She tells all...

happy bouncy....

Shush cameo..

A few more pictures from our adventures. Ryanne has decided she wants to be a mountain climber and run up and down the hill next to our house.......about 100 times in a row. At least it gives me a bit of a workout, right? We are still following Shush around the hood. Ryanne also asked me to tie a ribbon around her...she called herself a "pressie". Yes, Ryanne you are a gift.

"No" Wonder...

That is it. I'm officially a dementor.

I tried to listen to myself from Ryanne's ears: NO! Ryanne No! Please don't play with the remote Ryanne. No touching the computer- its not a toy for toddlers, honey. DO NOT TOUCH FINLEY'S FACE! Don't touch the swing while Finley is in it... please. No, we don't color with pens on furniture. Ryanne, BE GENTLE with Shush! No Ryanne, you cannot carry those hand weights, those are mommy's. DO NOT TOUCH FINLEY'S EYES! Please do not play with mommy or daddy's cell phones, those are off limits. No honey, that's mommy's coffee. NO climbing on top of tables, NO sitting on the dishwasher door, NO you cannot go outside naked in January. No, Ryanne you cannot move that chair to unlock the front door. DO NOT TOUCH FINLEY'S TONGUE! Please, baby, be quiet because Finley is sleeping. Do not throw toys, do not tear books, do not take toys away from your sister. NO WHINING! NO, No, No. Wha whaa wha whaaaaa Wha wha wha........

No wonder her favorite word is "nope". URGH?!?

Even better.....YES Ryanne, we ARE taking a bath, changing your diaper, holding hands in a parking lot, washing your hands, getting in the car, going to bed........We love you Ryanne.

I told you, I'm a dementor.

After all of that I get a child who is such a peach. And I try to take note of all the precious moments we have together. She gives hugs and kisses to her parents all the time. Always concerned if someone has a boo boo. She makes us giggle when we need it most. This morning, she held up a gift that was sent to Finley and said "pink dress, CUTE"...And of course she had to wedge herself into it. It was size 12 months. Today, we played with her animals, put them in her stroller and she then read to her bunny, after she put her tights on it. She put herself on the naughty step for screaming (again) and told me, she wanted to take her nap. OMG! Really, we have a great toddler. Finley has no idea how good she still has it.

We love you Ryanne. I'm only a dementor because I love you.

Sponges and Sprouts

A few things have occurred in January 2010 that I never would have guessed. Ryanne eats raw spinach - stems only. Ryanne likes rap, in particular a song by "Naughty by Nature"...she started to sing "hey, hoooo, hey, hoooo"...I will try desperately to get that on video.

We have switched into her next shoe size. She was wearing five's, and the six's look like clown shoes, but I think her foot is about a 5.5. She was hesitant, as she was pretty attached to her pink ones. Luckily her mommy has navy chuck taylors as well, which helped ease her into them.

Ryanne has become quite observant and creative in her mind. She looked on the ceiling while getting a new diaper, and said "pup pup", as she pointed to the ceiling. I was confused at first, as "pup pup", the blankie she fancies most, was at my feet. She was referring to the shadow of stripes on the ceiling that reminded her of pup pup. Its wonderful seeing the world through her eyes.

She is being quite polite too. Saying bye bye to her poo poo (something I NEVER thought I would say) and "hello Egypt" as I explained to her a place to her on the map. She is learning things on her own that we am not even teaching her. Quite the sponge these days. =)

Finley is sitting well in her bumbo chair. I knew this would happen eventually, but already? Its helpful during dinnertime for example, but I cannot believe how fast she is sprouting. She is also drooling and chewing on everything. I remember Ryanne started 'teething' at this age too. I gave her a really cold carrot to put her gums on, and she seemed to like it alot.

A few other noteworthy things includes Ryanne nursing her stuffed animals. She lifts her shirt and cradles the animals, then flips them over and says "other side". It is so precious. She is also making complete sentences. It was quite articulate when she told me the "crayon pushes on paper to draw". (of course!!) Finley smiles so hard she can't smile anymore...she seems to be a happy baby when she is NOT sick. Unfortunately she has had 4 colds in 3.5 months. She still won't take a bottle (urgh), and hates the car seat, but makes up for it with her cool personality and raspberries that she blows. I have also booked mt first cooking class in February-getting back to teaching seems daunting but I'm excited!

And a few other photos from our neighborhood walks with daddy. We have missed the snowy season, but have tried to take advantage of the mild winter. Hope I don't eat my words when it snows in April.

Sisters...

Geared up...

Eric's Christmas beard..

