rain, rain, and a little more rain, we arrived around 9pm. But of course we'd already promised the pool and thus a week of late nights began. Ryan was sooo excited about staying in a hotel and the pool was a huge hit. It was great and very warm. Chloe and I didn't swim Sunday night since it was a quick swim, but we did get up and all swim Monday morning before we left. Chloe liked the warm water, and Ryan and Abby are becoming quite the little fishies. We had a continental breakfast before heading out. Among other things, Ryan had a sausage biscuit and asked if we could come back to this hotel again so Daddy could get one too :)
After a longer then expected day of driving, we arrived late to Aunt Kathryn's farm in Troxelville. I love that place!! Oh, and on the way we passed my Dad's Grandmother's old apartment which was really neat. It was a little rainy at the Kathryn's, but we still had a blast. Kathryn is doing great! I think we decided she is 93 and she lives by herself. Her daughter Glenda comes to visit a lot and her grandson Brian runs the farm. The kids did well with her, especially Chloe. She's not always great with strangers, but she would literally reach and try to roll/jump out of my arms to Kathryn, I've never seen her do anything quite like that. [Abby sure, R&C no.]. I think Kathryn liked it too! Grandpa and I took the kids to see the four cows. They weren't overly sure about being that close to the cows. Aunt Barb met us at the farm, and we played in the corn crib and the hayloft. I remember playing in the corn with my cousin Matt as a kid. Funny though, the corncrib was not nearly as big as I thought it was! The hayloft was great fun too. We climbed up as high as we could and Ryan jumped once or twice [not to the bottom or anything, just off a stack about three haybales high]. Since we were late arriving, we went out to dinner with Aunt Kathryn. Oh and Dad's cousin Ken and Jane were there too, what a nice surprise! And Glenda went to dinner too, we had a nice little crowd going. The restaurant in Troxelville was closed on Mondays, so we went to the next town over. It was a great little place with delicious food. I loved my view out the window of a beautiful old white house set against a hill in the rain. Chloe sat in a highchair between Kathryn and I and she kept reaching for her and messing with her sweater. After dinner, we headed back to the farm. The kids sat on tractors, and we climbed the hayloft one more time before dark. We then went inside and visited with Aunt Kathryn and the cousins until close to 10:00. They popped real popcorn and we chatted and the kids played. Chloe hung out with Kathryn a good bit. Did I mention I love Aunt Kathryn's? It was so peaceful being in the middle of nowhere. And the atmosphere and all the family gathered around was great. I am so glad the kids made it up there to meet Kathryn and experience the farm!
We made it to Aunt Barb's late Monday night and woke up there Tuesday morning. We slept in a little and then headed to the Amish store. Among other things, I bought several things of dried fruit since the kids seemed so excited about that. So even now, they still call it "the dried up store." We also bought sprinkles of course. It was still drizzling Tuesday. We got subs from a country store along the road and I had a birch beer [tasted a lot like root beer]. We picnic'd under a pavilion at Whipple's. It was an awesome lake in the middle of the mountains. [I had no cell service this day :)]. Fortunately the rain let up a little and we walked around the lake and Ryan scootered a bit. Ryan and Grandpa also went down towards the damn to check it out. They stepped across the rocks and Ryan even took a quick swim if you know what I mean! Pennsylvania is soo pretty. We then went down to the beach area and waded in the water. That pretty quickly turned into the kids taking their shirts off [I keep extra underwear in the car but not tops!] and all but swimming. They loved it. The water was crazy cold, but it was alright as long as I only got my feet wet. The afternoon was spent back in State College, looking for camera batteries for me. My battery died at Aunt Kathryn's and if you know me, you know how upset I was! I ended up buying a flash drive and taking Aunt Barb and then cousin Teri's photos. When we got back from Wal-Mart, Katelyn and Julie, cousin Matt's kids, were at the house. Katelyn's softball game was rained out that night, so after a really really yummy dinner of chicken pan pie, we headed to Spring Creek. The kids scootered and we hung out by an old wooden bridge. Ryan then waded in the water with Katelyn and Julie. The girls are 12 and 8 and they were sooo good with my kids. They all played great and Ryan and Abby loved the big girls. Abby eventually got in the water too. They looked so cute holding hands and wading up and down that river. Although in Ryan's opinion, the best part was scootering in the parking lot right before we left. There was a huge puddle that apparently was awesome for riding through. Back to Aunt Barb's for baths and bed.
