1 year

cousins
Chloe shares the same birthday as her Grandma Great

One year I can't believe it has been a year already. It seems like yesterday that Ryan turned a year.

She really enjoyed her birthday cupcakes.

Eleven Months and Thirty One Months

I know it's late but here are last months pictures...

Yes she is walking. And yes her nose has a red scab on it from trying to run.

As I was driving the kids to daycare this morning, I heard the most amazing thing come out of the back seat. Ryan, with no provocation, started saying his ABCs. He said very calmly (like he does it a lot, but this is the first time I know of) A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I (skip a few) N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z. I was stunned. He is apparently really learning a lot a daycare, because he used to run through and miss a lot more than that. I praised him effusively, and he just looked at me like he does this every day. 2.5 and singing songs and doing ABCs…wow, our little boy is growing up FAST!

Here is another picture from when we were taking B-Day pics. Ryan was mostly happy to hold Chloe, but at one point, he got tired and just pushed her off his lap.

He was good, but she was getting upset at this point.

10 months and 2.5

Here is our big boy at 2.5. He is growing and maturing so quickly. It seems like every week he astonishes us with something new that he can do.

And then there is our pretty girl. She is trying to walk, standing up in the middle of the room by herself, and taking a few steps. Once that comes, watch out Ryan. We think he knows, and is trying to get in all the slaps and kicks he can before the retaliation starts.

Here is Ryan singing Jesus Loves Me. We have several different versions, but this was probably the best one. He is 'playing his guitar' in the background at the beginning in case you wondered.

9 Months

Chloe is 9 months! I can't believe it. She is 19 lbs 6 ounces and 27 1/2 inches. She stands by herself but is not walking yet. No teeth but thinks everything should go in her mouth. She is the biggest "drama queen" I have seen. If she is in the room she thinks she should be the center of attention and if she is not then she makes sure everyone knows it. And, if anyone leaves the room, she screams like she is being abandoned, even if someone else is standing right next to her.

Ryan is 29 months and so fun.

Chloe wants to do everything her big brother does.

Easter Sunday. This was really the best picture we could get of the two of them without one of us holding both of them down.

This was about the 4th time that he had climbed up this ladder. He was fine...a little startled, and I think it kind of knocked the wind out of him for a second or two. Daddy won't be letting him climb up that ladder any time in the near future. He will have to grow some more first.

Spring and 8 months

Fearless...Sweet...

I know, I know I am late posting the 8 month pictures but life is hectic with 2 little ones and job interviews...Chris had an interview on Tuesday (thanks Gayle for watching the children), he should know more next week.


Yes this ended badly.

Our little girl is getting big

Chloe must have watched Emmett and the other babies while we were in Columbus, and decided to start pulling up and standing when we got home.



On a related note, we were in Columbus for 3 days and didn't take a single picture. How sad is that? We did, however, have a WONDERFUL time with our friends, whom we really miss. We hope to see you all again, real soon.

February Tonka

Chloe's February Truck Pictures

Clapping!

End of Feb. 27 & 7 months

Well, it's the end of February, and the kids have turned 27 months (Ryan) and 7 months (Chloe), respectively. Chloe has decided that she wants to be mobile after sitting up last week she took off crawling this week. Ryan is not as happy now that Chloe is more mobile. I get the feeling that he would be just as happy if Chloe never touched him. She has not only started crawling, but whenever she can get into something, she does. In the pictures below, she crawled over to the entertainment center and almost got inside it...until Ryan got in it to protect his territory.


Andi made cupcakes (eggless) tonight for Ryan's birthday (well, we told him they were for his birthday, but they were more just for dessert). Ryan got to ice them, which he thought was great fun. Andi prudently decided to take his shirt off before she let him mess with icing. He didn't get too much on himself, but he did greatly enjoy icing and then eating his own cupcake, paper and all. Not my kid...

Time for an update

Chloe decided to start sitting up last night, so I thought I would try to get some pictures...she was very cooperative.




There was a little break between these two pictures because she decided she wanted to stay on her knees and rock for a few minutes.


Viola! she made it all the way up with a little help from the sofa. Pretty soon she will be crawling and pulling up.

And a little about Ryan...Charlie, you were right...Ryan watched a Blue's Clues last week, and now has two DVDs, and that is all he wants to watch. We have let the monster loose. He is talking a lot more, and putting together sentences and climbing on everything...in other words, a normal two year old. He almost ended his existence yesterday, though. I was making Chloe's bottle in the kitchen, and I heard him coming near me sounding questioning. I turned around to see that he had taken his pants down, unfastened his diaper, and it was around one of his ankles with poop smeared all down his legs and on the carpet. It was just one of those times you just want to scream. I managed to calm down and get him cleaned up and Chloe's bottle in her, and the rest of the day went well. Later in the evening, Ryan did come up to me and say "Daddy, I love you," so that kind of balanced out the day.

Funny Story

The other day, I was in the living room, flipping channels on the TV while Andi fed Chloe. I happened to stop on the Winter X Games on ESPN for a minute, and was watching something having to do with skiing. I looked down, and saw Ryan standing on his Thomas train track and started to scold him about not standing on it when I looked closer. He had two straight pieces of track side-by-side and had positioned his feet on them like the skiers on TV. I started to laugh, and called to Andi, but he moved before she could get in to see it. WOW! Tell me children don't learn quickly. I thought (and still do think) that it is amazing for him to be able to correlate what he saw on TV and think of a practical way of expressing it in his playing.

And just a couple of pictures of random cuteness:

I guess this is where her battery ran down. One minute she was moving around and the next, she was like this.

That is Andi's shirt...he took it out of the basket and put it on by himself.

Train your child when they are young...

Just kidding...the bottle is empty and in case you can't see, the cap is on. She just likes to gnaw on anything that she can get her hands on, so I gave her the bottle and Andi thought it made a good picture.

Additionally, she was 16lbs 3oz and 26 inches long at her DR appt. Friday.

Chloe @ 6 months and Random Stuff

Here are the monthly Chloe pictures...wow, we can't believe that she is 6 months old already!! She is a super happy girl, with lots of smiles and giggles and is extremely ticklish. She is rolling everywhere, and is getting ready to crawl any day now. She is sitting up for a few moments without help, and is VERY vocal when she doesn't get her way or get fed as soon as she is hungry. To sum it up, she is a complete joy and makes us smile all the time.

She is getting ready to tip over, that is why you see my leg in the background...I was designated Chloe catcher.

She was having some issues laying in the truck, so we sat her up and she did much better.

Here are some of the issues; she was sliding down and didn't like it. Oh, and she has discovered her thumbs...

Big brother helping me...


And now the random stuff...Andi's car was hit in our parking lot the other night...fortunately, I heard it happen and rushed out to confront...a very nice lady who had insurance and called in the claim that night. The car is already in the shop being fixed and completely paid for by her insurance.

And, Mom was here this week, and brought out some pictures to show Ryan. We looked at this one, and almost couldn't recognize the couple in the photo compared with the most recent picture of us together at Christmas. I don't know the actual date of the photo, but I would have to say that it was taken before we got married. Wow, I still had some hair.