Blastball 2012

Ryland's Blastball team photo

As you can tell, they are a very serious team.  I love looking at the different expressions on each little guy.  It cracks me up.  It is amazing that this picture even exists, because it was a tough morning of herding these guys to one spot at the same time.

Our boy, Ryland, loves baseball.  He looks forward to every Saturday, so he can head to the ballpark.  He calls his teammates his baseball mans.  I am very happy that the experience has been awesome.  I will say that his grip needs a little work.  :)

A Full Day

 I woke up to the sounds of giggling.  I checked the baby monitor and noticed that Ryland wasn't in bed.  I switched over to Reed's room view and saw Ryland climb into Reed's crib. They laughed hysterically.  I grabbed the camera and ran upstairs to catch them. 

After church, Ryland and I worked on a craft project.  Nothing like a little painting on a Sunday afternoon.

We headed outside to work in the back flower bed after naps.  John Chris and I worked for a few hours while the boys played in our mess.  They had a ton of fun and were worn out.  Reed was so tired that he fell asleep while swinging. 

Ryland helped gently push Reed.  They are going to sleep great tonight!

Happy Meal

I am not sure what it is about the golden arches, but Happy Meals sure seem to make my boys happy. Reed man handled his cheeseburger, and Ryland was bribed to eat his nuggets with the toy.  I was shocked by the happy silence as they were digging in.  I know it isn't the most nutritious of choices, but it sure makes a nice treat!

Peytra's birthday party

Ryland had a blast at Peytra's party.  It was circus themed, and these the guys loved the animal masks.  Trent, Ryland, and Colton ran all over the back yard popping bubbles and jumping in the bounce house.  It was a great afternoon of popcorn, pizza, and good times!

School pictures

 Reed was a professional model for his school pictures, or so I was told.  Apparently the child walked over and took a seat with a big grin on his face.  The photographer took a few shots while he worked his magic.

 Ryland wasn't so silly, and I am so proud of him!  His class had to reschedule their picture day, so we talked a ton about smiling for the camera.  He usually makes this silly grin for pictures, and I all but threatened him if he didn't smile normal.  He did a great job and looked so handsome.

Fun every day

Ryland played with the new sand and water toy for hours today.  He had so much fun driving the boats around and loading the sand cargo with the crane.  He sat right outside the back door and was so content to play alone.  It is hard to believe he now entertains himself.

Reed is the opposite right now.  He loves to be entertained.  He is really into talking on the phone.  He holds it up to his ear and starts screaming.  As soon as he gets the screaming part of the conversation out of the way, he starts moving his mouth without making a sound.  He then screams "bye bye" and hands me the phone.  It is pretty hilarious.

Slip'n slide

We brought out the slip'n slide today since the pool is still a little cold to enjoy. 

Ryland had a blast!

Reed was pretty apprehensive.  He would walk around, but he wasn't going to fall down on the slip'n slide.  He splashed in the puddle at the end and laughed.

Our favorite moment of the day was watching the boys ride on the big wheel together.

Swim lessons

Ryland started swimming lessons at the gym today.  He did wonderful!  He was a little hesitant at first, but he quickly warmed up to his teacher, Miss Britney.  He had a great time and was talking about next week's class as we were leaving.

Harker's birthday party

Ryland's best buddy, Harker, had her 3rd birthday party today.  Ryland couldn't wait.  He was so excited to pick out her present, and he even helped me wrap it.  Even though plastic snakes, box of bugs, press on nails, and nail polish is a pretty random gift, I was told that she loved it. 

The party was all about gymnastics!  Ryland and Harker ran around with each other like always.

The huge trampolines were a major hit!

What kids don't love a parachute?  They all went nuts the moment it came out.

While the big kids play, Reed also had some fun.  He was completely smitten with Peytra.  They were so entertaining to watch while they flirted with each other.

We all had a great time celebrating Harker.  She is a fun, bright, and active little girl that we just love to pieces!

Blastball party

We had an awesome Saturday of Blastball fun.  Ryland had a great time hitting the ball and running around the bases.  He even got the game ball!  He was so excited.  The team came over for hamburgers and hot dogs.  I am not really sure what happened, but before I knew it I noticed all the summer pool toys had appeared.  A few minutes later, all the toys ended up in our pool.  Everyone had a blast, and we can't wait to do it again soon.

Mowing the yard

The final preparation before the party tomorrow was to mow the yard.  Reed was following John Chris around in the yard like he was chasing him or the mower.  My husband was so sweet to lift Reed up for a shoulder ride while still mowing the yard.



Worn out

What is sure to wear out two kids in under an hour?  Sam's on a Friday afternoon, and the hum of my truck on the way home! I pulled in the garage to find my sleeping angels.  I just couldn't bring myself to wake them up.  I quietly unloaded all the party supplies.  They have such a hard life.

Enjoying a good book

Daddy snapped a picture of me enjoying a good book with the boys.  Reed was all about cuddling and even fell asleep.  Ryland wanted to read his "Things That Go" book.  I happily agreed even though I can almost recite the book unseen.  I love these sweet little moments!

