{climb}

Ryley is pretty flexible and he is always putting his feet where they don't belong.

In the last month he has figured out how to use them to his advantage to climb. This picture happened to be at breakfast one morning. The other day I was on the other side of the kitchen when he opened and climbed onto the dishwasher door.
At last, a success. He made it up, as he does most things with a little perseverance. Doesn't he think he's so sly?
He climber into this chair to cheer Maisey on at her game.He tries to climb over this gate during Maisey's play dates but so far no avail.

He feels so left out when she won't let him get in on the fun.

I even bribed him with a sucker (the size of a pea, but nonetheless sugar and bribery) so that he wouldn't climb out of the Bumbo when he got haircut number 8 last week!
Despite his improving climbing skills, he manages to get stuck a good share of the time. He's been stuck: on Maisey's bed and in the crack, in her doll house (usually the smallest room- the bathroom), in her Barbie RV (his foot and leg-which he persistently tries to force fit into the driver seat each day while usually standing), on her doll bed, on her desk, and other places unbeknown to me I'm sure!

Chad has recently named him "chicken little" because he is still to fearful to walk without a hand; however, I think he is a monkey not a chicken.

(Dr. Seussical The Musical}

Two weekends ago Maisey and I met with my in-laws and cousin Ruby to go see cousin Peyton in a musical at the high-school. It was really cute, and definitely entertaining!

Here is Maisey with her two of her three cousins on Chad's side. The star,Peyton (8) is in the middle and Ruby (11) is on the left.

This is a brief clip which leads into the next. The yellow people are the Whos.

The Cat in the Hat had a great voice and We love performances of any kind no matter how small!

{midnight stroll}

Last night at 12:02 the loud, loud, piercing fire alarm went off in our building. This has happened once before and I remember being annoyed then but this time things seemed far worse. The noise is so loud, and it is so hard to wake up little kids and run them outside in the middle of the night while we wait for firetrucks to come and say it was a false alarm.

The difference this time around, is that we drove around for 30+ minutes and we never saw any firetrucks. When the alarms finally subsided, we went inside and tried to put the kids back to bed for over an hour! Let me just make it known that this incident is just one of the reasons I do not like "community" living!

{T-ball}

These pictures pretty much stink but I'm always too busy with Ryley to get any good ones and so far Chad

has been busy umping. Nonetheless, here are a couple distant snap shots. I failed at capturing a good video of her batting, maybe next time. A hit.
1st Base
Playing outfield- her second least favorite position next to playing catcher. She's the only girl on the team and she's pretty OK with the idea by now. However, when it comes down to the gear she has to make a statement- hot pink on her cleats, a hot pink bat, glove, and helmet. Can you guess why catcher isn't her favorite position, yeah, it's because the gear is "ugly."
We have games every Tuesday and Thursday. If you're interested give us a shout and come on out!

{Saying Goodbye}

Last weekend I said "goodbye" to the rest of Maisey's clothes with the exception of a couple boutique faves she might want to see again someday. It was hard to do, but I'm glad I don't have to sort through plastic bins anymore. The items were only a small, small fraction of what she once wore, but I saw them as memories of a little petite, curly haired girl. I tediously cataloged 289 items into a consignment system, hung, ironed, and tagged each one, and now I'm just waiting for my check! I was so pleased with the outcome and after already getting rid of 85% of her clothes in past times, I decided this is the route to go. Now I can replenish there needs since I now have two children to clothe. However, I do agree Maisey's needs are far less then I originally thought!

{Kindergarden Zoo Trip- 2 weeks ago}

Lucky for us the field trip to the zoo happened to fall on a nice dry day. In fact, it was so nice we ran into several of our buddies, and more were on their way as we were leaving. You never know who you're going to run into at the zoo, but 5 other adults and their kids- that's a handful.Girls posing in the Great Northwest Exhibit- one of the coolest attractions.
Polar Bear, Polar Bear what do you see? I see too many kindergartner's looking at me. How many are actually in this Polar bear cave I'm not sure I didn't capture them all.The whole family went on this trip. I thought the Ergo would be a good choice for the outing but it seems as though Ryley would have preferred the backpack. Really, it is quiet comfortable and I'm crazy about it but he enjoys the ride in a different way.You won't see us modeling any baby wearing gear since this position isn't one Ergo tries to sell for comfort!
*****
Really, I've been quiet surprised at the number of field trips they've taken since the budget is so bad.
They've gone to:
The Young Chef's Academy
The Pumpkin Patch
Pump It Up
The Zoo
...and I believe one more that is slipping my mind.

{Goodbye Erekson's}

We want to wish the Erekson's a happy move down to California! We will miss game nights, zoo trips, park visits, picky eaters, you guys of course, and so much more!

We will also miss these sweet little smiles that beam when these girls are together!

{Birthday Celebration Two}

This year my birthday fell on a busy day but we still managed to squeeze in dinner at the Olive Garden. It was nice to have dinner with just the four of us and the card Chad got me was also a highlight... Whoever wrote it, I swear wrote it just for me!The big highlight however was on Friday when some friends took me to Tillamook to celebrate. It was fun, intimate, and despite my car sickness (which I managed to keep inside-literally), it was a great day. The private beach we stopped at was foggy but warm enough to go without shoes.
The kids took advantage of that.
It was so nice to get away for a day without school on my mind!

