A busy Saturday ...

This Saturday, our family did some "dividing and conquering." :) While Matt and Ryan stayed at home to oversee the installation of our new carpet (yay!), Kim shuttled Ian to a few social events. (Who knew that his social calendar would fill up so fast once he started preschool? Ha!)

The morning began with Ian's first blast ball game. Here's a picture of one of team Thunder's cutest players. :)

...though his teammates are pretty cute, too!

Austin, Ty, Ian

Ian, Austin, Julia, Natalie, Ty

Team Thunder with Coach Ashley (Natalie's mom)

The team came in for a huddle before the game, and then team Thunder played outfield!

Coach Ashley has done a great job teaching them the proper fielding stance. They looked so adorable out there!

Ian started the batting rotation for Team Thunder. Like most kids on his team, he hit the ball well off the tee but it took him a few seconds to remember that he needed to drop the bat and run to first base! ha!

After Ian made it to first (and the only ...) base, he came back to the team line-up for some high fives. Team Thunder was soooo supportive of each other! They would chant each other's names ("Go, Ian, go!") while each person was at bat and then give high fives afterward. What sweet kids there are on Ian's team!

Then, back to fielding ... Ian definitely hung back at the beginning and preferred to let his teammates get the ball. Once he got the hang of "catching" a rolling ball in his glove, though, he started chasing after the balls. Once, he and Natalie got to a ball at the same time and both wanted to be the ONE to hold up the ball and say "Blast." Thankfully, Coach Ashley intervened early and helped them to realize that they could BOTH hold up the ball together and say "blast!" together. :)

Coach Ashley gives Ian some pointers before his next at-bat. Each person got the chance to bat 4 times, I think, before the hour was up.

They didn't keep score ("It's not about winning or losing, Mom! It's just about having fun!" Ian informed me on the way there.)  They all had a great time and loved the team snacks after the game, too! The next game will be after spring break ... :)

After grabbing some lunch, Kim chauffeured Ian to his next event ... a birthday party for a little girl in his preschool class at a local bouncy place.

When Kim and Ian got home, the carpet guys were just leaving! What beautiful work they did! Below is a pic of the new carpet (along with a new paint color in our bedroom and a new comforter set). So exciting! :)

What a busy, fun day!

What's new with Ian?

While not nearly as much has changed with Ian's development as with Ryan's, Ian is certainly growing right up. Relatives and friends alike have commented recently on how "old" and "mature" he is looking. He is quite tall -- nearly a head taller than many of his preschool friends -- and is acting more mature, too (at least on some days - ha!).

Ian continues to be a sensitive little boy -- understanding others' feelings and wanting to please adults. He's a perfectionist with very high expectations of himself. While he still does his fair share of testing the rules & limits, he gets upset when he even THINKS that he is in trouble, whether at school or home. Mainly, he is a rule follower and is still obsessed with knowing what any sort of warning label says. At times, he's a pretty serious little kid!

He is curious and inquisitive, always asking for explanations ("What is that water tower used for?") and exploring things on his own. He absolutely loves turning his bike upside down so he can spin the pedals with his hands and watch the gears/chain in action. He still loves building things and putting things together.

Ryan and Ian had fun playing in an igloo we created

Ian's fine motor skills are improving. His handwriting (both lower and uppercase letters) is getting smaller and more legible. He actually LIKES to write now! He was thrilled to address Valentines to the other 14 students in his preschool class and 2 teachers. He's much more likely to stay inside the lines while coloring, and it's easier for him to maneuver a scissors. He loves gadgets like the stapler and hole punch and enjoys doing crafts.

writing the names of classmates on Valentines

He loved putting a lollipop inside and then licking (and also taping) the envelopes closed

