Swim Time

We also pulled out the kiddie pool the last day we were in Conroe so that we could all hang out and the kids could cool off.

 Ava & Emily of course wore their matching suits!

 And I finally took a photo of Darren & Ryan together.  I realized that unlike when we had Ava, we have no photos of Darren with Ryan...guess that's because he is busy managing Ava while I deal with Ryan.  I mean we don't have a lot of photos of me and the kids but that's a given since I'm the one taking the photos!



Family Photos

It's family photo time again.  We set the self timer to take 3 photos in rapid succession and here are the top ones.

First, we did the plain happy photo.

Then I wanted to make sure we got a good one so we did it again.  Of course while I was setting up the camera, Darren told his family to close their eyes so I would be the only one with mine open.  Ha! They do this to me every time, you think I would learn. At least the kids have my back and kept their eyes open.

 So then we tried to take another nice one.  Looks like Ian missed the message and decided that now was when he should close his eyes.

 Of course, we had to take a silly photo too.

 And then per Ava's request a scary one.  Jeanie, apparently does not like to be scary.  Just silly.

All in all, there were 15 photos and I have to say if you watch them quickly in a row, it is quite humorous.  Especially on the last 6 where some of us move.  i won't bore you by showing you all 15 since I probably did that with 5.

Anyways, Ryan welcome to the crazy family!  You're now officially part of our crazy family photos.

Conroe

More photos from Conroe.  Here's one of Ava & Emily...now that Emily is really talking Ava has taken more of an interest in her and I see them being good friends the older they get.  They had lots of fun playing babies and stuff.

 Emily in the sandbox.

 Aunt Donna got some good snuggle time with Ryan and gave me a much needed break from holding him.  We tried to hang in the shade with the fan since it was super hot out.

Catching Up

We headed down to Conroe this weekend (Ryan's first road trip!).  And while there, I got to meet up with Rosemary and her baby, Ashlen for lunch in the Woodlands.  I was so excited to finally meet her little one and let me tell you, she is too cute!  So smiley and happy the whole time.  And she was wearing the Idaho dress I made her..awww!

 Since Ryan slept the whole time, I got to have a little cuddle time with Ashlen. I can't wait for Ryan to be this age (5 months).

 

 We had to take a photo of the kids side by side...maybe they'll be boyfriend & girlfriend one day?  As long as Ashlen doesn't mind be a slightly older woman.  Loving her super cool sunglasses btw.

 After lunch, we headed back to Granny & Pops' house and took some photos with Samantha (Granny's creepy baby doll).  We thought it was funny that the doll & Ryan are currently the same size.

 A little photo of Ryan and his grandparents...Pops first...

 Granny later (I know I said I was going to steer clear of the pacifier this time around but the kid sometimes wants it...he wanted it more in Conroe than he ever has at home!)

And we finished off the day with a little fishing.  Someone was not happy with me taking photos that day so all I got was the shot from the back...lounging in her Tinkerbell chair.



Recital Time!

Ava's first dance recital was this weekend.  On Saturday, we went to the dress rehearsal.

 The girls were so cute and it was hilarious to watch.  Too bad the video Darren took on his iPhone is WAY too big to upload..will have to see if I can post a few clips because watching 3 and 4 year olds tap dance is quite a show!

Today was the actual recital so I had Ava pose outside before we left.  She loved having lip gloss and blush on for the big show.  It went really well and we even got Me-Mommy to tag along too.

Just Like Ryan

Ava wanted to be just like her brother today...semi naked, only in underwear (or a diaper in Ry's case).

 Here he is at 6.5 weeks old.  Getting big!

 And just so you see how big Ava is in comparison to Ryan...

Sisterly Love (Through Song)

A few examples of how much Ava loves Ryan.  And of her song writing (and singing) abilities.  I never get tired of this...too cute!  (These btw, are all from the beginning of May so Ryan is much bigger now...guess I need to post some pics soon as I have not updated the blog in awhile).

Ryan, however, does not always enjoy the singing...I'm sure in a few months he will be thoroughly entertained by Ava but for now, it's hit or miss.

And then there are times, when I try to just get a cute video of Ava just playing with Ryan, and she has to put on a show for me...like the one below. 

Artwork

Ava is all about art these days so I thought I would post a few of her latest pieces that I like.  She has gotten pretty good lately with drawing people (in terms of putting all the features on them) and I love hearing the story behind her pictures.  Sometimes she even writes words on there (if she knows how to spell it or if someone is around to tell her how to spell it).

(Btw, excuse the poor pictures but I just quickly took them with my iPhone b/c I was too lazy to get the real camera out)

This one came from school and is a picture of me.  Her story is "Mommy is chasing the cat.  The cat is itchy with a spider on its back."  I really liked this one because not only is the story random (which I will have to post a list of her stories as they are always entertaining and weird) but she actually used multiple colors to make my face.  That is new for her!  I guess I have a big nose, blue hair, yellow eyes and tiny arms?  Ha!

