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.