Reed the biter

Terrible!  We started the morning at MOPS, where Reed was kicked out of the church nursery due to biting.  He dug into a fellow MOPPET.  The employees stuck to the strict policy of not telling me who he bit, and that he was out for the next two weeks.  I feel terrible for the little one he chewed on.  I even told the nursery ladies to keep an eye on him, and they assured me they would.  I don't know what I could have done to prevent it.

We headed to the gym for my massive calorie burn session.  I love getting my rear kicked every Wednesday, and the high of burning 701 calories in an hour is wonderful.  I don't miss Zumba!  I was in my peak range when I was called out of class for...you guessed it.  Reed bit someone in childcare.  I was able to see the terrible bite and apologize to the mother. 

I am at a complete loss.  I don't know how to stop this, but I have to figure it out.  Soon!

More child proofing

There were only a few cabinets that still remained not on complete lock down.  The new bathroom downstairs was one of the last few.  I was hoping to not drill into this new vanity, but my boys had a different plan.  I am not sure what the attraction was today, but I was ready to lock it up!  The boys had one more chance to climb in before I ruined the fun.

Timeout together?

The boys started fighting over the fish that the Easter bunny brought them just this morning. Ryland thought it would be funny to chunk the fish at Reed's head. I asked him to stop twice, but he continued to laugh hysterically and pelt Reed. I took away the fish, and I put Ryland in timeout. His laughter quickly faded to tears. Reed picked up the fish and joined his brother. He handed Ryland his fish, and Reed sat down beside Ryland.
When I asked Reed what he was doing in timeout? He burst with laughter. He thought it was hilarious. Ryland's tears dried quickly, and the boys went back to having fun.

Happy Easter

The Easter bunny visited the boys and left lots of goodies.

He left a trail of jelly beans from both boys' bedrooms down the stairs to the family room. It was hard to keep Cooper from nibbling them, so we held him back until the boys woke up. At first Ryland thought the bunny made a mess, but we explained that he put them out so they could find the baskets.
Ryland was thrilled to see a new coloring book about Firefighters!

Reed looked through his goodies, and then he started sneaking to Ryland's stash. He had his eye on the carrot golf club.

A quick smile while wearing the bunny mask, and it was time to get ready for church. We have been talking a lot about Easter, but Ryland doesn't get that Jesus grew up. He still refers to him as Baby Jesus. We have a great board book that is age appropriate, and we have been reading it in hopes of it clicking one day. We attended the N'awlins Gumbo Kings service, and Ryland was excited to come to big church with mommy and daddy. Reed made it for about 15 minutes before heading to the nursery.

After church and a late lunch at MiCocina, we came home for short naps before hunting eggs. The silly Easter bunny hid some eggs low and some high. We think he was trying to allow both boys to find eggs.

The butterflies were beautiful today. There were about 5 or 6 that were all over one of our bushes in the backyard.

Reed found two eggs.

The eggs were crushed, but that didn't stop the fun. Go get them, Reed.

Since we had a good bit of rain Easter morning, the eggs were suffering. The dye was getting pretty messy. The bright color was rubbing off everywhere.

Ryland was once again covered in dye and this time he was over it! The egg hunt is a wrap.

Egg dying

In preparation for an egg hunt tomorrow, we died eggs tonight before bed. I made sure to pick up multiple packs of dye, so we wouldn't have a repeat of last year's issue. (The package I bought last year was missing the dye packets.) Since the boxes contained the dye this year, I thought it would be cool to double up to create bright eggs. Reed lost interest after the first round of eggs came out, so he headed to bed. Ryland, on the other hand, was very intrigued by the project. We had a great time playing with the colors and creating some super cool eggs.

It was all good until...the very last egg. It was hanging out in the blue dye, when Ryland started digging around in the cup. We asked him to give it a little bit longer, but he didn't stop. In a blink of an eye, the egg and entire cup of blue dye was everywhere. The kitchen cabinets were splattered, and the island drawers were full of blue liquid. My sweet Ryland knew he had messed up. There he stood covered in blue dye with tears in his eyes. I wanted to grab the camera, but I just couldn't. John Chris and I jumped right into clean up mess. Great idea to double up on the dye!

Hannah's birthday party

One of our friends in play group, Hannah, had her third birthday party today at Gymboree. Ryland and I were excited to go play. The kiddos had a blast playing, climbing, and dancing.
The parachute and bubbles are always the best. Gosh, this really made me realize how big he is. We haven't been to Gymboree in so long. I remember bringing him when he couldn't even walk, and now he is running all over the place. Time flies when you're having fun!

Ryland & Harker

Ryland's best buddy, Harker, wanted to take him to dinner to celebrate her birthday. Ryland was really excited, and he even agreed to wear his fancy shirt. We talked about it all day, and it was finally time to head to Harker's house. Ryland had a pretty flower to give her, and he couldn't stop talking about it.
Harker's mommy and daddy were pretty brave to take on their two girls and Ryland. They had dinner at Rainforest Cafe and took a picture with the Easter bunny. John Chris and I picked Ryland up later that evening at Harker's house. He went on and on about how much fun they had. Ryland also had 2 rubber snakes and lots of stories about all the animals at Rainforest Cafe. He had a blast!

Funny faces

What is the best way to end dinner time? A bit of funny faces.

Mommy and Daddy
Reed's turn

And finally it's Ryland. Everyone leaves the table with a big smile and laughing. I love it!