Her 2 year old self

Ryanne has been excelling, in our opinions (and in the opinions of her new teachers) quite well. We are really proud what she has accomplished thus far:

Being born Dec 18 2007 (this is a big one)
Rolling over after her first plane ride at 2.5 months
Sitting up, 4 months
Crawling, 8 months
First tooth, August 10th 2008 (right after we moved to Snoqualmie)
First word: Fish
Slept through the night at 9 months
Walks, January 15th 2009
She has been to the dentist, gotten her hair cut, welcomed a baby sister with open arms...

So up to this point, you are probably thinking 'so do all other kids'...

BUT now at 2 years old, she can count to ten, read numbers, sing and read the ABC's by herself, point out her relatives in photos, walk fearlessly on a balance beem, sing the theme songs to her favorite tv shows (which are currently Bob the Builder and Little Einsteins), She says "CHEERS" when sharing a drink, she acknowledges her bodily functions and now wants us to 'look away' (hysterical!!). She can proudly recite the words to her prayers and some of her bedtime books...She says "please" and "thank you" with out us asking some times, she can put pants and her boots on herself and puts her shoes and coat at the front door when she takes them off. She told her daddy "I love you daddy" without being asked or prompted to so, and lovingly gives hugs and kisses when she feels like it. She can scale a climbing wall at the park. She has a special handshake she does with her parents called "The Politician." Sometimes when Finley cries Ryanne says "no cry no cry...mommy Finley milk." She knows her first and last name. She sometimes yells to get her mommy's attention, "Kisten! Kisten! You coming?" She can pick out Charlie Brown out of line up (he is her favorite dog...more so than Clifford). She see's a star and starts singing " twinkle twinkle little star"..........Thing is, I know I am missing so many other wonderful things too....Good thing this is just a family blog, because most people would probably roll their eyes by now, huh?

Ok, ok...she can also press many of our buttons, she is the queen of stalling at bedtime, she makes up fake boo-boo's and asks for "medicine" almost daily, and makes her parents worry because she never has an appetite...She chases Shush out of the room, and claims all toys in this house are hers. She also knows her whining works very well too. So there..she isn't perfect.

Yesterday I dropped her off at her first day of 'school'. Its a drop off tot program that lasts only 2 1/2 hours on Fridays. She gets to play with 10 other kids in a fun environment and get lots of exercise and attention. She was great when I left, but I cried like a baby. I couldn't believe this new milestone. When I returned the teachers said they wanted to keep her....(NO WAY!!) She was a pleasure to have in their class, got along with all the kids and was fearless in the gym. We are so proud. She does all of this while looking gorgeous....take that Hollywood!

Finley's Foto shoot

No words needed.

Santa, came and went. Welcome 2010!

I cannot believe we have celebrated Ryanne's 2nd birthday, Christmas and New Years Eve ALREADY...I feel as though we just turned on the festive Christmas music that we all love so much. I guess we will have to follow suit and start listening to it in July like Uncle Brian. Thank You to all of you who showered us all with gifts. I realized I'm a full grown adult because Christmas is just not about me anymore. It was wonderful to watch Ryanne open her gifts this year. There were so many gifts, we needed to take a nap break and continue to open gifts later on Christmas afternoon. There was even one gift left unopened (from her mom and dad) that we decided to keep wrapped and pull out in July perhaps. Why not spread the joy?
Ryanne had as much fun carefully tearing paper, (she's not a ripper just yet) popping bubble wrap and dangling ribbon in front of Shush's nose, as she did playing with her new gifts. Finley got some assistance opening her gifts this year, but I'm pretty sure she liked them all and could feel all the happy energy in the room from her sister and parents. THANK YOU Family for loving our daughters and making them feel joyful on Christmas.

Some things we are thankful for: Finley's health, the new 2010 calendar!! Finley's Godparents: John & Lee Schumacher and Jenny Schumacher (the lucky girl has 3!!), Ryanne learning something(s) new everyday, webcams, text messaging, naps, strong coffee, champagne, new stuffed owls that Ryanne can't sleep without, inspiring cookbooks, the new playroom in our house (we finally let go) filled with a kitchen and an easel, lots of art supplies, vintage fairy tale books, a cd player Ryanne already knows how to use, a very large yellow truck, paddington bear, lots and lots of books =). With all of these material things, we really just wished we were able to see you all in person. Travel just wasn't in the books this year. I'm sorry we missed the UK visitors, miss you Jen and Leigh...so close, yet so far. Sorry we weren't able to to share good food and wine with everyone...and we are really sad we couldn't watch Charlie tear his new monkey to pieces. Good boy Charlie!

Now we will continue into 2010 listening to new music, playing with our new toys in our new playroom, trying very hard not to get sick. Also in 2010, VISITORS WELCOME~We love you all.