Happening Now

Waiting to get into our hotel room at Sesame Place. It doesn't look like Hurricane Irene is going to cooperate with us today :(












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Happening Now

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Surprise, Ryan & Evan!

First there was this:






Then this:


And now this:

























Special thanks to our very handy neighbors for building this play-scape for us. This was a big job--bigger than we anticipated. All I did was help label pieces and even that was a lot of work! Joe and his wife built this in two days. They finished last night and they did an amazing job! Many thanks to them for helping us do something special for our boys. R&E love it!

Making Memories

It was a beautiful day.


There were squeals of laughter, just-right temperatures, ice-cream truck melodies, and rainbows. I wish I could bottle it all up and keep them for later when we're all bundled up and snowed in. I can't do that. But at least I'll have this rainbow.

It was a beautiful day

Big brother was not a fan of the sprayground at first.

Little brother, on the other hand, went for it with gusto

Ryan ventured close enough to feel a spray or two, but always ran back to me. I gently coaxed my boy to let go of my leg, reassured him that it was okay~that he could do it. Gave big hugs and celebrated each step closer with a "You did it!" I told him to watch Evan...

See? It's okay...try it, buddy.

I'm the mama of one of the coolest little boys ever. Oh how I love this boy's spirit.

And then it happened. My boy believed his mama and gave the sprouting turtle a try.

And then he was all in. Literally.

And I was so proud of my big boy for taking a chance. But, had he chosen not to that would have been just fine with me as well.








I watched my Peas play together; they made me smile with my whole face and laugh out loud. I felt like a kid again as I relived the magic of spraying water through my children's eyes.

Memories

Just Happened!

Ryan and Evan's first visit to the dentist. They did a GREAT job!















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Evanisms

Evan,
You are twenty-six months old. Time is moving so swiftly and I want to take it in and remember it all. You are changing and growing so much and so fast it's hard to keep up. You are such a smart little boy! You can count to ten all by yourself, say most of your ABCs, you know the sounds most of the letters make, and you are learning your colors and shapes. You catch on to things really quickly!


You currently wear mostly 18 months clothes and a 5.5 shoe. You eat a ton of food to be such a slim little guy! You love to try new foods. You love almost everything but some of your favorites are chicken, rice, Italian sausage and pasta, and cheese. You love, love, LOVE cheese! Just this morning you announced to me, "I eat cheese" as you were going into the fridge helping yourself to a slice. You are very independent. You have a HUGE personality and you are so funny! I laugh at your antics all the time. You're easy on the eyes too. I think you are one of the two cutest boys in the entire world.

You love playing outside and going to the playground, you have a tricycle that you are learning to ride, and you love to color and draw. You also love to be in water so I'm pretty sure swimming lessons are in your future. Oh and music lessons too! You take to the piano and the drums after service every Sunday. Speaking of church, you have a heart to praise God. You love going to church and you sit still, listen, and participate in service. You enjoy listening to the choir and sometimes you even dance along. One of your favorite words to say is "Hallelujah!"

You recently had your first trip to the aquarium and I think you loved it. Your favorite part, though, was playing in the kid zone. You love to try to do flips, and they had the perfect gear for you.

This picture was taken a few months ago at a birthday party. Evan and all the other boys wanted to play with this one truck. I call this picture, "The Standoff." Big brother waited on the sidelines to see how this thing would play out.

You are sure of yourself, determined, and strong-willed. I love to watch you with other children.

You are friendly yet assertive. I like this about you.

You've never met any strangers! You love people and you play well with other kids--especially the big ones. I really believe that you have no idea that you are only two! Your favorite person in the world, though, is Ryan. You love your big brother so much! You ask for him the minute you wake up and you are not happy until you see him. Sometimes you two fight, but you always make up with a hug and a kiss.









You are inquisitive and adventurous. You'll try almost anything! It scares me a little sometimes, but it makes me proud too. I know these are qualities that you'll need to become the man God has destined you to be. There is something really special and amazing that you are supposed to do in this world. Whatever it is, you're going to be good at it. I am so blessed to be your mommy. I love you way, way more than you know.



Always,
Mommy

Ryanisms

Ryan,

You are twenty-six months old right now and the time has just flown by. I still remember the day we brought you home from the hospital, and it seems that in the blink of an eye my baby has grown into such a big, strong, smart, handsome, and sweet big boy. You currently wear 24 months and 2T sized clothes and a 6.5 shoe. You are solid! You have a really good appetite, but you are a picky eater right now. You do not like to try new foods and if you don't like the way something looks, forget about it! You love apples, bananas, chicken, rice and sweets. One funny thing about you is that we always have to give you two of something. You want one of whatever you are eating in one hand at all times~ ha!!

Your are so smart and it blows me away how quickly you learn things. You do an excellent job of saying the sounds that most of the letters make and you even recognize some of the letters. You have a really good memory and you know the words to all of your favorite songs. Your current favorites are your Yo Gabba Gabba and Laurie Berkner Band cds. You will not allow me to listen to anything else when we are in the car!







You love playing outside; I think you'd stay out all day if we let you. Recently you have discovered that you love playing in dirt. You enjoy going to the playground and playing on the sliding board. You do not like to swing, though!








Ryan didn't like the carousel during his first trip to the Bronx Zoo back on Memorial Day. Once Mommy held him, though, he loved it.

One thing that I love about you is your heart. You are such a sweet, sweet boy. You are cautious and thoughtful. If you are afraid of something you hold on to your mommy and daddy real tight until we show you that it's okay. Usually, that's enough to convince you and then you're all smiles. I feel so proud of you when you take a chance and try something new.









Oh my! Big brother knows a pretty girl when he sees one.
You are sweet and affectionate and you give the best hugs ever! You are gentle and kind. Your brother can be a bit aggressive sometimes, but even though you are bigger than he is you never try to hurt him. Well, actually are begining to stick up for yourself more. I'm glad about this. You two are very close, though. When you wake up in the morning you make a beeline to find Evan. Once you find him you give your daddy and me a little attention.








You still love books. If I start reciting the words to a book or ask you for a certain title you can go find it and bring it to me so I can read it to you. How cool is that?






Your current favorite is a book about colors and shapes. You love circles right now and you point them out to me all the time. You also know triangles and stars.







You enjoy other kids, but you like to play solo too. You are really good at climbing, jumping, and figuring out how things work. I just love watching you. After I get over how adorable you are and how much I see your daddy in you I get caught up in how well you move. Sometimes I wish you could stay just like this for a little while longer. But you have growing and learning to do. I'm just so happy that I have a front row seat to watch you become who you are destined to be. You'll always be my baby, though. Love you much.

Always,
Mommy

Devon's Place

The boys and I found a great new park and we recently had our first visit. I have to admit that we don't go to the park very often since I'm usually alone with the boys and as you can imagine it's tricky keeping up with TWO very active little boys. I realize, though, that this is unfair to R&E in some ways. Just because they are twins and things are a bit more difficult shouldn't keep them from having new experiences. I just have to find a way to make it work for us. And I did. And I'm glad! It's a really neat park and I love that it is sectioned off by age. All the equipment is age appropriate and they even have a sprayground. The boys are just getting over colds and I didn't bring their bathing suits (Ina bought them Speedos. SOOO cute!!) so we didn't do that part. I'm planning a visit next week though and we'll definitely do the sprayground. I want to do as much with them as possible before I go back to work. We even joined a play group! More on that later :)




















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