Ian seems to love being a big brother to Ryan, who he calls "Nonny" (what Ryan calls himself) or "Little." It has been fun to see the growth in Ian's and Ryan's relationship. Ian speaks "Ryan-ese" while they play together (calling cars "tahs" since Ryan does, etc.), and he can usually translate what Ryan is trying to say. He can easily make Ryan giggle (usually by saying silly words) and can convince Ryan to do most anything. Ian has trained Ryan to say that the bad part of his day is "up-puhs" (pick-up trucks) when our family describes Good Thing-Bad Thing over dinner. They will both laugh and laugh at their ongoing private joke. While Ian at times will have issues with invading Ryan's personal space, overall he is very tender and loving toward Ryan, anticipating what Ryan might need and giving him kisses. One of the cutest things is when Ryan sits on Ian's lap while Ian "reads" him stories.

Ian's love of words continues. He still shows an interest in reading short CVC-type words and sight words (as long as it's on HIS time). He loves knock-knock jokes and even tries to make up his own (really lame, not-even-making sense) ones. He thinks it's hilarious to change the first letter of words and will often change EVERY word in a sentence or song to start with the same letter -- often "P" so that there's a chance that he can say the word "pee" a few times since bathroom humor is also hilarious to Ian. He still loves being read to or listening to books on CD. Recently, we've enjoyed some longer chapter books like the three books in The Mouse and the Motorcycle series. Ian was a very attentive listener and seemed to understand and enjoy the plot! Ian also likes telling his own elaborate stories to himself, especially during his "rest time" each afternoon. He seems to have a fascination with long words and phrases and will use many of them ("water filtration plant" and "awkward" were two that he used today) in his conversations -- completely out of context.

Ian is a social boy and talks a lot about his friends. He gets VERY excited to go to birthday parties and is really enjoying being a part of his first organized sports team -- blast ball. While he is still somewhat shy and tentative around adults (even those he knows well, like his preschool teacher), he will strike up a conversation with any child that he'll see out in public. He's starting to tell Momma more about preschool on the drive home, though most things he remembers involve what he built at the building center or what game he played at recess.

Ian gets a lot of pride and confidence from being able to do things all by himself. He recently discovered that he could pack up all of his belongings before leaving his preschool classroom (instead of bringing his empty backpack and all of his cubby contents separately out to the hallway). He loves helping with cooking and is getting really good at being able to measure ingredients all on his own. He loves it when we give him small tasks (like replacing the batteries on a toy) that he can complete independently.

Ian looks forward to going to school but also looks forward to staying home. He has all sorts of suggestions on how we can spend our days (the children's museum, Bouncin' Bears, Chuck E. Cheese) and can remember places we've been a long time ago! Some of Ian's favorites include playing the tablet (especially Where's My Water?, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, or Train Sim), riding his bike, driving the Pink Mustang, climbing up the slide & sliding down in various ways, drawing with sidewalk chalk, playing with water of any kind, operating his remote control train, and playing CDs. He loves most foods, most especially pizza, ice cream, pickles, or ANY kind of dessert.

playing in the sandbox

One night, both Ian and Daddy fell asleep while reading bedtime stories! So cute! :)

Ian was really proud to bring home this prayer pillow he made at preschool. I love how it turned out. He finished the prayer starters and then drew a picture of each one.
Thank you, God, for ... the sun (that helps the grass grow).
Please take care of ... Daddy while he is at work.
I'm sorry for ... tripping my brother, Ryan.
Help me, God, to ... ride my bike without training wheels.
Ian loves using the prayer pillow during his nightly prayers and will often finish the prayer starters in the same way as he did on his pillow.
(The bike-without-training-wheels prayer seemed to come out of nowhere. Soon after he brought the pillow home, we asked him if he really wanted to try riding a bike without training wheels. "YES!" After trying it just one afternoon, Ian asked if he might be able to put the training wheels back on for a while longer. "It's a little wobbly," he explained.

Ian had to test out his pillow immediately upon bringing it home -- on our kitchen floor.

Here's a little "interview" we did with Ian ....

We love you, sweet boy!

