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.

Catching up...

And we still can't get through a day without Ryan talking about his friend Chuck (E. Cheese, that is), bowling, and golfing. Even Tyler was a little mystified with the big cute rat, uh, I mean, mouse. We went bowling twice and daddy took Ryan to the driving range twice over our vacation. Since we only went to the zoo once, Ryan is begging for another trip. I guess he thinks we are supposed to do something special every day. oops...he's a little spoiled.

Get set, Grow!

Tyler is on the move. He has really changed alot over a few short weeks. Before our two week vacation, Tyler was barely crawling army style. Now he is trying the perfect his baby sprint for this summer's olympics;) He loves to race the cat. We have been practicing eating solid foods. His faces and refusals are hilarious. Last night, Granna made some fabulous mashers and Tyler gobbled them up. He also sucked the life out of a graham cracker. Most importantly :) he is starting to say mamamamama!!! So many changes. We've had a couple of sleep through the nights, but he is starting to fight his night night routine. Like waking up from a sound sleep when mom or dad try to put him in his crib. Oh well, they're not babies for long.

Jimmy is home sick with the flu. We saw him for 5 minutes last night and he couldn't keep his head up. Ryan is really concerned about his daddy but he thinks daddy will be feeling better today after school. Thankfully, Ryan has been a real champ this week while we're getting back into the grove of school/work. We read a couple of stories in bed and then its sleep time. He is even staying in his bed while I am attending to Tyler's refusal to stay asleep. I am proud of Ryan's "cooperation." This is our signal word that I use all the time to let Ryan know that if he cooperates we can have lots of fun.

I have lots more to tell as I've been a bad blogger. I'll continue tomorrow. For now, check out this cutie.

A lot of work, a little fun.

We're nearing the end of our 2 week vacation. We have had some fun including a visit to the zoo and lots of water time and picnic lunches. Our monster deck has been keeping us occupied. It looks like it will be a month long (or longer) project, but it is looking nice. I had very good intentions of catching up with friends and family but the days went by too fast. Monday, we are back to work and Jim is back to 3rd shift. This means I'll be getting 3 ready at 5 a.m. I hope all goes well. I've got plenty more to share. Later.

Birthday Party Fun

Just a sample of fun from Chuck E. Cheese. Ryan was out-of-his-mind delighted. We had been promising a visit if Ryan would only Poopy in the Potty. When my brother called to say that Jacob's birthday party location was changed from a picnic scene to Chuck Es due to inclement weather, we knew we wouldn't miss the party even though Ryan hadn't done the deed. With 1 days notice, we encouraged Ryan to "squeeze out a big poopy" so we could go...and he did!! The next morning, he woke up remembering all the fun and walked right to the pooper to give it another try. (unsuccessful:( but a good effort) I'll post more later.