Indoor Safari Park

Mommy took a much-needed day off from work on Friday. Ryan and I went to the park and met up with some other mommy and kids early this morning. Then, we met Brooklyn and Nanny at a cool place called Indoor Safari Park. We came home around lunch time and had a great time swimming in his kiddie pool. We both had a nice long nap. Woke up and went to Stonebriar Mall to have dinner and play. Phew - This pregnant mom is just exhausted but we sure had a good time!!!

Here some pictures of Ryan playing at Indoor Safari Park. Note to self: We will return once the school season starts....much too crazy during the Summer months!

Ryan loved the ball pit!



Riding the train with Brooklyn



This was his favorite activity by far - anyone up for a friendly game of putt-putt?

Ryan also liked playing at the activity tables - cars, trucks and trains GALORE!

>There was a specific area for toddlers from ages 2.5 years and younger. Just a few more months and we won't be able to join - crazy to think!

Ryan's Personal Cooking Style

Ryan has a new cooking style he wanted to share with everyone. Thinking it's just a matter of time before he starts doing this in our REAL kitchen!

Ryan being Ryan!

Ryan constantly entertains us with his fun personality. He is always doing something that generates laughter in our house. . . . here are a few recent examples of "RYAN BEING RYAN"!

Ryan "casually" eating his breakfast. Nice foot on the table buddy!



Ryan wearing his Daddy's boots




Check out my new hat!

It's a Girl!

Well, it's a official -- we are having a girl! We had a good idea that it was a girl due to some tests that we had in the beginning of my pregnancy. Before I rushed to buy "pink" stuff, I wanted to make sure it was a definite. And it is!

We are very excited to add a little girl to the family. What a blessing!

Snip Snip

Bobby and I have an ongoing friendly debate on how long to keep Ryan's hair. Mom's thinking is to leave it a little long while he can still get away with it without looking like a punk kid. Bobby wants it really short -- like his own hair.

Bobby won the debate this time but I must admit he sure looks cute with short spiky hair!

I am always amazed on how well behaved Ryan is when getting his hair cut. Lets be honest here, I don't think it hurts having cartoons playing in front of him and the fact that he gets to sit in a really cool sports car .. . . . .









All done! Lolipop and one cute kid!

Pop Ice!

Pop Ices were a fan favorite in our household growing up. Dad especially loved them and still does! I saw them at Kroger this weekend and immediately thought of Ryan.

In theory it was a good idea -- I mean who doesn't like a cold Popsicle when it's over 100 degrees outside? I guess I forgot it can be tricky for little fingers to POP the ICE. So, I had to continually push the ice to the top where Ryan could eat it.

Potty Training . . .Continues

Well, as always, Mommy spoke a little too soon. The potty is now getting played with more than it is actually getting used. We had a good laugh when we found the potty in Ryan's new shopping cart. The potty is constantly being moved throughout the house by "you know who" - some days we find it in the living room and other days it's found in the kitchen. We are looking on the bright side of things -- Ryan sure loves his new potty!

Potty!

Over the last week, Ryan has been showing interest in going the bathroom in the BIG potty. With encouragement from our Pediatrician, we went and bought Ryan a little potty over the weekend. Well last night, I asked him if he wanted to go potty and he went straight to the bathroom, sat down and went pee! That simple!

I just about fell over in shock! Of course, Bobby and I made sure Ryan knew that he just did something very special. We showered him in praise and let him help us empty his potty.

Cross your fingers this is the start of a very "short" process to get this kiddo potty trained! What a big boy!

Play, Swim & Fireworks!

What better way to spend the 4th of July weekend then playing, swimming and watching fireworks!

As you can see, we've made the most of our new play set. Ryan loves to swing and play in the house.



On Saturday, Ryan enjoyed hanging out in the pool with Lauren. Not sure if I can say the same about Lauren - poor girl was being splashed constantly by Ryan trying to either go down the slide or belly flop in the pool.



We were invited to go swimming and watch fireworks over at our friends Michael and Megan's house. Ryan loved playing with all their squirt guns!




Megan and Michael's house is located on a golf course. So, the guys took Ryan on the greens to play some Frisbee and run around. You can barely see Ryan in this picture but I can tell you he was having a blast running around.



Love this picture! Ryan was a little unsure of what we were going to do next which is watch fireworks. . . .



Our group waiting for the fireworks to start. . .



Ryan relaxing with the guys - at this point it's around 9:15pm. Ryan usually goes to bed a 8pm. What a trooper!



Once the fireworks started, Ryan was in a trance-like state. He loved his first firework show!



We also spent some time in our neighborhood pool. We recently bought floaties for Ryan to wear. To our surprise, he can kick his feet very good and blow bubbles in the water. He has no fear of sticking his face in the water or jump off the side into the pool. Are we surprised?





We had a wonderful July 4th weekend - now back to work!

Playset Project

Who knew putting together a playset would take 3 full days and close to 30+ hours. Bobby recruited help from his Dad and Father-in-Law. There is no way he would have been able to do it without their help - thank you Grandpa and Pops!

Here is a before picture -



Bobby spent hours "preparing" for this project. He numbered each piece of wood to help easily identify what piece goes where.



He also labeled all of the hardware. . . .





The project officially began on Friday morning at 7:30am. This picture was taken 5 hours into the project - have I mentioned how many hours they spent on this thing?



End of the 1st day -



Here comes the roof. . . .



Ryan trying out the front door. . .



Um, guys, are you almost finished?





Ryan trying to help Daddy. Daddy getting annoyed with Mommy for taking pictures.



Swing portion is built! Now, it's on to the slide. . .



The slide took almost 4 hours to install!



I love my new playset - thank you everyone who helped put it together!

Ryan's 2-Year Stats!

Ryan had his 2-year appointment today! Bare with me, I have to brag for just a minute. Ryan, as always, has no problems going to the Dr's office and today it was no different. He lets Dr. Newton exam him without a fuss. He even got a shot in his leg and barely flinched - not one tear shed. What a big boy. . . now, check out these stats!

Weight: 28lbs (50 %)
Height: 35 in (75% - 90%)
Head: 19 in. (75% - 90%)