Thursday, July 31, 2014

Summer 2014 - Days 43 & 44

Wednesday, July 30th - Day 43

The weather has been gorgeous the past few days!  I went for a morning run before Ryan woke up - I love how peaceful things are really early in the morning.  After Ryan got up, we went and met some of my coworkers for a playdate.  Ryan had a fantastic time - I had a great time catching up with coworkers that I forgot to take any pictures :(  Before dinner, we all went to the park and took full advantage of this "early fall in July" weather we have going on.  Ryan had lots of fun going down the "big boy slide", swinging on the swings, and learning to use the sand excavator.
Deciding what to play on first.

"Push me higher, Daddy!"

Sliding down the big boy slide!

Trying to figure out how the sand excavator works...

Daddy helps him out!
So right now, Ryan is going through a big "I love Daddy" phase.  Everything is "Daddy this" or "Daddy that".  Daddy needs to help him get dressed.  Daddy needs to push him on the swings.  He needs to sit next to Daddy during dinner.  Daddy needs to stay and snuggle with him during bedtime.  The list can go on and on and on right now.  Don't get me wrong - I LOVE that Ryan loves his daddy so much and Joe is THE BEST FATHER to Ryan.  I LOVE their relationship and love to watch them together!  However, tonight, when Ryan changed the title of one of his bedtime stories from "Where's my Mommy?" to "Where's my Daddy?", it tugged at my heart just a little bit because EVERYTHING right now is about Daddy!  I know it's just a phase (and it's honestly a nice change from MommyMommyMommyMommyMommy most of the time) and Joe is eating it up right now :)

Thursday, July 31st - Day 44

It's the end of July - where has the summer gone?? I can't believe summer is beginning to wind down :(  It makes me a little sad to know that my days of playing with Ryan, doing whatever we want to do, are slowly coming to an end...I guess that just means I need to jam pack these last few weeks with lots of fun, cuddles, laughs, and awesome memories!

Today, Ryan got to go for a run in the jog stroller.  We ran some errands and then spent the afternoon at the pool.  Ryan had SO MUCH FUN at the pool today!  We started off in the baby pool, but then Ryan said "I want to go to the big pool".  I put him in his puddle jumper and away we went to the big pool.  The past few times that I've taken Ryan to the big pool, he's been a little hesitant to stand on his own or do anything that didn't involve clinging onto my arms or hands to make sure he was safe.  Today was a different story - he was walking all along the shallow end (up to 3.5 feet) as long as he could touch the bottom, he was jumping into the pool from the side WITHOUT me catching him, and he even floated on his own a couple of times and didn't mind it!  I'm so proud of him!!  He was LOVING it, too!  Hopefully this means he'll want to spend more time in the big pool instead of the baby pool.  I really want him to become comfortable in the water and be a pool rat in his childhood :)  There's something magical about spending summers at the pool when you're a kid - and I hope that this is something Ryan values as well!

Having fun in the little pool

"I need to water the cement"

me and my sweet boy

For dinner, we went over to my awesome friend Jill's (and Scott's) house for dinner and to meet their newest addition to their family!  Because we were out of town for so long, this was the first real chance we had to meet baby Nathan (who is a month old tomorrow!).  Ryan had a lot of fun playing with Alexandra (blowing bubbles and going fishing) and we ate some tasty food :)

Fishing for fish - in the tree, of course!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Summer 2014 - Days 41 & 42

Monday, July 28th - Day 41
I had some errands to run and things to take care of today, so Ryan spent the majority of the day at Oma and Opa's house.  He had a BLAST there (as usual) - painting with watercolors, playing outside, throwing sticks into the gully, playing basketball, etc.  Oma and Opa really missed Ryan while we were away (which is why Oma offered to watch him for the day) so I'm glad they were able to spend some time together.  We decided the weather was so good (not too hot and not too humid) that we grilled some hamburgers for dinner.  We finished the day by going for a walk after dinner.  It was such a nice walk that I might make this a priority :)
Ryan wanted to walk instead of being in the jog stroller.

Tuesday, July 29th - Day 42

We all started the day by sleeping in.  I guess the jet lag is slowly making its way out, or our bodies recognized that we were all lacking in the sleep department - but either way, we all slept in until 9:15 this morning!  WOO HOO!
Morning porridge!

After a morning run in the jog stroller, we went to Marbles for the afternoon.  Oma and Julien met us there (and Uncle Paul later) and we, of course, had a great time.  Ryan still loves the basketball room and I'd say spent most of his time there.

"Where are we going, Ryan?"...."To the beach!"


Watching the pennies roll with Julien and Oma

He caught the ball!  So proud!

Turning the turbine to make energy!


Monday, July 28, 2014

Summer 2014 - Days 39 & 40

Saturday, July 26th - Day 39 & Sunday, July 27th - Day 40

These days were pretty much a blur for me.  We got back to our house after midnight from California and we were pretty jetlagged.  Another lesson learned - don't book a "girls weekend" anywhere after you've been away from home for almost 3 weeks straight AND with jetlag.  I shoved some clothes from one suitcase to another to go see my old college roommates in Charlotte for the night on Saturday morning, drove to Charlotte, and had my roommate reunion.  Since I wasn't at home for most of the day on Saturday, these pictures are courtesy of Joe.  This was kind of a milestone for me, since this was the first night that I wasn't with Ryan for a "fun" reason.

