Say Cheese

Who can resist this smile. I was trying to get a shot of his upper teeth cutting through. Not quite, but still a cute picture.

Notice Life Today: Tyler's loving playing with balls, cars, and anything that will fill a container. He will already play catch with us even though it is difficult to control his aim. He especially likes to throw 2 beach balls at the same time and I am forever tripping over toys that are making their way into every nook and cranny. Under this, under that, and under my feet just like the cat.

See my muscles?

Here's Super Ryan's way of flexing his muscles. The cute part is really the sound effects. I think he zapped me with some spiderwebs in the process too. Anyway, he had a case of the sillies and i thought I would share a view.

Notice Life Today: I was just noticing the other day that Ryan doesn't have much baby fat left and he has hair on his legs. When did that show up? It just seemed strange that I didn't notice earlier.

80 candles and a million reasons to celebrate

We had a nice celebration this weekend for Great Grandpa Tucker's 80th Birthday Party. Always a pleasure spending time with family. The kids had fun playing while the adults got a chance to talk too;) Our sweetheart Ellen surprised Ms. Riley Kate with a 4th Birthday cake too. She even snuck one in for me too. What a doll. Mmmm. Cake is good.

Tyler's top 2 teeth have finally made an appearance. He was a little crankier than normal and now we know why. He's still a little sober acting. They look so big. It must be causing alot of soreness.

Notice Life Today: Tyler is really gaining his balance. He pulls himself up on everything. Especially if you leave a room and close a door. He stands there knocking for you. If you need back in, you have to be extra careful not to knock little guy over. Of course, if you're Ryan...you purposely knock him over and then grin. Stinker. (Stinker x 2)

Carnival Fun

So I broke Ryan's heart on Tuesday after we had promised him another trip to the fair. Tuesday morning Jim and I decided we would go for the rides on Thursday when we could spend more time at the fair and feel less rushed. Ryan had spent the whole day Tuesday telling Miss Char about what he was going to do at the fair that night. I can picture his disappointed face again as I write this blog. Sheer disappointment and sadness the entire 30-minute ride home.

Tonight we are fulfilling his wishes. We are headed back to the fair for unlimited rides. ( I just hope Tyler can enjoy it too as he will not be allowed to crawl around.) I'll let you know how it goes. For now, here is a picture of Jim and Ry on the carousel at Toledo zoo.

Notice Life Today: I'm just loving the last hour of the evening every night when Ryan is relaxed and wants to read books. He has several books memorized and reads them to me with passion and expression. It is so cute.

Speaking of cute, I just can't get over how cute it is when Tyler claps his hands. He gets so proud of himself too. Out-of-the-blue hand clapping just melts my heart.

Summer Slumber

Here's a cute little picture of sleepy head Tyler. We spend the day on Friday at Clark Lake Beach. ( Lunch from the Beach Bar, Ymmm.) It has been a while since we have gone and the shores are beautiful. So sandy, they remind me of the ocean. The boys were champs...swimming for hours until Tyler couldn't fight it any more. He took his nap on some towels at the park while we continued enjoying the day. We all really enjoyed it and it rates as one of my favorite days of the summer so far.

Notice Life Today: Tyler is really pulling himself up on everything. He loves to stand. He forgets that he still needs to hold on and gets startled when he figures out he is standing on his own. Of course, that makes him tumble to his bummy. He's also practicing stairs. Up is mastered. Down? Well, let's just say we're practicing to prevent him from falling. He is determined to go down head first so I yank him by his feet and he laughs. What a sweet sound.

Our Champion

We are proud to announce the Lake Somerset Annual Picnic 2008 Golf Champion Runner Up, Ryan "Tiger" Ladd! Ryan just couldn't wait for the chipping contest down at the park. We stood through the rain until we were completely drenched to witness the competition. Ryan went up against several boys up to 12 years of age to take home a 2nd place medal. He was awesome folks.

Feel my pain...Hear my delight!

For those of you who have ever gone through the dreaded potty training stages, you will understand how frustrating the endeavor can be. We patiently waited until Ryan's 3rd Bday to push the issue and with great fortune, he had success going pee pee on the potty. He has been such a champ and we have enjoyed witnessing his sprints to the potty followed by "Boy, that was a close one!" We have had a few chuckles by his enthusiastic willingness to whip it out in the front yard too. I have to admit my frustration by Ryan's constant constipation and unwillingness to poo on the pot. He does have some medical issues and has been given a prescription that helps him get loose. Very Loose.

I'm a little ashamed to admit my impatience last night after preparing a meal to a blaring television and 1 year old and countless warnings to a 3 year old to quit picking on his brother and "cooperate!". Two poopy pull ups in a row nearly did me in. I told Ryan that I was tired of smelling poopy and I was tired of changing his pants and told him he'd have to help himself. I also told him that we would be staying home until he is completely trained b/c I wasn't looking forward to poopy pants in public. At first, he testified that he wanted to stay home. That he didn't care about Chuck, Hunt Club, Baseball, Horse Tracks, Bowling, or Golfing!! Fine. A few minutes later, however, magic happened. Ryan said, "I'm ready to go to the potty."

Yeah.Yeah. HOOOORAY!

Three stories later we put our offended noses in the air and said bye bye poopy and hit the flusher. What a proud moment for everyone. I hope the magic continues....


Notice Life Today: We passed a wheat field freshly manicured with hay bales yesterday. Ryan asked me what it was. I told him they were hay bails and he says oh, you mean hay like what horsies and pigs eat. He's getting so smart and I'm not exactly sure where he learns these things. Just before bed he says "Good night Lucie!" He learns so much at daycare. I'm thankful.