11 months. (10 and 9, too)

Totally slacking on the monthly Ryan updates. I do have pictures now though.

11 months old. We were at Grove City College Saturday and I took these on a bench outside one of the buildings.

He kept yelling. Happy yelling. But yelling and not smiling. Also, he wouldn't sit still for very long.


Instead he made his way over to the side.



@ 11 months, Ryan is adorable. Of course. Crawls fast. Very, very fast. Pretty much wants to just go up and down the stairs all day long. He stands and can bend down and pick something up without falling but so far doesn't try to walk on his own. He will walk with the push-walker though. He discovered he can throw and therefore does so repeatedly. He loves food. Really. You wouldn't believe how much this kid eats. Still taking a bottle, but I'm reducing the amount in the anticipation of being formula-free in less than a month. We call him Grabby-Grabby. He takes everything.

10 months. 7/19/11 @ what used to be Jellystone Campground. Michael and the girls were in the lake and Ryan and I hung out in the shade. No sand for us, as he would've most certainly eaten it.






@ 10 months. First stitches. That's about all I remember at the moment. Must go back through photos and rack brain for more milestones/stories of note.

9 months. Well, technically still 8 as I took this the night before. But no photo from the day he turned 9 months or the days after have him sitting still like this. Too busy exploring.




@9 months. Cute. Skinny. (although I didn't necessarily notice it at the time, he's very skinny compared to the food-chowing baby he is now.)

It's all about the diving board now.

So last week at the pool, Emma decided she was going off the diving board. Something we'd been encouraging her to do all summer since we knew she could swim the distance required to do it. But she wouldn't. Then Monday, there were a lot of friends there, friends who were telling her she could do it and that she was a great swimmer, and apparently she just needed to hear this from them instead of us, because she did it.

Well, if Emma was doing it, Mackenzie wanted to do it too. She needed some practice though. So Michael worked with her, having her jump in off the side and then swim to the end to make sure she could swim far enough to get to the ladder. Once she could, it was her turn to go. This is one determined 3 1/2 year old we have!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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And in the fall she'll be a Kindergartener.

Emma graduated preschool last month, May 23rd to be exact. We had additional excitement in the form of the tornado sirens going off forcing us all in to the hallway to wait it out shortly before Emma's name was to be called. The kids didn't mind though, it gave them time to burn off some energy since they'd been sitting in the church for so long. The program was cute. They marched in wearing their felt graduation caps, sang some songs (or just looked around at everyone and everything) and then received their diplomas.

Our graduate.







I'd meant to get a family picture at the church/school, but forgot. Maybe it was all that tornado siren excitement. Or being on crutches. Or the fact that Emma was pretty much over pictures as soon as I started. She relented at home. That, or I told her she had smile for pictures if she wanted a snack.



Wednesday of her last week was Wacky Wednesday. Really, it wasn't that much different than many of the outfits she puts together. This originally had a grey ruffle vest to complete the look. She's quite the trendsetter.

And for the last day on Friday they had a pajama pizza party. We went to the park with everyone from her class afterward.


First Day (orientation, 9/12/10) and Last Day (5/20/11)

This isn't really school related, but I can't believe how different her hair is now. Last September is was so long and curly and still blonde. It's now to her shoulders, the curls are gone and it's gotten so dark it can't even be considered blonde anymore. The red's really showing, too. And she just looks so much older.

First day of school (9/12/10) and now, 9 months later (6/15/11)

Warrior Dash 2011

Last Sunday I ran the Warrior Dash with three of my friends/boot camp girls.

We started our nice and clean in our fringed and beaded cammo shirts, courtesy of Michelle. We ended up really muddy and gross and minus a pair of shoes.



(me, Michelle, Lisa, Noelle)

The giant pile of shoes. You really don't want to keep your shoes after wearing them in the race. They're disgusting. So this charity takes them, industrial cleans and sanitizes them then sends them to third world coutries. Pretty cool.

We took a waterproof disposable camera with us throughout the race. We weren't trying to win. Obviously. Or even be a tiny bit competitive. We just wanted to have fun, so our goal was to finish in under an hour. The guy who won? He ran it in something like 22 minutes or less.

It's in Hocking Hills so most of the course is hilly. And it had rained the night before so it was super slick with mud. So slick and hilly that instead of running, we did a lot of careful hiking.

I'd just jumped in over a dead fish. Awesome.

The best part? Jumping over fire. This was the second to last obstacle. Just before the crawling to mud part.

See, very muddy.

On the shuttle bus back to our car. We'd been sprayed off by a giant hose so while from a distance it might appear we're slightly clean, we weren't.

I think we might do it again next year. It was fun. Mud and all.

Friday Five

So....I kind of skipped over all of May. Not June though. So far this week:

1. Summer haircuts. Emma's been asking for a while to get her hair cut. Mackenzie chimed in today that she'd like hers cut too. So this afternoon we went to Snippets where the girls walked in like this,


And out like this.



Emma wanted it to her shoulders, that's what she kept saying over and over. Mackenzie just wanted it short. And then shorter. I asked her at least 10 times, are you sure? I kept explaining that once she cut it this short there would be no more ponytails or braids (which she's been very in to lately) but she said she knew. In fact, her words were, "it's okay Mommy. I don't need a pony." She handled it much better than I did. I went between the two stations with my heart pounding and my hands shaking. Mackenzie's only had her hair trimmed three times and Emma's hasn't been this short since, well, ever. We've, or I rather, have always just let it grow. But it's their hair. It's summer. Time to try it and go short. And they love it. Emma's will be easier to brush and Mackenzie's will make for much easier mornings since she won't be crying every time I brush/style it. Plus, it's really, really cute.

2. Today was Mackenzie's Little Gym program.


3. And Emma's Safety Town graduation.


4. And this guy, well he needs a whole post to himself with all he's been up to lately.


5. Wednesday was Emma's Little Gym program.


and a Tball game.

There was also two trips to the pool, playtime outside and with friends, an evening at the outlets, eating on the deck, mornings at the fitness center/kid park, errands, summer Bible study began, family here for programs and to visit, and more. It was a fun and busy week. Which is just a preview of the summer to come, I'm sure!

Easter 2011

After church on Sunday we went to my mom's. First things first - a family picture. Since it was raining, we took it on the porch swing. I love this swing and if we ever move to a house with a porch we will have a swing just like it.


My favorite part of the pictures we took.


Then it was time to open Easter baskets from Grandma and a Easter bag from Aunt Tara. They were pretty much bursting with excitement to do this, which is probably why they were so willing to sit for photos. They knew what was coming next - baskets filled with candy.

After we ate, mom and I hid eggs for the girls to find. I love watching them look for eggs. I love how excited they get each time they find one.



Then it was time to eat more candy. And cheesecake. Really good cheesecake.

locker room self-portrait

I attempted to get a picture of me with all three kids in the locker room of the fitness center's family restroom. Because of course I always have my camera with me. You never know when you might want a post-workout, pre-Chick-fil-a bathroom break picture.

He

...is seven months already. Seven.


Which means I really need to take his six-month t-shirt picture to match the girls'. Oops.

I have an excuse

for not blogging this week, I'm hosting the Write.Click.Scrapbook. blog. Of course that's no excuse for missing all of last week, too...