Sleepover

Cousin Jacob joined us for a sleepover recently and these two had quite a good time. I finally coerced them to sit on the couch together so I could get a picture, but they were not about to smile sweetly. Although, I believe this was taken shortly after the viewing of the Superman/Batman movie. I love matching cousin pajamas almost as much (but, not quite!) as much as I love matching brother pajamas.

The Wow Gift

Aaron's "big" gift this year was a Leapster game syster. According to older cousin Jacob, Aaron would get one when he turned four. So, 'round about November, Aaron suddenly inquired, "Hey, how 'come I'm four and I don't have a Leapster?". So, we caved and I spent a good amount of time scouring Slickdeals.net for a great deal and my patience paid off! Aaron was thrilled when he opened it, although he immediately exclaimed, "I knew Jacob would get me this!". Sorry Jacob, we had to give credit where credit was due... and let him know it was from Mom and Dad! (Note Aaron's attire of green pants and blue shirt.... he still puts this combination on every time he gets dressed and picks out his own clothes.)

Some Long Overdue Cuddling

One of the highlights of Cherry Creek Christmas this year was Aunt Kat flying in from Virgilina! Ryan was happy to spend some quality time with his long lost aunt. One of the biggest downsides to Aunt Kat's exciting life as a travel PT is that we don't get to see her much anymore. Ryan misses his babysitter!

Million Dollar Smile

Oh, that Ryan James smile! It just makes his parents melt and momentarily forget the energy needed to parent a child such as Ryan.

"Aaron, you stand by that tree...

...right now and smile!" That may or may not have been how this picture came about...

Cute boy on the lot....

Ryan at the Boy Scout's tree lot.

The Christmas Tree Express

Eventually, I hope that we can do one of those tradition-laden trips to a tree farm to saw down our own tree after trooping merrily through the fields to find the perfect specimen. However, the developmental stages of our children make that kind of Christmas tree expedition a death wish. So..... we walked down the street to the Boy Scouts Tree sale and brought our tree home in the wagon! You can't see me in this picture, I'm the one carrying crying Ryan who really just wants to get down so he can run into the road.

The Jolly Old Elf

We took Aaron to our local Barnes and Noble for a reading of Polar Express. The event also featured a visit, by "you-know-who". We weren't sure how Aaron would react, so we thought this would be a good low-key way to test the waters. If it started to go south, we could scoot out of the store with no loss of time or money... However, Aaron's eyes lit up when he spied Santa and he was eager to sit on his lap and tell him that he would like a "hot wheels race track" for Christmas. (Already a purchased item, whew!)

Not everyone likes Santa....

We tried to get the adorable shot of our two boys on Santa's lap in their matching jammies... but Ryan did not care for Santa.

Our lovable Aaron

Aaron actually obliged and agreed to a picture at the zoo. This picture also captures a developmental stage we are currently in. Whenever Aaron picks out his own clothes for the day, he always picks out a pair of green pants and some sort of blue shirt to go with it. Not necessarily a matching outfit per se, but very Aaron!

Pumpkin Pie

It was very fitting that Uncle Bob introduced Ryan to pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day. With a healthy dollop of whipped cream.

My little turkeys!

Here is Aaron with cousins, Jacob and Maddie. We made turkey treats out of oreo cookies and candy corn. Getting these three kids to look at the camera all at once was an impossible task! (Note our primed and yet to be painted dining room back drop... lovely.)

Tea Party

Grama Susan and Ryan had a tea party together on Thanksgiving Day after dinner and naps. Complete with goldfish crackers. And lots of dumping in and out of various containers.

"Tee!"

Ryan has learned the word "tree" with the help of Nana Ensign. Nana has gotten a small Christmas tree for each of the grandchildren to have in his or her room and Ryan got his tree on Saturday. He is quite excited over Christmas light displays in general and loves having a tree of his very own!

Thanks a Heap!

We were invited to spend a weekend with the Murphy Family in Clinton, NY. We had a great time with Uncle John, Aunt Marilee, and cousins, Nick and Jack. Uncle John won Aaron's heart by raking a huge pile of leaves for him to jump into. We had several family jumps, as well. We went on a lovely fall walk and stopped at a cute little children's festival in the town square, the super exciting school playground and the adorable (and yummy) Clinton Cider Mill. Uncle John had to carry a sleeping Aaron on his shoulder all the way back home!

Bubble Buddies

Ryan was an appreciative audience for Great Uncle John's bubble show.

Halloween Morning Means...

... powdered donut holes for breakfast. Ryan was happy to partake and kept indicating that he would like more... and more.... and more.

Love that Kitty

Amelia gets a big hug from her Uncle Scott. These guys have been buddies from way back. Amelia just loved being a cat, as she has quite a fondness for kitties.

Ryan the Bear

Ryan struck out with his brother and cousins for a taste of the trick-or-treat experience. Here is our cute, fuzzy bear ready for a mad dash down the sidewalk.

