Dads and Donuts

This morning, Ryan's school had Dads & Donuts.  We've been joking all week that Daddy & Ryan should bring their own donuts because they won't have enough for them to consume.  These two boys can put down some donut holes! 

Doing a fun craft with Daddy

In this picture Ryan looks a little sad.  Not sure where he got the idea that Daddy and Donuts was an all day event.  He was very sad to see Daddy leave but after a big hug and kiss he went and played with his buddies, Asher and Tyler

It's neat to see pictures from Dads and Donuts in 2012 . . .

Dads and Donuts 2012

Flying A Kite

It's been so windy here in Dallas!  The kind of wind where it blows so hard that it almost knocks you off your feet.  Bobby took the kids to the park and attempted to fly their first kite.  He told me it was almost too windy because the kite kept nose diving to the ground.  But, Ryan had the special touch and was able to keep it going for awhile.  You don't see Emma Kate in any of the photos because she got bored and walked over to the park. . . .miss independent!

Emma Kate

This girl makes her Mommy and Daddy's heart go pitter patter.  Sweet Girl!

To Nap or No Nap!

I have always been a bit of a bragger when it comes to Ryan's naps.  I've heard from countless other moms that their kids stopped napping at age 2 or 3.  Ryan is now 3.5 years old and for awhile he was still going strong with his afternoon nap (2 hours long normally).  Well put on the brakes, as of last month he has decided that a nap is not in the cards for him anymore.   Poor baby fights it everyday and some days he successful and doesn't take a nap but poor Mom and Dad have to deal with an unpleasant child that evening.  Or, we've been finding on a lot of days he just conks out - in the car, on the couch, etc. around 5pm. 

Either way, we try and encourage him to have 1-hour of "quiet time" in the afternoon. 

I guess I can't brag anymore. . .

We Love You Too!

Ryan brought home from school a special present for us for Valentine's Day.  What a sweet little boy!

A Hint of Warm Weather & Family Time

 Ryan and I were in the car going to the gym one afternoon not too long ago.  He says "Mommy, I am ready for it to be hot outside, I miss splash parks and swimming".  Me too son!  Me too! We are all ready for the warmer weather. . .

So, thankfully the last few weekends we've had a taste of warmer weather.  And of course, we jump to the opportunity to spend the time outside as a family.

Here we are feeding the ducks behind our library.



Um Emma, stop eating the bread.



One thing I love about living in Plano is we have a ton of parks to choose from.  We've been known to just drive around and visit parks that we happen to pass by.  Here is one in Allen that had a cool waterfall.



Ryan loves playing over at Uncle Brent and Aunt Brandi's house - they were dog sitting and this particular dog clearly was digging Ryan.

We've spent lots of time with family too - dinners at Nanny and Pops house. 



We also recently had the chance to see cousin Brooklyn cheer . . .



Feeling blessed for sure!!!

Uncle Craig & Bryce visit!

We had somewhat of a family reunion when my Uncle Craig and cousin Bryce (we missed you Aunt Pam & Eric!) came into town.  We don't get to see them very often and of course it gives us a good reason to all get together.  I love catching up with my aunts, uncles and cousins and Ryan loves running around and playing with his cherished cousins.  We have a fun family for sure!

Here is the Cooper gang. . . check out Ryan in the middle trying to come up with his escape plan.

Ryan mastered escaping from the next photo.. . . hmm, where can he be?  Well, I'll give you a hint - you can see his white socks but that's about it!



(l to r) Bryce, Dad, Uncle Craig, Ken, Mom and Kristen

My cousin John, Mom, Emma Kate and me

My cousin Grant and Bobby

Ryan playing wii with his cousins

A house full of people can be a little daunting for this little girl.  She preferred mom and dad's arms for the 1st hour and then settled in and started to explore . .



I look forward to our next get-together!

Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day!  Ryan has been learning shapes and colors in school and they are learning hearts and the color red this month in February.  Ryan really got into Valentine's Day this year -- we made heart shaped sandwiches and mailed out Valentine's Day cards to his grandparents.

The kids were excited to get their Valentine's Day outfits from Ma-Ma and Paw-Paw Weilbacher - how cute are they?!? 

This morning, we gave both kids a small bag of goodies to open.  Emma was excited to get her very first tiara!  I went to the bathroom and got a mirror to show Emma - she looked at her reflection with a smile on her face for a long time.  I think we have a lil' princess on our hands!



This year for Ryan's valentine's, I went on Pinterest to get ideas.  Umm, bad mistake!  Wow, there are some cute ideas out there.  I needed to find something a) quick and easy and b) something that Ryan would enjoy putting together.  Well, I mastered "a" but unfortunately couldn't rally Ryan enough to help out. He just kept eating the cookies and candies.  Oh well. . .

For the record. . .

For the record, we won't be cutting this one's hair!  It's too cute!

Ryan Haircut

Every 6 months or so, it's time for Ryan to get a haircut.  I am one of those moms that loves it moppy on top, a little long, but not too long.  Ryan's hair is board straight so when it gets long his bangs hang in his eyes and the back turns into a bit of a mullet. 

After getting detailed instructions on what to tell the lady who cuts his hair, Bobby and Ryan head up to Cool Cuts.  And here we go again. . .they chop off his hair! 

Before pictures. . . see the hair in his eyes and are covering his ears.

"Ahhh!  They are cutting off all my hair!  My mom sure isn't going to be very happy" 



The haircut isn't too bad but I am on the mission to get this kid just a little trim next time instead of getting it all cut off!