Fun times

The boys continued the fun trip to Texarkana.  They played with Nanna and Papaw, and they got to hang out with their favorite cousin, Baby Ally.  I heard that these three were a complete handful.

 

 

A fun project for one day was planting strawberries.  A cute project that was interrupted because the boys wanted to actually wear the boots.  They saved the boots from becoming a permanent planter with holes and dirt inside.  Their cute creations came with instructions to re-plant the strawberries very soon, so they could where the new rain boots.

 

 

The boys played outside and enjoyed their new summer tank tops.

 

 

They had a great time playing at the park.  I also heard a story about feeding the ducks.  Ryland said that they were feeding bread to a few ducks in the water, when all of a sudden a million birds came over for a snack.  He said it was really fun.  Check out all of the geese.

 

 

 

Taking a ride with Papaw.

 

They modeled their new Harley shirts, which they LOVE.

 

 

Chia Pets

Nanna and Papaw sent the boys Chia Pets for Easter.  Ryland and Reed were a little confused when I opened the boxes, because they expected the pet to look like the picture on the box.  Instead, the pets were "naked". 

The prep process for the pets was a little different than expected.  I had the boys all pumped up and ready to plant, and then I read the instructions.  The pet bodies had to soak for an hour, and the seed mixture had to gel for an hour.  Needless to say, the boys were pretty anxious.

Reed scooped the seed mixture right up without caring about how messy and slimy it was.  Ryland was a little grossed out at first, but he got over it.  After the seed mixture was smeared all over, we created a greenhouse out of plastic bags. 

 We hope there is sun tomorrow, so they will start growing.  We can't wait to see their plush, green coats.

 

Ryland's 2nd birthday party

Ryland woke up in a great mood, and he was ready to party. In the spirit of a fireman themed birthday party, Uncle Clint let Ryland wear his old helmet. He didn't want to put it on for a while, but then he warmed up to it. When he put it on, he turned into a bobble head. He could barely hold his head up. While Ryland was taking a nap, I decorated the house for the party.

The reaction was priceless. He pointed and said "balloons" with excitement. It made all my planning and running around totally worth it.

Lizzie and Aunt Emily spend time with Reed.

The cake was HOT!

Aunt Chanda and Ryland

Ryland got embarrassed when we started singing happy birthday.

Ryland loves birthday cake! Yummy! He really just eats the icing, but hey it is his party.

Jackson tries on the helmet.

Uncle Clint, Aunt Kristi, and Doodle cuddle on the sofa.

Ryland opened a super cool fishing kit complete with a vest.

A multiple animal call, just what every boy needs. This thing makes about 10 different animal noises.

Look at that face! He loves the wheelbarrow.

Nanna and Ryland

Ryland and Uncle Clint

What a cool turtle! Ryland loves his new sandbox. I can just imagine the hours of fun outside. I am so very happy we have a home with a backyard.

Ryland take a spin around the pool in his new boat. I could not believe that John Chris put him in when the water is so cold, but he was very careful to make sure he didn't get wet.

Leaving the hospital

After being in the hospital a couple days, we were all itching to go home. The doctors came in for our last checks and gave us the good news that we could be discharged.

I snapped a quick picture of Reed after he came back from his "boy procedure". You can't really see what finger he is holding up, but it is the middle one. We dressed Reed in one of his Daddy's old day gowns.

The Allison family is about to go home!

Nanna takes another look at Reed before saying good bye for a week. She helped out with Ryland while we were staying at the hospital, and she will be coming back to visit soon.

Reed gets buckled in his car seat with the help of his big brother.

Reed looks like a little pilgrim in his keepsake bonnet. The tradition is the bonnet will be given to his bride on their wedding day. The bonnet is made of a handkerchief with a blue tie. It can serve as something old and something blue. John Chris snapped this picture of me as I was being loaded in the the wheelchair. I was very ready to go home.

Silly visitors

Nanna and Ryland's great grandparents came to visit, and we had a great time hanging out and talking. Ryland joined in the pilgrim napkin hat fun. He just started saying Nanna, and my mom loved it.

Getting flowers

Nanna and Grandpa Jim are really excited about the new baby we are expecting. They surprised us with a floral bouquet and an adorable lion. I never get flowers, so I was shocked. We tried explaining to Ryland what the gift was for, but he now thinks the lion's name is Baby. He knows the sign for baby, so all we have to do is say baby and he starts rocking his arms and starts pointing at the lion.

Thanks!

Rain and bubbles - 2 favorite things

The weather has been really hot and dry for the past few weeks. We were pleased to see a brief rainstorm, and Ryland couldn't get enough of the sprinkle. He loved standing in the rain.

Ryland kept sticking his tongue out to catch the rain. He is silly!

Nanna came to spend the night with us and visit for a little while. She picked up this cool bubble gun for Ryland. After playing in the rain, he came inside to another one of his favorite things, bubbles.

We knew the bubbles inside would make a little mess for us to clean up, but how could we resist. Ryland thought it was the neatest thing. He just stood and watched the bubbles fall around him for a while, and then he started catching them. Simple joy.