Wednesday morning we woke up leisurely again. My cousin Teri arrived around 10am with her sons, Brandon and Noah. It took the kids a little while to warm up to each other since all the boys are shy :) Katelyn and Julie came back too, and pretty soon all the kids were playing well. They loved this huge beach ball that Katelyn had brought over. They would throw it from the ground level up to the deck and back down again. Over and over. They also played a little soccer. Wednesday afternoon we hiked Mount Nittany. It was a nice trail and a perfect day. We made it to the first outlook with awesome views of State College. On the way back down, Ryan took a little tumble and got himself one nice looking boo-boo on his forehead. It's already almost better though. Ryan had a great time hiking and he really took to the big boys. Abby did pretty well too, although she did manage to talk cousin Teri into a piggyback ride on the way down! After our hike we stopped at the Sheetz gas station for ice cream treats. Ryan and Abby had their first ever slushy and loved them. In fact, yesterday Ryan told me that the slushy was his favorite part of the trip. Silly kid! We went back to Spring Creek again to cool off in the river. It was a bit more crowded and didn't have any more puddles for scootering, but we still had fun :). I pushed Abs on a swing for a long time. We went back to Aunt Barb's for baths [poison ivy rinsing-off after our hike. paranoid mommy.]. My cousin Matt and his wife Krista [Katelyn and Julie's parents] joined us for a wonderful dinner of meatball subs and plenty of yummy sides and desserts. We then went to the ball fields where Katelyn was finishing up her softball practice. We all enjoyed an evening of picture taking [THANK YOU cousin Teri!!!] and baseball. It was fun to watch my dad hit, it's been a long time since I've seen him play. When we got back to Aunt Barb's, the girls went to bed, but I let Ryan stay up. Hey, we were on vacation! He had such a great time playing with the big kids. I know they played never have I ever and duck duck goose. It was right about 11:00 when he went to bed! But it's not everyday we get to see these guys and I knew we'd be spending the whole next day in the car, so it's not like he needed to be rested up!
Thursday morning we hit the road about 7am. We stopped in Mechanicsburg to see Grandpa's cousin Paul and his wife Judy. We were pleasantly surprised to meet two of their grandkids as well. Megan is going into 10th grade and is in marching band. Erin is going into 6th grade. They were both super sweet girls and Erin Loved my kids, thus I liked her! Erin took right to Chloe, picking her up, coo'ing right back at her, making faces, picking up stuff that Chloe would throw, she even put the girls in their carseats and knew how to buckle them. I wish we had teenagers around at home! Erin was great. We all ate breakfast together at Perkins. I went out of my comfort zone and had some really yummy chicken and gravy biscuits. I'll give you one guess what my kiddos ate. Yup, chocolate chip pancakes. The drive home took forever. Lots more rain and potty breaks. A dinner stop at Chick-fil-a in Christiansburg. We dropped Grandpa off at about 12:30am and we were home a minute or two before 1am. But it was worth it! All 1800 miles of it!
Thanks so much to Aunt Barb for hosting all of us. Especially Wednesday night when all the cousins were there! If I counted right, there were eleven of us under her roof that night! Sorry for the chaos and mess :) We had such a wonderful trip and we really appreciate all the amazing meals and good times and beds. Thanks to Dad/Grandpa for sharing the driving with us and for the gas and food and hotel. We couldn't [and wouldn't] have done it without you! And thanks to both Aunt Barb and cousin Teri for taking pictures for me. I still can't believe I forgot my battery charger! What a great trip. Pictures to come eventually, but I wanted to try to get down as many details as I could while it's all fresh in my mind.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
always and forever
Happy 10year anniversary to us!! We celebrated with a wonderful trip to Savannah. It was a great getaway, so very relaxing. We dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's house Thursday night so that we could get up and out of town early Friday. We made it to Savannah in time for lunch at Paula Dean's restaurant, Lady and Sons. Unfortunately I was still recovering from a strawberry and/or pesticide allergic reaction, so I didn't have a great appetite. But it was still tasty, I think. I had a chicken salad sandwich and Coleson had the buffet, complete with all the southern staples - fried chicken, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc. After lunch, we napped at the hotel and then enjoyed an evening stroll down River Street. We checked out a few shops, watched a lot of boats, and took the free ferry across the river. It was beautiful looking back across the river at all the historic buildings at dusk.
Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Tybee Island. We climbed up the lighthouse and walked the beach. We enjoyed Tybee and it's laidback, smalltown vibe. We ate lunch at the Sugar Shack - a turkey sandwich and patty melt. And of course we had to get some ice cream when we were done. Saturday afternoon we walked all around Savannah and made it to the Forsyth park, a large park full of huge trees and spanish moss and open fields and an impressive fountain. It was great to sit and people watch [especially the frisbee players] and listen to the live music and just be outside in the fresh air. On the way back we walked through lots of squares and the city market and watched kids playing in fountains. We couldn't decide on dinner and finally stopped in B&D's Burgers. I had a super tasty grown-up grilled cheese - pimiento cheese, tomato, and bacon. And Coleson had a hot dog with blue cheese and onions. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and hung out at the rooftop pool for a little bit. Sticking our feet in that water felt great after walking a couple miles in flipflops! We also watched a massive barge navigate the river, which was great even if I couldn't catch it blowing its horn on video for the kids :)
Sunday morning we walked River Street one more time and bought a few souvenirs before heading out of town.
Our hotel was great, we dined on yummy continental breakfasts and enjoyed lots of good cable TV. All the architecture was wonderful, I loved the old, Southern, New Orleans feel. And of course the river, I am not picky, I love any water :) Thank you so much to Nana and Pop-Pop for the hotel points! And thank you, thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for watching our kiddos for three days! We had such a wonderful, relaxing time, but it's also nice to be home and all under the same roof again.
I love you Dearie Dear and I am so blessed that you are the one I get to do life with! I couldn't ask for a better husband and best friend and father. Here's to many, many more years; we're going to make it to our 75th you know! I love you forever and always.
Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Tybee Island. We climbed up the lighthouse and walked the beach. We enjoyed Tybee and it's laidback, smalltown vibe. We ate lunch at the Sugar Shack - a turkey sandwich and patty melt. And of course we had to get some ice cream when we were done. Saturday afternoon we walked all around Savannah and made it to the Forsyth park, a large park full of huge trees and spanish moss and open fields and an impressive fountain. It was great to sit and people watch [especially the frisbee players] and listen to the live music and just be outside in the fresh air. On the way back we walked through lots of squares and the city market and watched kids playing in fountains. We couldn't decide on dinner and finally stopped in B&D's Burgers. I had a super tasty grown-up grilled cheese - pimiento cheese, tomato, and bacon. And Coleson had a hot dog with blue cheese and onions. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and hung out at the rooftop pool for a little bit. Sticking our feet in that water felt great after walking a couple miles in flipflops! We also watched a massive barge navigate the river, which was great even if I couldn't catch it blowing its horn on video for the kids :)
Sunday morning we walked River Street one more time and bought a few souvenirs before heading out of town.
Our hotel was great, we dined on yummy continental breakfasts and enjoyed lots of good cable TV. All the architecture was wonderful, I loved the old, Southern, New Orleans feel. And of course the river, I am not picky, I love any water :) Thank you so much to Nana and Pop-Pop for the hotel points! And thank you, thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for watching our kiddos for three days! We had such a wonderful, relaxing time, but it's also nice to be home and all under the same roof again.
I love you Dearie Dear and I am so blessed that you are the one I get to do life with! I couldn't ask for a better husband and best friend and father. Here's to many, many more years; we're going to make it to our 75th you know! I love you forever and always.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
awww
Today while I drive I hear Abby say "Mommy, I broke her heart." So sad and pitiful and sweet. Of course I then realized she literally broke her monkey's heart; she's a stuffed animal that has [err, had] a heart sewn in between her hands.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
class of 2013
As silly as it is, Ryan is a preschool graduate! The concept of graduating from anything other than high school or college is a little bizarre, but it was still a huge milestone any way you look at it, especially considering that Ryan's leaving a school he's been at for three plus years. We love Mt Zion, although fortunately we, as a family, will still be there a long, long time :) It's a little surreal that he's all done; that summertime feeling hasn't quite kicked in yet. I am so grateful for the preschool and all he has learned and all he has grown and for the friends he's made [and me too!]. He has had an amazing group of teachers that have poured into him and loved on him and helped him develop into an amazing little man.