Touch-a-Truck 2014

I think that this might be the fourth time that Ian has attended the Touch-a-Truck event in the Woodlands. This year, he had a birthday party on the same day, and we asked him if maybe we should just skip going. "No!" he insisted. "Let's go BEFORE the party!"

We were guessing that, as much as Ryan LOVES vehicles on an everyday basis, he'd think Touch-a-Truck was the best thing ever. Not so much. I don't know if it was mainly because he was just tired from waking up at 5 that morning or that the crowds were a little intimidating, but Ryan didn't want anything to do with most of the vehicles. He was content to just be in Matt's or my arms the whole time and only expressed excitement about the big sandbox. Maybe next year will be Ryan's year to love it ... At least Ian loved the event as much as ever!

The vehicles were basically the same as previous years ...

the fire truck,

We snapped this picture in the moment before Ryan ripped off the hat and screamed, "NO!"

the digger,

the ambulance (complete with a get-a-fake-wound station),

a tractor,

recycling trucks (on which the LOUD air horns were, of course, the BEST part),

monster trucks,

and even a special landing by the Life Flight helicopter!

At the end, the boys enjoyed their time in the huge sandbox.

What's new with Ryan?

Our littlest man is quickly approaching the 2-year-old mark. He's at a precious stage, actively exploring the world with all of his senses, playing at top speed, and charming us with his smile, sense of humor, and sweet personality. Of course, getting closer to two means that Ryan also has his fair share of meltdowns and tantrums (both the limp-noodle variety as well as the arching-the-back/throwing-objects-across-the-room type). But we love him to pieces!

These days, Ryan runs more often than he walks ... and doesn't fall or stumble nearly as much as he did even a few months ago. He's getting braver and more agile about climbing onto chairs, tables, benches, beds, you name it ... but he does exhibit some caution. He'll often ask for help coming down from places he climbed up. He's also especially cautious around ants ... he's been bitten by fire ants one too many times. Now, he'll say "ant, ant!" and refuse to get too close!

As active as he is, Momma is thankful that Ryan likes to sit and cuddle for short periods of time -- especially if there's a book involved. He loves to bring us books and back up into our laps, "asking" if we'll read to him. It's especially precious when he'll bring a book to Ian, wanting Ian to "read" to him. He becomes very attached to certain library books and will ask to read the same library book many times in one day. Some of Ryan's favorite books include The Happy Man & His Dump Truck, Dig, Dig, Digging, Rufus & Ryan, his mini books, the Thomas book that plays music, and the Cars, Trucks, and Things that Go (Goldbug) book.

a recent library book obsession that he insisted on taking into his crib at naptime

Ryan will also sit still for increasing periods of time to complete little projects. He likes to put together peg puzzles. He likes to attach magnetic train cars to each other and then pull long lines of them along. Recently, he's patient enough to put together a few wooden train track pieces before getting too frustrated. He'll spend a long time pushing train cars along train tracks.

Ryan doesn't seem to be as wary of strangers as he was even a few months ago. He's eager to say "hello" and "bye-bye" to almost anyone. He has been doing well in our church nursery during Sunday school time and doesn't cry anymore at drop-off or pick-up time. He did well with high school babysitters we've had recently -- even at bedtime! Yay! :)

He definitely likes things to be neat, clean, and orderly. All on his own, he'll often pick up one activity before moving onto the next. He'll eagerly help when we tell him it's time to pick up toys. He even likes lining up his cars while he's playing with them.

We were laughing recently about how we, at one point about a year ago, were worried about his (lack of) eating. Now, Ryan eats heartily! Fruit (especially strawberries & blueberries), pancakes with "rup" (syrup), and vanilla ice cream are some of his favorites, though he'll try a wide variety of food. Meat is still is least favorite category of food. As of a month ago or so, Ryan is officially weaned -- and is now sleeping all the way through the night like a champ! Whew! Next step: getting him to sleep past 5:00 or 5:30 many mornings!