Buzz Lightyear

Aaron happily donned his Buzz Lightyear costume for the second Halloween in a row. He stands at our door, ready for a mad dash to the neighbor's house(s).

Succumbing to the Sugar Rush

This picture of cousin Amelia was clarified by review of her treat bag at the end of the night. She had bitten into several candy bars, wrapper and all. We also found a few empty sucker sticks and a few half eaten treats to boot.

On the Way Home

Aaron and Charlie hitched a ride back to the house after we hit up the neighborhood together for trick-or-treating. The kids were so exuberant in their quest for candy this year. It was a blast to watch them!

Devious Ryan

Ryan apparently has quite a sweet tooth. He delighted in his treat bag this year. Although, consumption was restricted to one package of M & M's. He spent quite a bit of time pulling out each candy treat one by one and then putting them back in his bag one by one.

Progress

Progress... and More

Progress

Pumpkin Patch

After last year's fiasco of a family trip to the pumpkin patch, I was reluctant to try again. But, we decided to be brave and head out to Stokoe Farm with the boys last Saturday. We had such a great time and there was no sobbing until the car ride home! The boys especially enjoyed the dried corn bin where they had a lot of fun playing in all the corn. We went on lots of slides, tried our hand at Pumpkin launching, walked through the corn maze and much more.

Ew!

Aaron celebrated his fourth birthday this year on September 20. I created this crazy cake concoction topped with gummy worms, snakes and spiders. Cousin Amelia said "Ew!" every time she spotted it, but seemed quite fascinated all the same! We had a fun family dinner at Aunt JenJen's and Uncle Bob's house... minus Aunt Kat! : (

Why Mom Can't Get Anything Done. Part 378

I left the room and came back to this scene- Ryan balanced precariously on a riding toy so that he could drive his car on the table. He seemed quite proud of himself.

Contagious grin

Here's our happy little Ry! He loves the tub and will go running for the bathroom when we ask him if he wants to take a bath. He tries desperately to climb in the whole time we are trying to get his clothes off.

A Dad and His Boy

Scott accompanies Aaron into school on his first day.

First Day of Preschool

Aaron is attending Precious Kids Preschool this year on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Here he is on his first day all ready to go. Although, he was upset with me that he had to wear a shirt with buttons. I had not known this previously, but apparently, he does not like "shirts with buttons".

Why I haven't been blogging much as of late!

This summer, we embarked on the very ambitious and arduous process of raising the roof of our house. Instead of largely unusable space in our cute, little cape, we will now be the proud owners of two bedrooms, a master bedroom and a master bathroom. This is the view of the master bedroom facing north, to the back of the house. Entrance to master bath is on the right. No boys allowed in my master bath. Scott may get to use it with a signed permission slip. Construction in one's house turns out to be noisy, dusty, dirty, and cramped. Aaron and Ryan sleep in the office and Scott and I sleep in our bedroom with a view of the kitchen. I appreciate the shortcut when I stumble out to get Ryan's bottle at 6 am. These pics are from mid-August and it already looks a lot different. Rumor has it, the contractor may be done next week, leaving us with oodles of painting.... I cannot wait to move back into my house!! : )

Our someday master bedroom..... *sigh*....

Some day, this will be little Ryan James' room. It is in the northeast corner, for those familiar with our Hedgegarth home.

The view from my bed. Yes, that would our kitchen!

Ice cream

Aaron and Charlie enjoying their summer treats. Aaron's is always chocolate ice cream, this time in a bowl. No rainbow sprinkles this round. Charlie's was vanilla on a cone turned into a dish... which is apparently perfect for catching the drips. These goofy boys tend to be quite entertaining.

When Ryan smiles...

... I get all mushy inside! He is such a bright spot in our lives (when he's in a good mood!). This is another pic from our trip to Long Acre Farms. Ryan recently got his summer buzz cut from Daddy.

Double or nothing!

I found this moment rather amusing. My two boys chugging it simultaneously.

A is for arboretum....

We joined our friends the Gills for a picturesque meandering walk through the Webster Arboretum. Although Aaron often despises having his picture taken, he conjured up this cheesy grin for me! The boys loved exploring the grounds and playing on the playground.

So in love with this boy...

Ryan crawls through tractor tires at Long Acre Farms. We spent a lovely summer's morning there with Jen, Charlie and Amelia. We played on the playground, fed goats and jumped on the jumping pillow. All was well... until Aaron got stung three times! So, despite having made plans to avoid the ice cream counter, we ended up getting drippy cones for all the kids in attempts at assuaging Aaron's dismay.

Strawberry Picking

I packed Ryan into our backpack carrier and headed out into a local strawberry field with Aaron to pick strawberries. The picking was great and we picked nine quarts in just over a half hour. Well, I picked 8 1/2 quarts and Aaron picked 1/2 a quart or so. He kept up a running commentary and wanted to me to "Look!" at every berry he picked. We stopped at the farm store for donuts and chocolate milk after a hard morning's labor.