First Time at the Beach

We took Ryan to the beach Memorial Day morning. In typical Ryan fashion, he didn't love it right away and was quite scared of the water. After a few minutes of observing, he started digging in the sand and had a blast doing that! He never got the courage to get in the water, but he eventually let Grammy carry him to the edge of the water to collect water in his sand pail. I think a few more times to the beach and he will be brave enough to at least let his feet get wet. It was a nice morning, and Lilly and I enjoyed most of the time lounging under an umbrella while Ella and Rob spent some time in the water. I think Lilly enjoyed the sound of the waves crashing on the shore as she was pretty calm the entire time. We could have done with out the huge crowd -next time we will be sure to go on a non-holiday. But for it being Ryan's first time at the beach, I would say it was a success and we look forward to going back!

Had to bring the portable fan so she would be comfortable.

Soccer Tots

We signed Ryan up for soccer tots this summer. It is an adorable little program for kids 18-26 months that teaches them basic soccer skills. Since Ryan has always been able to kick a ball well, we thought it would be a great way to spend our Sunday mornings. He loves the class, and especially loves that Daddy can go with him each week. Grammy also comes to watch and help occasionally. His friend Tessa is in his class, so they get to spend a little extra time together each week.

They look like they are in trouble, but this is their resting spot. It is called the Monkey House.

He is a really good kicker.

Tessa is about to kick the ball to Ryan.

Playing with the hoop. (daddy rolls it and he has to chase after it)

Kicking the cones over

How Lilly spent the morning.

Rolling the dice for the coach. One has a number and the other has an activity (hop, stomp, etc). They have to do the activity the amount of times the dice says.

Scoring goals!

Hi five! "Good game Tessa"

Grammy and the Kids

Evenings at our house

Days at our house are filled with fun times and lots of laughs. Here are just a few pictures from random evenings. Now that Auntie ("ti-ti") is here, it is even more fun for Ryan (and easier on mom and dad). No pictures of Lilly b/c she is either eating, sleeping, or crying in the evening.

I can't remember how he ended up like this. He is telling everyone that he is "two" (even though his birthday is 3 weeks away)

First popsicle. He liked it, but preferred to play with the plastic wrapper.

Many evening are spent outside. He likes to water our trees and flowers.

He is my little helper in the kitchen, so Grammy picked up this adorable apron, hat, and oven mitts while on vacation in California.

We had a couple of families over for a bbq. The kiddos sat at the little table that Ryan's Grandma and Grandpa Reckers bought for him. Aren't they adorable?

Lillian Smiling

Lillian started smiling weeks ago, but she doesn't do it very often. This afternoon I was lucky to capture a couple of pictures of her with a little grin. She has become quite particular in what she likes and doesn't like. For example, she likes to be held certain ways, and if you move her slightly, she screams. She likes to nurse in certain positions, and if I don't do it her way, she protests. She hates to have a wet diaper, she loves to be swaddled, not too keen on the pacifier, loves the rain forest bouncer, tolerates her swing, likes to stand while being held, hates to have her nails clipped, loves to stare at windows....

She is no longer our laid back and calm baby. She spends much of her awake time crying. I know it will pass in the next couple of months and we are looking forward to that! She isn't sleeping very well at night either. She wakes every 2-4 hours to eat. Occasionally she has gone 5 hours, but not enough for me to get excited. We are still enjoying her very much and she is the perfect addition to our family!

Ryan is doing better with her. When he is tired, he will start getting a little weird and want to pull on her limbs or hit her in the head to make her cry (think it is more out of curiosity and to get attention than anything else). He does love to hug and kiss her. Many times, it is a little to rough though and she cries, but he means well. He will try to give her a pacifier if she is crying. If she cries he will be the first to run to her yelling "it's OK, baby". I love seeing his super sweet demeaner translate to being a big brother and taking care of her.

Ryan really wanted to get into the picture too.

This was a gentle kiss, so no tears afterwards.

Breakfast

Ryan is not a fan of eating breakfast. Many days he just drinks milk. He seems to be OK with that, but as a mom, it bothers me. This morning I decided to let Ryan make his own breakfast to see if that would entice him to eat. It worked! Here he is making toast.

Aunt Jesse and a balloon

One of my best friends flew in from New York. She met Lilly for the first time and played with Ryan for a little while during her short visit. Notice Ryan's hands. This is what he does when you ask him how old he is. I was trying to teach him to hold up 2 fingers on 1 hand. Leave it to Ryan to make his own version of two.

Ryan loves balloons and our grocery store passes out free balloons to kids. Every time we go, we must get a new balloon. Here he is pushing his own shopping cart with the balloon inside. I love to watch his imagination play out.

Family

Grandma and Grandpa Reckers flew in for a week long visit and boy did Ryan love it! I am pretty sure he wore them out. Lilly slept, ate, and cried - just what babies do - while they were here, but I am pretty sure she enjoyed having them around too. Here are some pictures from their visit.