It continues to be most fun hearing Ryan's verbal skills develop. It definitely seems like he's learning a new word or two every day. Some of these words may be decipherable only to Daddy, Momma, or Ian since we hear them consistently in context. :) Ryan is starting to put some words together -- like possessives ("Daddy's car or Ian's cup), requests ("more blueberries" is a common one), or basic commands (at least 50 times a day, "Momma play!" or "play outside!"). He recognizes and calls by name Elmo, Dora, and multiple Thomas train characters. He knows the names of many different types of vehicles and gets SUPER excited when we see an "up-pa" (pick-up truck), "duh-duh" (dump truck), "ex-uh" (excavator), "bus," or "wee-oh" (fire truck) while we're out and about.

Ryan has started to be able to finish familiar phrases ("Ready, set, GO!", "1, 2, THREE!,") as well as the final lines of familiar songs and rhymes (like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"). He tries to chime in on certain letters (like G, P, S, X, and Z) while listening to the alphabet song. He's also able to fill in missing words from familiar stories -- like Dig, Dig, Digging. His favorite songs include Wheels on the Bus, Tractor, Tractor, King of the Jungle, Stand on the Rock, and Jesus Loves the Little Ones Like Me, Me, Me.






Ryan's sense of humor is developing. He loves to joke around with us, pretending to hide behind his hands (and wanting us to ask "Where IS Ryan?") and pretending to call all of the food items on his tray "grapes" and then smiling broadly and saying, "NO!"

It made Momma laugh when Ryan took this pot out of the drawer and climbed right in!

Ryan continues to be obsessed with small cars. He most always has at least two (but usually more like 5 or 6) vehicles in hand. He wants multiple cars in his crib with him when he sleeps. Ryan's favorite activities include playing in the sandbox, pushing vehicles indoors or outdoors, climbing the playset ladder, swinging, dancing, playing with the CD player, and storing things in his push vehicles' trunks. He absolutely loves babies, though sometimes gives them a little too much attention. He was VERY interested in an 11-month-old at the mall play place recently and first tried to pull her hair and then took off her socks. Needless to say, she wasn't as enamored with Ryan as he was of her. Ha ha!

Ian is definitely one of Ryan's favorite people! Ryan goes along with just about anything that Ian suggests -- even "trading" the object that he's playing with for something else that Ian offers. Ryan is getting relatively good at taking turns and understanding that certain toys belong to Ian. (You might say he understands his place as a second-born. What a sweet boy!) Ryan is always curious in what Ian is doing and loves imitating his actions and words. Though they have times of squabbling over toys or invading each other's personal space, they generally play together very well. That makes their parents' hearts very happy! :)

We thank our Lord for Ryan -- for his playful, sweet, and loving personality -- and for the joy he brings us!

Blast Ball

We had never heard of "blast ball" until a mom of one of Ian's classmates told us about it! It's like t-ball except that the kids only run to first base (which "honks" when you run over it) after hitting off the tee. There are only 4-5 players per team. It sounded like a GREAT first opportunity for Ian to try out an organized sport ... especially since all 4 other players on his team are in his preschool class, and Natalie's mom is the coach!

Ian was excited to go to his first practice last Saturday. Here he is throwing a ball to his teammate, Ty, while Ryan plays in the dirt.

After throwing one or two balls, Ty and Ian decided that playing in the dirt might be more interesting, too.

Matt helped to get Ian's glove all set.

The first thing Ms. Ashley worked with the kids on was fielding the ball. Here, they practice the stance when catching a rolling ball.

Next, they practiced throwing.

Then, onto catching ...

Ms. Roxanne, Ms. Ashley, Ian, Ty, Austin, Natalie, Julia

More fielding ...

Next, came Ian's FAVORITE part ... hitting the ball!

Ms. Roxanne helped him to get the right stance,

and then Ian whacked the ball off the tee!

He ran to the base! So much fun!

"Thunder" came in for their team huddle before practice was over!

Next Saturday will be this handsome blast ball player's first game! Gooooo, Ian! :) We'll always be your biggest fans!