Our Boy

Ahh, I have a minute to myself. It seems like those don't come very often lately. So, I just want to write down a couple of things about Ryan that I don't want to forget.

Last week was his first Sunday in nursery. Nate was ready to dance a jig in the hallway at church. Since I've been playing the piano in Primary, it has been Nate's job to contain him at church these last few difficult months before Ryan was old enough to go to nursery. Whew, he made it with his testimony still intact. :) Wait, how did my baby grow up enough to go to nursery? Where did the last 18 months go?

Ryan has a thing for phones and shoes. He loves to talk on the phone and gets so upset if we hand him the broken phone. He wants the real thing that lights up and makes noises. Although, when he just can't get his little fingers on the real one, he will eventually settle for a remote, a little book, a block, or anything else that he can squish between his ear and shoulder and then chatter away. He also frequently raids the front closet for shoes. He's pretty good at walking around in them even if they are WAY too big. It's okay, though, because he also likes cars and trains and balls.

He is a little chatterbox, and he is starting to say words that I can actually recognize. His most clear phrase is, "Oh, man!"

Hannah can usually be found reading on her bed, and she is usually in such a hurry to get to her latest book that she always leaves things undone. So, I stand at the bottom of the stairs and call up, "HANNAH." And now Ryan frequently stands at the bottom of the stairs and calls out, "Hannah!"

If I offer him something he doesn't want, he can't just shake his head no. He has to grab the item, throw it, and then shake his head at me.

When I dry my hair, Ryan comes and lays down at my feet on the rug in the bathroom. I don't know why, but he does it everyday.

He is big on routines. He knows each step I take when I am getting ready in the morning, and he is usually handing me my clothes or my hairbrush or whatever just as I am about to reach for it. Last night I was going to just say prayers and then put him to bed before we read scriptures so we wouldn't have to worry about him trying steal our scriptures or turning the pages on us, but he wouldn't have it. I set him on the ground and he ran and grabbed the scriptures and tried to get up on my bed. Well, there's not much I could do about that except just let him join us. After scriptures and prayers he ran into his room and reached up for me to put him in his crib.

He is so much fun. We all love having him in our home. He is so happy and loving. It is such a joy watching him learn and seeing his little personality come out.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!!

For Hannah's 9th birthday party (yes, she turns 9 tomorrow), she decided she wanted a tea party. So, here is her cake. I hope you can tell it's a hat. It's always such a stress to make the cake, but I love the tradition of making a fun cake for my kids' birthdays.

Here is our little crew waiting for the party guests to arrive. We had snow that morning, but Hannah was so relieved that the roads were clear enough for the cousins to still come. When everybody got here I forgot to get any pictures of the kids eating at the table with the china in all of their dress-ups.

More of the cute partygoers waiting for their cake.

I think Hannah liked her gifts. She is such a sweetheart. We are so grateful to have her in our family. We love you, Hannah. Happy birthday!

My surprising news

So, I started a new job this week. I wasn't looking for a job. I'm quite surprised by it myself, but I'm excited about it, too. I'm working for a professor that teaches online classes at several online colleges like the University of Phoenix. He teaches at 13 different colleges, so he needs help entering grades and other data entry stuff. I do check a few assignments, which is scary to me. So, it's just working from home a few hours early every morning, although he's been training me this week so it has taken more time. The kids have been so wonderful this week. The girls helped babysit Ryan this morning since I didn't finish before Nate left for work. They were great helpers. What am I going to do when they track back in on Thursday?! I'll miss them, that's what. Anyway, while everyone else has had great baby news this year, my surprising news is of a little different nature. :)

More snow pictures

We finally got a snowman! The girls have been so excited that the snow actually stayed around a few days. I can't say Ryan ever really enjoyed being out there, but he grew a little accustomed to it.