The performance was great this year. They sang lots of new songs [Ms. Stephanie took over the music program this year, so the Christmas play was all new too]. Ryan's class counted and did their colors in Spanish; Ryan can easily count to five and is certainly fluent in his colors. He gets a big kick out of using Spanish colors even more than English. Abby was up there too singing and dancing. Although one of her bows came out and she spent a long time worried about that, it really distracted her :( She was super cute though and really into it. She was doing the motions and clapping. Her favorite song by far is the B-I-B-L-E, she screams that one!
After the younger classes finished, Abby and the siblings were able to come sit with their families and we watched the Fours graduate. It was cute. They put Ryan in a cap and gown and called out names and they walked across the stage and everything. We were supposed to wait until the end to clap and cheer, but of course when they said "Ryan Chase," Abs yelled "Ryan Chase!" Soo cute! She parroted a few other names, but none as loud as Ryan's. [sidenote, I think she knows every name in preschool. On the days she doesn't go to preschool and thus is with me in carline, she repeats the names as the teacher calls them out on the walkie talkie, "Ryan Chase, Ms. Jennifer, Ryan Chase."]. They took diplomas [rolled up papers] from the teachers, walked across stage, and then dropped them in a reuse basket, all theatrics I suppose :) They did keep their 2013 tassels, so that was fun to hang on Ryan's bulletin board.
After the graduation, we headed downstairs to the classrooms. Abby wasn't too big on going to her room, so she spent most of the time parting in Ryan's room. We had fun snacking and socializing and celebrating. Ryan and I also ventured down to say goodbye to Ms. Kathy and Ms. Marlene from last year.
It was a great day and it's crazy that it's here and gone already. Ryan did wonderful of course and I did better than I thought I would. There were several times I almost lost it, but I held it in and I never did cry. I was talking to another mom about it and we decided there really was never a good time to cry. Even during the slideshow and the graduation, it wasn't like there was sappy music or anything. The day was upbeat and kept moving along quickly. And of course we went straight from there home to pack like manics for Destin, no time to dwell!
Ryan, I am so proud of you!! We started you in preschool in the spring of 2010 in Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Vickie's babies class because your speech therapy basically told us we had too. Unfortunately, between Abby's birth and CHOA stay you missed a lot of school and I don't really remember much of that short year :) You could barely talk and I'd be excited if you said "ball" or "cars" when I asked you how your day was. In the twos class, you had Ms. Shannon and Ms. Erica. We love Ms. Shannon of course and Ms. Erica was great with you; she used to pluck you crying from the car every morning. You really liked her. You always spoke of Caden during these times and thought he was the coolest kid ever. You still didn't talk much, but you learned your ABC's and your numbers. And when you started the threes, you and Hudson were the only ones who could write your name. Ms. Kathy and Ms. Marlene were awesome. You still cried a little at dropoff, but you did great as soon as you were out of the car. Your best buds this year were Hudson and Brooks, although unfortunately they both left for traditional pre-k. By the fours class, you were confident and in charge and jumping out of the car, eager to show Abby the ropes. Ms. Jennifer [Eli's Mommy] and Ms. Cindy were amazing teachers. You have learned so much this year, from your full name to your address to both our phone numbers. You are quite literally a sponge and you love to learn. But I suppose most important to the original goals, we have seen you blossom socially and speech-ally [not sure what word I want here!]. You talk non-stop, you have a memory far better than mine, you love to be organized, and you keep a wall calendar and wear a watch. This year John was in your class for the third year in a row, but your best buds were Eben and Asher. Ms. Cindy referred to you guys as the Three Amigos. They both also go to Watermarke, although you didn't know that when you glued on to Eben the very first day. Mommy's grateful though, since their mommies and I are becoming fast friends too. We tried to keep in touch with Brooks's family after last year, but we just didn't have enough in common. I am excited for you to continue a friendship with Asher and Eben, despite the different elementary schools. Out of a class of twelve, only you and Claire are going to Avery. And Eli too, although he couldn't be in your class this year since his mommy was your teacher!
