Such a big girl

Look who turned TWO!

Ryan is officially 2 years old and such a big girl (even if she's only in the 30th percentile in weight). Ryan is a skinny-mini and a picky eater and would prefer to drink her calories away in milk.  She is now on a strict 2-3 glass a day maximum. Other then her bad eating habits the doc says she is great!  Developmentally wonderful. 

Here's a pic of Ryan trying on some of her birthday presents...her new crown and "twinkle shoes".  For her birthday Ryan also got a fish tank to put in her room.  She picked out a blue Betta fish and let her big brother pick out a orange fish for the tank too.  They feed their fish every morning and say goodnight to them before bed.  Side note to anyone buying a fish tank -- beware of accidentally dropping tank rocks in the garbage disposal when you're rinsing them.  It is a costly mistake.  Garbage disposals are NOT cheap!

Lately Ryan has become a big fan of  "Dora the Explorer".  It was only fitting she have a Dora cake to celebrate.  We had a couple of friends over to play and eat cake. Most of the party she wanted to be carried by Daddy, but got past her shyness to enjoy everyone singing happy birthday and blowing out her candles.  

Little Ryan is full of personality.  Sometimes it's hard to remember she's only two!  She loves to sing, jump and dance.  She can count to 10 (and thanks to Dora she can say it in Spanish too). She tries hard to sing her ABC's but prefers to sing the ending "Now I know my ABC's. Next time wont you sing with me" over and over again. We love the way she calls Carter by his full name, Carter Meek.  And the way she say "O-tay" is just adorable too!  She has so much fun playing pretend and dress up, but is always willing to play with light sabers in the backyard with the older boys.  Her teachers at school say she is the most improved student.  She was a nightmare at the beginning of the year and now Ryan walks in with a big smile on her face and is happy the entire day.  She enjoys every moment and is a delight to have around.  We think she is a delight too!

Happy Birthday, Ryan Michele!  We love you very much and always will!!

Super Bowl XLVI

Indianapolis is hosting it's first Super Bowl and the city is going all out to celebrate.  Last week we took the kids to the NFL Experience.

 There was a whole section for kids to practice kicking, punting and passing.  They had face painting and bounce houses too!  Ryan and Carter were great sports about waiting in line and they loved trying every activity they had to offer.

 Carter had so much fun he even tried some of the adult attractions too.  He even got a little help from the Colts mascot, Blue.

We also saw the Lombardi Trophy, a display of Super Bowl rings and jerseys from some of the most popular NFL players (i.e. Tim Tebow).

All in all it was a "Super" experience.



10 weeks x 3

I'm reposting pictures of Carter and Ryan when they were around 10 weeks old.  Here is Ashley's (almost) 10 week picture too. Enjoy!

P.S. Ashley had her 2 month doctor visit yesterday and despite getting 3 shots, she did quite well.  Her ear infections have cleared up and the dr. upped her dose of reflux medicine which has already helped with her fussiness.  She is a happy baby now!  So happy in fact, that she slept from 10pm-8am (straight!) last night.  It's a great feeling to know we're at the end of middle of the night feedings! Oh yea, if you're wondering about her stats:
Weight: 12 lbs. 4oz. (79%)
Height: 23 1/4 in. (76%)

What's she thinking?

Ashley makes lots of faces.  Makes you wonder what she's thinking.

Is she thinking, "My goodness, who knew my feet looked so big!"

 Is she thinking, "Yikes! I hope Mom doesn't notice that I need a diaper change!"

 Is she thinking, "Sitting up is tough.  Better concentrate!"

I'm not sure what she's thinking, but it's always fun to guess!

Still trying to perfect the group shot!

 

 P.S. our little Dolly is 8 weeks old.  Ashley is getting good at holding her head up, and she knows my voice too.  She will smile for me if I make enough baby noises and say her name, but she immediately smiles whenever she sees Carter in the room.

What's this

What's This?

A happy Ashley laying on her back?

The reflux and new round of ear medicine must be working

Yay for happy babies!

So much to blog, so little time

I'm finding it difficult to blog these days. Could it be because of the holidays were insane, I have a newborn (who is fussy) or the fact that all my kids are sick right now? Humm, perhaps all these reasons and more.

If I had the time I would want to write about how Ryan is turning 2 next month. I would want to share all the adorable things she says like:
Giving Ashley the nickname Dolly which the whole family is staring to use.
Naming herself "Super Cape" as her super hero name when she dresses up in super hero clothes (i.e. mask and cape).
Telling everyone "happy day". 
Saying her one and only knock, knock joke that goes like this: (she says) knock, knock....(you say) who's there?....(she says) Orange Who?

If I had the time I would want to blog about how Ashley is now 6 weeks old, that she is our fussy child who only sleeps in the swing or car seat and requires being held all the time.  I would also want to mention she has her first ear infection which might be contributing to the crankiness and I would want to talk about what an adorable baby she is when she's cooing and smiling.

If I had the time I would tell you about how Carter started soccer, that he loves nurf guns and always wants to play angry birds, cut the rope, talking Ben and hockey on his Dad's phone. I would tell you what a great big brother his is.  I would share how he says he's going to be a great big brother to Ashley, but sometimes he hits Ryan (as if she's already a lost cause).

 I would tell you about all our Christmas activities like hosting Christmas Eve for my family at our house, how excited Carter was to put out cookies/milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer, the Christmas celebration with Kyle's family in Evansville and all the fun things we did with Aunt Robin, Uncle Rio and cousins Wilder and Montana when they were here.  I tell you about our poor Christmas photo shoot and how every picture best describes how crazy and insane the holidays can be with 3 little kids.

If I had the time I would tell you it hasn't been easy, we're slightly overwhelmed and very tired.  If I had the time I would say all of those things don't matter because we are so in love with our family and we are so excited to see what 2012 has to bring.

What do ya know, I guess I do have the time.....