 Then a few days later this one came home from school.  It is a picture of Daddy and says "My Daddy fell down adn got a lot of bumps."  Ava was really excited to show Darren this one because she had to point out all the bumps on his legs.  I like his 2 colored eyes (hard to see in the photo but one is yellow) and I love that Darren has no body in this one, only really long legs.  These 2 now hang on our fridge b/c I like them as a pair.

 And then there are these 2 simple signs she made a few days before Ryan was born.  They have been hanging on her door and Ryan's room since then and she won't let us take them down.  The first is a sign that says "No Boys."  She asked me how to spell that and put it up so that no boys could come in her room.  Sometimes it applies to Darren (only when she is grumpy with us) and sometimes he can still go in there.  Then she made the other one that says "Yes Boys Allowed." She made it after I questioned whether Daddy would be able to go in her room.  For awhile she switched the signs around on her door depending on her mood, but now it has a permanent home on Ryan's door (not that he lives in his room yet).  When she made these, I thought it was funny but I really love how she actually uses them!

I love that her artwork has progressed so much (from scribbles, to semi recognizable things to things that you can't mistake).  Her teacher at school said her artwork was "outstanding." Maybe she gets it from me (not saying I am outstanding just saying I like to draw).  I love kid art!! 

And finally, here's a funny story about Ava's art.  At her school, sometimes the kids send home their artwork with their friends (they draw pics specifically for them and put them in their cubbies or backpacks).  Well 2 of the moms have told me how they have found pictures in their folder and thought their kids drew them...and they were excited b/c usually the art that gets brought home is "squiggles" and such.  Then they flipped it over to find that Ava's name was on it and that she drew it!    I'm actually surprised they got good ones b/c for every recognizable drawing we get, we also get 4 "squiggly" ones.

Happy Mother's Day...Belated

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there I know.  My day was great!  We had a nice relaxing day at home for the most part, although we did take my mom out for breakfast with the kiddos.  This is the first year Ava really picked out my gifts.  She got $15 from Granny & Pops for her birthday and although she was supposed to have spent in on herself (she has already planned on getting a dress with it), for some reason when the time came to go get me a gift, she decided to buy me something with it.  So sweet!  She picked out a really cute necklace & earrings (which I wore the other day) and then wanted to get me a bracelet too (pictured,  just barely in the bottom photo) but Darren had to buy that since she ran out of "muddy' (that is how she still says money--so cute).

Anyways, it was really thoughtful of her and showed me what a caring & thoughtful girl she really is.  I also got a gift certificate for a massage that I can't wait to use! 

 Our silly photo (really a shame that Ryan looks like he has a broken neck in all the photos I take with him. I'll have to work on that!)

Then on Monday at school, they had a Mother's Day tea where they sang songs to us. Adorable...can't wait to see the video of that one (once I get my friend to send it to me).  We also got some cute drawings, one of which was a booklet where they had drawn a photo of their mom on it..this is what mine looked like..not too bad!  Really enjoying Ava's artwork these days...definitely need to post some of them on here.

Then inside the kids answered some questions and I personally, really enjoyed Ava's responses.  I am apparently really tall!!  And young!

 

My mommy is 21 years old.

My mommy is 21 feet tall.

My mommy's favorite thing to do with me is playing outside with me.

My mommy is really great at sewing costumes for me.

It makes my mommy happy when I build a tower for her.

I love my mommy because she hugs me.

4 Weeks Old

Another week, another photo shoot with the kiddos.  Ryan is starting to act more like what I remember a baby to be, which means he is starting to wear me out...recently he has decided to be quite fussy in the evenings and he insists on being held for hours at a time...no swing or bouncy chair will work.  Makes it hard to make dinner or do anything other than hold him.   Rather exhausting, but I guess it is preferable to him being like that in the middle of the night (like Ava was).  He is loving tummy time and other than a few happy wakeful periods in the morning, he chooses to spend his time sleeping and eating and crying the rest of the day away.  But he is always asleep and easy when we are out and about (good thing!).

On to the photos, Ava being silly...(oh and check out Ryan's onesie...it's the one I made using one of D's old shirts)

 Sweet kisses...

 And giggles...not sure why Ava enjoys these photo taking sessions but I'm happy she continues to be so in love with her brother.



Faces

Sad Ryan...

& peaceful Ryan.  I love both faces!!

A Look Back

I completely forgot that we took photos on the day of Ryan's birth with my old camera.  Just remembered so I uploaded a few that I liked (I'll spare you the ones where Ryan is screaming, naked, with his cord still attached, getting bathed etc...)

Darren getting pimped out in his OR gear.

 He always makes me laugh...think he was trying to relax me before the surgery. 

 And the first photo of me & Ryan...last time around, they took a photo of me, Darren & Ava but for some reason this time, they made Darren take a photo such it's just us two...kind of sad.  Would have been nice to have a photo like this one with each our kids. Not that I make much of an appearance in either of these photos.

 And I did include one screaming photo...no idea when this was taken (maybe after his bath? - I was not there) but it makes me laugh.  He still makes that sad face when he cries.  I call it his "little devil" face.