Anyways, seeing as you and Abby are both awake now and wrestling on the bed next to me, it's time to wrap up this crazy long post. I could go on forever about how awesome you are and the wonderful experiences you had in preschool, but I guess I have to stop now. Daddy and I are soo very proud of you and we love you and we can't wait to see how great you do in elementary school. Oh the places you'll go! [which also happened to be your graduation present from us :)]. We love you, our preschool graduate!!
The performance was great this year. They sang lots of new songs [Ms. Stephanie took over the music program this year, so the Christmas play was all new too]. Ryan's class counted and did their colors in Spanish; Ryan can easily count to five and is certainly fluent in his colors. He gets a big kick out of using Spanish colors even more than English. Abby was up there too singing and dancing. Although one of her bows came out and she spent a long time worried about that, it really distracted her :( She was super cute though and really into it. She was doing the motions and clapping. Her favorite song by far is the B-I-B-L-E, she screams that one!
After the younger classes finished, Abby and the siblings were able to come sit with their families and we watched the Fours graduate. It was cute. They put Ryan in a cap and gown and called out names and they walked across the stage and everything. We were supposed to wait until the end to clap and cheer, but of course when they said "Ryan Chase," Abs yelled "Ryan Chase!" Soo cute! She parroted a few other names, but none as loud as Ryan's. [sidenote, I think she knows every name in preschool. On the days she doesn't go to preschool and thus is with me in carline, she repeats the names as the teacher calls them out on the walkie talkie, "Ryan Chase, Ms. Jennifer, Ryan Chase."]. They took diplomas [rolled up papers] from the teachers, walked across stage, and then dropped them in a reuse basket, all theatrics I suppose :) They did keep their 2013 tassels, so that was fun to hang on Ryan's bulletin board.
After the graduation, we headed downstairs to the classrooms. Abby wasn't too big on going to her room, so she spent most of the time parting in Ryan's room. We had fun snacking and socializing and celebrating. Ryan and I also ventured down to say goodbye to Ms. Kathy and Ms. Marlene from last year.
It was a great day and it's crazy that it's here and gone already. Ryan did wonderful of course and I did better than I thought I would. There were several times I almost lost it, but I held it in and I never did cry. I was talking to another mom about it and we decided there really was never a good time to cry. Even during the slideshow and the graduation, it wasn't like there was sappy music or anything. The day was upbeat and kept moving along quickly. And of course we went straight from there home to pack like manics for Destin, no time to dwell!
Ryan, I am so proud of you!! We started you in preschool in the spring of 2010 in Ms. Stephanie and Ms. Vickie's babies class because your speech therapy basically told us we had too. Unfortunately, between Abby's birth and CHOA stay you missed a lot of school and I don't really remember much of that short year :) You could barely talk and I'd be excited if you said "ball" or "cars" when I asked you how your day was. In the twos class, you had Ms. Shannon and Ms. Erica. We love Ms. Shannon of course and Ms. Erica was great with you; she used to pluck you crying from the car every morning. You really liked her. You always spoke of Caden during these times and thought he was the coolest kid ever. You still didn't talk much, but you learned your ABC's and your numbers. And when you started the threes, you and Hudson were the only ones who could write your name. Ms. Kathy and Ms. Marlene were awesome. You still cried a little at dropoff, but you did great as soon as you were out of the car. Your best buds this year were Hudson and Brooks, although unfortunately they both left for traditional pre-k. By the fours class, you were confident and in charge and jumping out of the car, eager to show Abby the ropes. Ms. Jennifer [Eli's Mommy] and Ms. Cindy were amazing teachers. You have learned so much this year, from your full name to your address to both our phone numbers. You are quite literally a sponge and you love to learn. But I suppose most important to the original goals, we have seen you blossom socially and speech-ally [not sure what word I want here!]. You talk non-stop, you have a memory far better than mine, you love to be organized, and you keep a wall calendar and wear a watch. This year John was in your class for the third year in a row, but your best buds were Eben and Asher. Ms. Cindy referred to you guys as the Three Amigos. They both also go to Watermarke, although you didn't know that when you glued on to Eben the very first day. Mommy's grateful though, since their mommies and I are becoming fast friends too. We tried to keep in touch with Brooks's family after last year, but we just didn't have enough in common. I am excited for you to continue a friendship with Asher and Eben, despite the different elementary schools. Out of a class of twelve, only you and Claire are going to Avery. And Eli too, although he couldn't be in your class this year since his mommy was your teacher!
