School Pictures

I love these school pictures of the boys - they did such a great job together AND individually! So cute!

Their hair stayed exactly how I wanted it because we did this first thing (since I wanted one of them together) - before I dropped them off in their classes. That probably won't fly as they get older :) lol

 I wasn't a huge fan of the pictures from his other school but since I wanted a class picture I was suckered into purchasing individual ones as well...They aren't bad pics but Ryan just needs a haircut. I had it all combed over but apparently the first thing he does when he gets to school is rubs his hands through it pulling it down in his face. awesome. oh well - he is still pretty cute!

Below is his class with his two teachers - Miss Ana & Miss Jeane, whom he ADORES!

Advent Days 2 - 7

December 2nd

Advent Activity: Adopt and Angel 

I decided to work a yearly tradition into our advent activities - adopting an angel from the Salvation Army Angel Tree.  I know they are still too young to completely grasp this concept but I wanted to get them involved so we are taking baby steps :) I look forward to when they can complete the shopping with me and understand the meaning of it all. 

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December 3rd 

Advent Activity: Wear new christmas jammies

Happy in their jammies!

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December 4th

Advent Activity: Make a gingerbread house with Yiayia!

Ryan had a lot of fun decorating the house...and testing the candy!

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December 5th

Advent Activity: Read a new Christmas Book together

Ryan was pretty excited about this book because we used a flashlight to read it! It was a fun way to read a Christmas classic - I am sure we will be reading it a lot this month!

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December 6th 

Advent Activity: Kindermusik Christmas concert

So we woke up to 'Icemagedon' and no power...fun stuff! The city basically shut down because we just aren't equipped for this kind of weather and needless to say our little Christmas concert was cancelled as well. Have no fear - I had a back up!

I ordered a couple of kids Christmas CDs on Amazon so I surprised them with this little treat. We listened to it on the way to our impromptu staycation at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. 

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December 7th

Advent Activity: Bake cookies and deliver to a neighbor

And yet another day that didn't go quite as planned. Our power was back on so we headed back home but I wasn't quite prepared for a whole baking session with the kiddos...so we will do this another day. Instead I hit up my Christmas goodie stockpile and found a little puzzle for Ryan to put together. He is really into puzzles right now so he loved it!

Yup - that's his cheese face. 

Buddy - Days 3, 4, 5

Where has our silly elf been lately?

Well, on Tuesday we woke up to find Buddy enjoying some syrup in the pantry. He is sporting a Woody band-aid from his injuries the day before. Ryan was slightly concerned but was actually more interested in what Buddy's ouchie looked like (underneath the band-aid). Boys?

The next day we found him making snow angels in some powdered sugar! Ryan was concerned with Buddy being dirty...and how was he going to get clean???

 On Thursday we woke up to Red and Green milk! That buddy was so silly!!! Ryan thought this was hilarious! He told his teachers about buddy's shenanigans when he got to school!

And then there was Friday. We woke up with no power and unfortunately Buddy decided not to move. He hung out in the fridge...and guess what? No one even noticed...womp womp.  Ryan didn't even ask about him...oh well!

We ended up staying the night at a hotel and of course I brought Buddy with us (I mean...since everyone just loves him...) Anyhow, we set him up on the lamp and Ryan loved it.

We actually checked out and left him behind! I didn't realize until we were about 5 minutes from the hotel - of course we turned around and headed back to rescue him. Ryan didn't even seem to question why we had to go get him even though he apparently has magical powers and appeared at the hotel without our help. Like I said...I might be the only one who really likes this whole thing... 

Grayson - Months 13, 14 & 15

Well back in October I started with Grayson's 13 month update and never got around to posting...and then again in November I had high hopes with his 14 month update...clearly it did not work out soooo I will just sum up the last three months now!

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13 months

We started some fun activities! When school started up again we had two days of just G and me time so we started a new kindermuisk class (with kids his age), little gym & joined a playgroup for him! We are also taking swimming

Music: He has always loved this but we are super excited because they changed the program back to the old curriculum (which is the way Ryan did it) and so G gets CDs with class from music, books and a music toy.

Little Gym: He loves forward rolls, hanging on the bars and doing flips on them. He tries all of the skills and loves it when the balls and bubbles come out!

Swimming: Huge fan of splashing (he doesn't care if he gets water in his eyes). Loves plopping in the water and doesn't mind going underwater. Honestly, I am kinda over the whole swimming thing (since I have to get in the ater with him) but he really loves it so I am going to stick it out. Hopefully he will move up to the next level (so he can swim without me) sooner than later! lol!

Playgroup: So excited to finally have a group of friends for my little guy. A lot of the mommies from Ryan's playgroup have been talking about forming one for the littles but it wasn't possible until school started up. Once that happened we were able to form a group - there is a mix of old friends and new friends and its perfect!

Soccer: No, it wasn't his soccer team but he was probably much more interested in it than his older brother. He often tried to get out on the field and he actually knows how to kick the ball! Most of the younger brothers/sisters seemed to have much more interest in playing soccer than their older sibling!

You will still cuddle up on me when you are tired and it is so sweet.

