Evening Entertainment!

I came home from a trip to see these crazy kids doing their own version of the limbo!  Ryan had Oliver's leash strung from one side of the stair railing to the other.  It was just about the same height as Ryan so he had fun running back and forth as it was hitting him in the head.  No need for TV in this house - our kids do just fine entertaining themselves! 

Emma Kate

Emma Kate turns 16 months old in just under a week!  My baby is no longer a baby!  I could write a novel on the latest happenings with Emma Kate --both "good" and "bad" (or should we say challenging) -- so much going on. . . .

Here is the "good" - we call her the energizer bunny.  We thought Ryan had extra energy - um, no, he has nothing on Emma Kate!    She is still loving her Tuesday classes at Gymboree.  She says Mama, Dada, "R" for Ryan, "Olie" for Oliver.  She loves to dance. . . the girl has mad rhythm and she sings in the car.  It annoys her brother to no end when she sings in the car - I keep telling him that it's better to get used to it now because I have a feeling she won't ever stop.

 She loves to go on walks when the weather is nice.  Here she is strollin' the neighborhood with Gracie.  She loves to walk up to doors of those houses on our block and act like she's about to knock and then she starts to run away.  She can do this for HOURS!  Cheap thrills!

Emma Kate eats everything. . . I mean everything!  There is nothing that she won't eat - I love it!  She's doing great feeding herself with a spoon.  Still working on mastering the fork.  This morning, she accidentally spilled her cereal milk in her lap so she was so excited to take a bath in the sink. . . .



And then there is the "challenging" side of Emma Kate -- this child is extremely willful.  She likes to do things when she wants to do them and don't even dare take anything from her.  Sigh!  She has been perfecting a temper tantrum.  The first couple of times she would sit down and throw her head back.  Well, she learned quickly that's not smart to do when your on the hardwood floor.  So now, she does it a little more gracefully and rolls around crying.  Mommy and Daddy have mastered ignoring her when she is having one of her fits but I'll tell you most of the time all we want to do is bust out laughing. 

Here is a video that we took of her last night having a cry because we gave her pineapple for a snack. . . I guess she wanted strawberries instead!  Oh Lordy me - give me strength!



Emma's 15-month Appt

This morning, I took Emma Kate to her 15-month appointment with her Pediatrician.  Here are the stats:

Weight: 21 lbs (58%)

Height: 31 in (65%)

Head: 17-18 (37%)

Girlfriend is still rockin' the good height!  Here is what her brother was sporting at his 15-month check up.

http://bobbyandallison.blogspot.com/2010/09/ryans-15-month-check-up.html

You'll notice in the picture above she has a good scrape on her nose -- FYI - she had a bad run-in with the sidewalk.  Sidewalk, obviously, won. .

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!

On your mark. . . Get set. . . GO!

Racing cars is a daily occurrence in our house.  The kids (especially Ryan!) love to race their cars down the hall, through the kitchen and end in the dining room.  Of course, Emma Kate gets a little help from Dad so she has a chance in winning. 

They felt the need to go topless for this race - does that make you go faster?!?

Mickey & Friends!

Ryan and I had a date night last month and saw Disney LIVE at the Allen Event Center.  The show included acts featuring Mickey and friends, Aladdin, Little Mermaid and (drum roll, please) TOY STORY!  If you don't know Ryan, I must say this child of mine sure loves anything Toy Story - his favorite character is Buzz Light - "to infinity and beyond"! 

The show was 1.5 hours and Buzz came on the last 15 minutes.  So, he patiently waited through the whole show to see his idol.  The first two pictures were taken at the beginning of the show when he is realizing it might take awhile to see Buzz - he isn't pleased but still enjoys the show nonetheless.

 Here comes Toy Story army men!

Woody, Jessie and Bullseye!

I didn't get a picture of Buzz, himself.  But, I did get a classic picture of Ryan watching him.  I love it!

Great way to end our date - PIZZA DINNER!