Anyways, seeing as you and Abby are both awake now and wrestling on the bed next to me, it's time to wrap up this crazy long post. I could go on forever about how awesome you are and the wonderful experiences you had in preschool, but I guess I have to stop now. Daddy and I are soo very proud of you and we love you and we can't wait to see how great you do in elementary school. Oh the places you'll go! [which also happened to be your graduation present from us :)]. We love you, our preschool graduate!!
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| The Big Two on the last day Ryan's class wore yellow and Abby's green :) |
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| our awesome little man! |
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| Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Cindy's graduating class of 2013 |
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| Asher, Eben, and Ryan, bestest preschool buddies |
Monday, May 13, 2013
spring soccer
It's the end of the year! Wow! My baby is about to graduate preschool, how did that happen?? We've been busy wrapping everything up. End of the season soccer party, teacher gifts, upcoming class performances. Lots of fun and good times going on here. And then to top it all off, we are leaving for Destin Thursday afternoon, hooray!
Ryan and Coach Daddy have had a great soccer season. Unfortunately it's also been a very rainy one. I think we were up to three rainouts. Two games were rescheduled, but we're missing next week's makeup due to already made Destin plans. We love soccer, but we love the beach even more :) We had seven kids this season, including Glenwood from past seasons and Seth from preschool. I really felt like the team fit together very well and us parents all got along really well on the sidelines. Ryan would keep track of the games and tell me how many days until he could play soccer again. And near the end of the season, he asked more thean once if he could pray for no rain! He was very energetic and confident and happy to play. He scored several goals and ran and ran and ran around that field.
Ryan and Coach Daddy have had a great soccer season. Unfortunately it's also been a very rainy one. I think we were up to three rainouts. Two games were rescheduled, but we're missing next week's makeup due to already made Destin plans. We love soccer, but we love the beach even more :) We had seven kids this season, including Glenwood from past seasons and Seth from preschool. I really felt like the team fit together very well and us parents all got along really well on the sidelines. Ryan would keep track of the games and tell me how many days until he could play soccer again. And near the end of the season, he asked more thean once if he could pray for no rain! He was very energetic and confident and happy to play. He scored several goals and ran and ran and ran around that field.
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Sunday, May 12, 2013
tidbits of Abby
**Abby has been practicing her spelling. "h-a-y" spells everything. It started correctly, "h-a-y spells hay." But recently "h-a-y" spells just about anything. "I know how to spell ----! h-a-y!" Except yesterday that is, when we were driving in the car and she was spelling with randomly shouted out numbers.
**Everything happened "last night" in Abby's world. I think I remember Ryan going through this stage, but I don't remember it being this extreme. Anything and everything that has already happened, happened "last night."
**Follow up: Abby spelled her name for us last night : "Abby, h-a-y, Abby." And earlier today, Ryan asked me how to spell of. I told him and Abby repeated: "of, o-h-a-y-f, of." It's silliness around here!
**Another follow up: For whatever reason, Ryan pointed out CVS to Abby as we drove by recently. Abby: "I know how to spell CVS:: h-a-y-C-V-S!!" [getting louder and louder until she's yelling the end].
**Everything happened "last night" in Abby's world. I think I remember Ryan going through this stage, but I don't remember it being this extreme. Anything and everything that has already happened, happened "last night."
**Follow up: Abby spelled her name for us last night : "Abby, h-a-y, Abby." And earlier today, Ryan asked me how to spell of. I told him and Abby repeated: "of, o-h-a-y-f, of." It's silliness around here!
**Another follow up: For whatever reason, Ryan pointed out CVS to Abby as we drove by recently. Abby: "I know how to spell CVS:: h-a-y-C-V-S!!" [getting louder and louder until she's yelling the end].
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