You have started this awful scream when something is taken away from you. Ugh.

You give kisses. and they are all open mouth. oh dear.

One of your favorite activities is climbing. You love to climb up on this chair and then rock back and forth...you love it. love. it. 

Playing at the Little Gym 

Did I mention you are an incredibly messy eater? It's not enough to just get on your face...you like to rub it all over your chest as well. 

You love suckers after swim lessons! And you are also messy with these....

 Fire truck day at school! Loves riding around in this cart of a thing.

14 months

My little juicy fruit started WALKING! You know, everyone says...oh you don't want him to start walking because then it's really wild/hard/he will get into everything. Well people, trust me, him walking...doesn't cause that. He was already into everything...now he is much happier!

He is so incredibly proud of himself and it's adorable.

He LOVES peekaboo

giving hi-fives

We have also moved to ONE nap.  I wasn't rushing this one at all because it makes picking up Ryan from school a bit more challenging.  However I noticed that if I put Grayson down for a morning nap he would sleep for a long time and then not want to take another nap in the afternoon. oye.

Goofing around with Ryan's goggles

Celebrated Halloween as a clown!

15 months

You are walking more than crawling these days. There is still a lot of falling going on but you don't care at all. 

I got you a toddler seat so that you can sit at the table with us and you are much happier at dinner time. 

We have had a couple of sleepless nights - twice due from a cold/sore throat and I believe the last one is because of your molars - I am hoping they come through soon! you really haven't gotten any new teeth in a long time!

LOVES

Slides. seriously. you go nuts for them and have NO FEAR. It doesn't matter how high the slide is...if you can get up there. you are going down. and head first.

Putting you socks and shoes on

Ryan's underwear. Yes, a little odd but I think it's the characters? You go nuts if you see a pair in the laundry room, drawer or just out...you go nuts until you can have them. Of course we don't let you unless they are clean. I am hoping this love of underwear makes you easier to potty train than your brother! lol

You still love your paci

Dancing- which is shaking his hands up and down and shaking his head bath and forth....which makes you incredibly unstable

Anything and everything that Ryan is currently playing with. 

The broom. I bought you a mini broom which you seem to like, but if the real thing is out you prefer a challenge. 

Love my sweet little blue-eyed boy!

Had a yummy thanksgiving dinner with family and friends!

Loves his cozy coup and snack cup!

love you bunches little man!

Buddy the Elf - Day 2

Ryan made the final decision on our elfs name and decided to go with BUDDY! 

This morning he woke up to find Buddy building a puzzle with Mr. Potato head! Ryan thought that was pretty silly...and he helped them finish the puzzle. 

Ryan had a bit of a rough day - no nap & some bathroom troubles made for a feisty little toddler around dinner time. He climbed up on the counter and grabbed Buddy and threw him across the counter - yikes. I didn't even know how to respond. We chatted about his behavior and its consequences and he decided that he didn't want Buddy to leave. I told him we would have to wait and see what Buddy wanted to do...

Advent Day 1

Last year I got the boys this adorable advent christmas tree from Pottery Barn Kids...but they were a little too young to understand...BUT not this year! Well, Grayson is...but Ryan is READY!

I have created "activities" for each day - everything is printed on a little card so each day we will pull it out and attempt the activity! 

Today we started off with a bang - tickets to see Disney on Ice! Wohoo!

I was actually really excited to see this - who doesn't love Disney??

Ryan was pretty pumped. When we got there he couldn't sit still...so excited to see Buzz and Woody!

He watched so intently the entire time! Although...when the princesses came out he got a little bored and kept asking me when Buzz and Woody were coming out...

This little guy was actually pretty entertained as well. That and he discovered popcorn. (between the popcorn and the marshmallows for breakfast I think we might have a problem. lol) 

A couple times I glanced over to see Grayson trying to wave to the characters...he also joined in the clap when needed. So cute!

It was such a cute show - my favorite kids performance I have been to so far...

Ryan said his favorite parts were:

- Buzz and Woody (no surprise there)

- Seeing Mickey and Donald

- The baby the peed on the floor (This is part of The Incredibles part)

Silly boy!

North Pole Breakfast

Our little elf arrived today and he threw a North Pole breakfast for the kiddos as a peace offering. When Ryan came downstairs I told him that a little elf was here he actually got a little scared and tried to hide in the dining room - he wasn't quite sure what to expect. 

When I explained to him that he made breakfast pancakes with chocolate chips & hot chocolate with marshmallows he decided this elf guy couldn't be that bad and decided to join us in the kitchen. 

We had talked about the elf a few times and Ryan told me that he wanted to name him 'Nemo'..but he also refers to him as 'buddy' so we haven't made a final decision quite yet. 

Ryan was pretty darn excited about ol Nemo!

And little g thought he was pretty swell as well. 

The boys enjoyed their yummy breakfast while I read them the note that 'Nemo' brought from Santa.  I am not sure how much Ryan actually paid attention but he knows that 'Nemo' is watching him...and I guess he will figure out that he will move each morning and that we get to search for him! 

And on another note, Grayson discovered marshmallows. And he is hooked. 

Yay for December...let the fun begin!