******

We also made it to Desert Book on Saturday and picked up some books on my wish list- that's the list of things I'm 'wishing' to read when school's out!

Thanks C!

{Easter in Eugene}

The kids on Easter morning at my Grandparen't house.

Ryley loves his new Little People truck with sounds. After his birthday and Easter this last week I think we've got him away from the Barbies and onto new things.

Maisey showing off her new doll toothbrush and toothpaste- more small things to keep away from Ryley (as if there aren't all ready enough Polly Pocket's and other accessories in this house)!

Here is a not-so-good family shot before church on Easter Sunday. We will have to try for a redo since my grandpa didn't use the zoom.

{Birthday Celebration One}

For Ryley's birthday eve we took him to Out of this World Pizza. He loved playing in the two year old section and he didn't want to leave afterwards! On his actual birthday we also had a cake with some friends at Magnolia park. The weather happened to be really nice that day and it was perfect timing in between Maisey's school, dance, dinner, and t-ball. When we went to Eugene over the weekend he had a second chance at cake (the first time was nap time and he wasn't that interested), and as you can see, he wasn't all that interested this time either. He didn't like all the attention when being sang to and cried...

Nonetheless, he loves all his new birthday toys, especially his John Deere tractor and Little People airplane.

He is so sweet!

{Happy 1st Birthday Ryley}

Today is Ryley's first birthday! The time went by so fast and I try not to even think about it because it makes me sad. However, the stage he is in right now, is super fun.

He loves:

- to eat

-to use his walking push toys

-to swim

-to take baths and showers

-to snuggle

-to read books

-to be sang to

-to watch other babies and kids

-to play with his sister

-to be outside and go for walks

-to get into things

Here is a one year photo recap:

"Birth-day" April 7Th @ 8pm
May- about 1 month old
June- about 2 months old
3 months old
4 months old
5 months old
6 months old

December
January
March

{Blast from the past}

When I was a kid I celebrated all of my birthdays at Skate World. I loved to skate. It turns out Maisey does too. For her 5th birthday we got her Rollerblades but we never took her to a real rink. That all changed on Saturday and she's already planning her 7th birthday party since her 6th (this June) is already booked.

To finish off spring break we invited a couple friends and went to skate world. The place is NASTY! I wasn't completely grossed out like I often am when I imagine years of old germs, but the place could use some work! I was completely taken back to my youth and it was a blast seeing Maisey get so excited about a new past time. She has been exposed to so many things she doesn't get totally hyped up like she was for the day of lunch, skating, and cotton candy! Sometimes I think we do too much since she doesn't seem overly dramatic like I am when I'm doing something fun, but I think it's all part of living in a big city with a very busy schedule.

Spending my only open day of break skating wasn't exactly ideal for me (I would have rather sewed something, baked, entertained, or hung out with some girlfriends), but it was well worth it watching and listening to her. I couldn't help but imagine two years from now when she is a little older and doesn't give me so much attitude. Honestly, I doubt that will ever happen, but I do hope she still looks at me with excitement as she asks, "Can we do that again, just us for a mother-daughter outing?" Maisey and I spend a lot of time together and I'm really going to miss all her activities when I start working. I really have a new take on why many men and fathers seem so anti-social. They really just want to be with the most important people in their lives, their families, and I can't blame them!

She is so sweet!

Chaney, Sage, and Maisey taking a break!There were a lot of falls at first...and some sore bums and arms from clinging to the wall.

But their confidence kicked in (some sooner than others), and they all had a great time!

Even Ciara and I... She had to show off on Rollerblades while I weathered blisters from the old, ugly, unisex skates.

{Spring Break}

After weeks of illness everyone was well enough to make spring break visits to the grandparents!

First, we headed to Eugene to make up a trip we were forced to cancel a couple weeks prior because Ryley had the flu and everything else you can imagine.

The kids had a great time seeing my parents and grandparents and I we can't wait to see them all again!

The last time we were down was over Christmas break and the kids have both done a lot of growing since then, especially Ryley.Ryley playing patty cake with Aunt Erin.

It didn't take him long to warm up this time since he's getting over his 9-month anxiety phase (We think and hope)!He still prefers men and he especially likes my dad's mustache and my grandpa's glasses.
We spent the short time relaxing and playing lots of Mexican Train (one of the Guenther's old faves and the Clark's new fave).We went to my favorite childhood pizza parlor where I had all of my birthdays growing up. Oddly they happen to have a franchise located here in Beaverton (how lucky)! They even have a ball pit. Yeah, he's got a nasty one near his mouth!

After coming home for a few days of busy work, we headed up the Gorge to see some friends and family. Our first stop was Dufur to see our best family friends the Sorenson's and then back West to Hood River to see the grandparents and the Bergstrom's and their new baby. The time was brief but enjoyable and I don't have much to show for it. Since I've been off the blogging wagon I am out of practice with my camera!I did manage to snap these two pics of the kids playing together at a Dairy Queen. I remembered they had a padded play structure and the kids needed to get all their energy out before the drive home.
Despite the fact I failed to get good pictures of them smiling, they had a fun time playing together and Chad and I had a fun time watching Ryley interact and butt into other people's (kid's business). He thinks he can do anything and his demeanor is very much like Maisey's- strong willed and determined!

For now that sums up a couple days of break... I still have so much to do and the rain is driving my nuts today. Forget Spring- bring on Summer!