Anyway, Ryan had a BALL with Joe.  They went to Target, where Ryan got a light saber (his reward for being such a good boy on the airplane and in the car during our California trip); they went to the pool; they went to the park; they spent a lot of quality time together.  I missed them so much and was very happy to be home mid-afternoon on Sunday to hug and snuggle my favorite boys.  Joe reported that Ryan was super good for him, very happy, and tons of fun while I was gone :)  Maybe I'll have to leave Ryan with him more often! ;)

Getting his "light saver" - he is SO SO happy!!  He even has a REAL smile! :)

SO SO EXCITED!

hanging out at the pool

some post-nap light saber action

dinnertime!

doing "pull ups" on the learning tower while eating macaroni and cheese

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Summer 2014 - Days 26 - 38

Sunday, July 13th - Day 26 through Friday, July 25th - Day 38 (California Trip)

What an incredible trip!  When Joe and I initially booked this trip, we figured the timing would be good since we would have just returned from the beach and we were pretty much already packed and kind-of ready to go.  I guess experience is the best teacher because we were so very wrong.  Lesson learned - it's good for us to take a day in between lengthy trips anywhere.  In the less than 16 hours we were home, we unpacked and repacked (and repacked again when we figured that one suitcase was over the weight limit), took a trip to Target, did a couple of loads of laundry, slept, and showered.  It may not seem like a lot, but we were definitely pressed for time.

However, the trip was well worth the stress and pressure.  We flew out of RDU early Sunday morning (thanks for the ride to the airport, Meaghan!) and flew into LAX.  I kept on repeating the Miley Cyrus lyrics to "Party in the USA" in my head while I was in the LAX airport.  We got our rental car and away we went!

In 12 days, we drove from LA, to Santa Monica, to Santa Barbara, to San Francisco, to Sacramento, back to Santa Barbara, and finally to San Diego.  Almost 1500 miles in 12 days.  It was A LOT of driving and spending time in the car, but the views made all the traffic and cartime worth it!  Ryan did a fantastic job on both the plane ride to and from California, didn't whine too much in the car when we were taking our long(er) trips, and was such a good boy the entire trip!  We have decided that the next time we go to California, we need to spend more time in San Diego since we absolutely LOVED what we got to see during our short time there.

Some highlights from the trip:
--watching the World Cup final game in a restaurant on the Santa Monica Pier
--driving around Beverly Hills
--Hollywood, in general
--Venice Beach and Manhattan Beach (SO SO AWESOME)
--all the tasty food in Santa Barbara
--nacho night :)
--the bike ride along the beach in Santa Barbara
--the "Adventure House" in Sacramento
--speedboating in San Diego (by far, our most favorite memory of the trip!)
--San Diego, in general - such a fun city!

Funny/cute Ryan quotes from our trip:
--"Hi-ho, merry-o, I'm going to throw a grape at all the people" on the airplane, waving around a grape
--Alex: "(something incoherent)"...Ryan: "whaaaaaaaaaat???"
--"Daddy, do it again!!" after jumping a wake in the speedboats
--Ryan: "Mommy, are we going to the adventure house?"  Me: "No, most definitely not"
--"I want to do it..IIIIIII....I want to do it....IIIII....IIIIIIII....I can do it"
--"IIIIII....need to run away"
--"Is it time for the adventure yet?"


Here are some pictures from our trip:

On the plane to CA, eating his porridge and fruit

view of the Santa Monica beach, right next to the pier - it was PACKED!

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica, CA

My boys, walking to the condo in Venice Beach
Enjoying some ice cream in Manhattan Beach


Playing at a playground in Santa Barbara

This boy loves to swing!

Soaring like an airplane!


Simply beautiful!

I'm going to go running with Mommy!

View of Santa Barbara - love, love love!

Playing with trains in California is just as fun as at home!

More swinging?  Don't mind if I do!

Loving the bike ride in Santa Barbara

Biking in Santa Barbara


Biking in Santa Barbara

Ryan decided to play in the dirt during our biking break

View from the top of our biking destination

the marina
more swinging at the beach?  Yes, please!

At the marina in Santa Barbara

Me and Ryan in Union Park Square in San Francisco
The California cousins!

Boys being silly

Watching Daniel Tiger in the hotel room

At Fairytale Land park in Sacramento

Checking out the pigs

Buddies!

Joe and Robert

Santa Monica Promenade

Joe was hot and wanted to leave.

Speedboat Adventures in San Diego!

"Before" selfie!

Harbor Island, San Diego

Sea animals around Harbor Island

San Diego

San Diego

Ryan LOVED the speedboat!

"I want to drive!"

One of my favorite pictures of the trip.  Love them!

San Diego

Me and my sweet boy

"Ryan, are you having fun?"..."YES!!!"

After our speedboat adventure

our last night in San Diego

Watching take-off from the window!  See you later, California!