Santa 2013

This year, our only chance to see Santa was at the neighborhood Cocoa with Santa. It was a pretty cold day but we braved the cold and line to see him.  The kids we very excited to see him.

They each took a turn sitting on his lap and telling him want they wanted for Christmas.

Evan said he wanted the golden ninjago legos.

Caitlin told him she wanted gymnastic clothes and Princess Sophia and gloves.

Ryan wasn't quite sure who this guy was...

But he liked getting a candy cane!

And then I got 2 pictures of all 3 of them that were pretty good. Overall, it was fun and I think this is the first year the older two kids really wanted to see Santa and talk to him. Christmas is getting to be such a fun time at these ages!

Thanksgiving 2013

I went ahead and did Ryan's 9 month update, but I wanted to at least blog a little about out Thanksgiving. This year, it was just our family and the Matz' in town for the Holiday so we decided to head downtown to do the Turkey Trot in the morning.It was a pretty cold morning but the sun was out and the kids were very excited.

First up was the Kids K.  This year we let Evan run it by himself and Caitlin ran with Daddy.  Evan did a great job but we lost him for a few minutes in the chaos at the end of the race. Fortunately, Uncle Casey found him!

Go Caitlin!

The two kids after their race

Quick family pictures before the adult races

What a great picture with the skyline! We are ready to run.

I did the 5 mile run which went very well.  Bryce and Evan did the mile run.  Evan actually ran almost all of it!  Baba, Casey, Caitlin, Chelsea, and Ryan did the mile walk. 

Caitlin all bundled up - it was pretty cold!

After the race, we all went home. got cleaned up, and watched the Lions.  I got the turkey in the oven and then we all relaxed (Matz' included) until dinner around 4pm.  What a great Thanksgiving!

Here are our 4 turkeys on Thanksgiving!

Ryan Turns 9 Months

My sweet boy turned 9 momths about 2 weeks ago.  We did have a well check so here are his stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 12 oz (21%)

Height: 28 inches (40%)

Head CM: 17.5 cm (25%)

As of 9 months, he was still rolling everywhere without showing any interest in crawling. (However since then, he now has mastered army crawling and is working on crawling on all 4s and pulling up on things!). He was very mobile and could get to almost anything he had his eye on so I don't think he felt the need to crawl! He also learned how to go to sitting all by himself  from his belly (one morning that's how I found him in his crib).

He is eating all kinds of fruits and vegetables and so far hasn't found one he doesn't like. We will start him on some meat and chunkier foods now to see how he does.  He LOVES those puffs. He is constantly smacking his lips and "chewing".  He is still exclusively breastfed which is a big accomplishment for me... first of my kids to make it this far!

Ryan is still taking a long afternoon nap of about 2-2.5 hours.  If we are home, he tends to take an hour morning nap but most of the time, he catches cat naps in the car.  At night, we have been struggling a little bit. He has been teething a lot (got his upper left tooth on Thanksgiving) and has had a horrible cold.  Turns out he had an ear infection at our well check too.  Thankfully, the cold seems to have passed although it lasted for 2-3 weeks.  

I couldn't resist snapping a few extra pictures during our little photo shoot (which is becoming harder and harder as he just wants to grab and eat the sign).  Everything finds its way into his mouth so we have to be especially careful with the older kids toys.  It's a constant battle... he seems to have a big affinity for their shoes as a chew toy.  I am often reminding the kids to keep their shoes in their lockers.

(One of the few pictures of me!)

Overall though, he is doing great and right on with his milestones. We enjoy watching him grow and learn.  We love him so much!

Evan at 9 months:

Caitlin at 9 months:

Ryan Turns 8 Months!

Ryan turned 8 months a few weeks ago.  It's going by so fast.  No doctor's appointment this month so I don't have any stats updates.  If I had to guess, I'd say he was around 18.5 lbs, 27 inches.  

He is still a rolly poly.  He moves pretty quickly for just rolling everywhere. He shows zero interest in crawling. When I put him onto his knees, he immediately goes down to his belly or rolls to his back.  I'm thinking he might be one of those kids who just skips crawling since he is so efficient at moving by just rolling.  

He is eating all sorts of foods now. We introduced fruits this month and will give him a fruit/cereal mix around lunch time and then a vegetable in the evening. Next month we will start meat and more texture. We've given him puffs which he now LOVES.  He can't get enough of them. Luckily, he is still on breastmilk only!  I'm so thankful to still be able to nurse at this point. Hopefully we can make it to a year without having to use formula.

Ryan takes usually just one nap a day because the mornings are spent doing activities or errands. If we are home, he'll take usually an hour nap.  But during the afternoon, he pretty consistently will nap from 1:30-3:30pm.  At night, he is usually tired around 7:30pm.  He wakes up for some reason around 6am and will kind of talk/coo for awhile before falling back asleep for another hour or so.

Ryan loves his siblings.  I think he is especially infatuated with Evan who can always make him laugh. He likes Caitlin to sing to him.  We all love him very much and love watching him learn and grow.

Comparison photos... is he resembling anyone more you think?

Happy Halloween!

Halloween finally arrived and the kids were so excited to go trick or treating this year.  Baba, Casey, and Chelsea came over to go with us as did Michelle, Brett, and Ali! It was a great family event.

We of course took some photos before we left for trick or treating.

Evan, Ryan, Chelsea as Dorothy which was Caitlin's baby costume, and Caitlin

Chelsea then changed into her strawberry costume to match Strawberry Shortcake!

The 3 mommas and babies! (Ali is dressed as Brett - it was so cute if you saw them together).

It's always more fun to trick or treat with friends so we waited for the Isaacsons to come over and join us!

Caitlin and Ellie really had a blast this year

The babies enjoyed just riding in the wagon.

The group of us on our halloween adventure - the weather was just perfect for it. Probably the best we have ever had.

Stopped to get a picture of all the kids - they really didn't want to stop though... they wanted to get more candy!

The three ninjas - Evan, Alex, and Dane!

Evan ran into Madison (his friend from class who lives down the street)

And here's what the adults did!  We left a few adults at the house to hand out candy while we took the kids on round1.  Then, we came back and swapped so the other adults could go for awhile with the kids. It worked out pretty well.  I think it should become a Halloween tradition to have the whole family trick or treat together... I guess at least until the kids get older and want to go with their friends more. Next year Halloween is on a Friday - maybe Mema, Papa, and Oma should come to enjoy all the Halloween festivities... what do you think?!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party at Caitlin's preschool

I was able to go to Caitlin's school for their Halloween party and help out. It's always fun to see all the costumes and meet the kids and parents.

My strawberry shortcake

Icing their cookies

Looks like a good cookie

Playing one of the many games - I think this was an eyeball relay race.

Pass the pumpkin

Her entire class!! What a great party.

Trick or Treat?

Our first Halloween adventure this year was the Trunk N Treat at the kids preschool.  I took some pictures before we left of the kids. Evan was a red ninja (specifically Kai from Lego Ninjago). Caitlin was Strawberry Shortcake, and Ryan went as Nemo (Evan's costume from when he was a baby).

Isn't he the cutest Nemo ever! Look, I found him!

The neighbors came over while I was doing my little photo shoot and wanted to be in some  pictures.

Caitlin and Ryan

Evan and Ryan

My three cuties.

A few pictures from the Trunk N Treat too...

Getting Candy from Chewy's (like Chuy's the restaurant)

Duck Dynasty was a popular theme this year!

Caitlin and her friend Brinley from school

Ryan and Daddy on the hay ride

The next day, we carved our pumpkins. Although Bryce and I still do a lot of the work, the kids enjoyed picking out their designs and helping a little.