Rylan's Quotes

(February 7, 2011)
Looking at my growing belly...
Ry: "How much bigger will your tummy get?"
Me: "Probably a lot bigger. Maybe out to here..."
Ry: "You're gonna be like a giant."
Indeed! I'm sure I'll feel like one anyways!!

(February 11, 2011)
He was telling me that he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. The conversation went on and on about what it would be like and what he needed. At one point he said "fire trucks are red and sometimes they can be yellow. Mom, we need to get a car that is red."
Me: "So it can be your fire truck?"
Ry: "No, it would be your red car. I don't even know how to drive."

(February 14, 2011)
While making sugar cookies, I handed him the bowl of eggs to pour in.
Ry: "Do I have to be careful?"
Me: "Of course."
Ry: "Then maybe you better do this one."

(February 15, 2011)
I'm not sure where it came from but Rylan's been carrying around this big plastic eyeball. It's a blood shot eye and today he asked if it was a daddy's eye.
Me: "Why do you think it's a daddy's eye?"
Ry: "Because it has these red lines on it and daddy's eyes have these red lines, too."
What? I guess Kevin's been a bit tired lately? I'll have to look at his eyes when he gets home, cause I haven't noticed bloodshot eyes on him! **Update. Kevin does have bloodshot eyes!

(February 18, 2011)
Ry: "Why did you kiss my ear?"
Me: "I didn't. I kissed your forehead."
Ry: "It went to my ear and I liked it."

(February 21, 2011)
Ry: "I think I'm invisible in the dark. Am I?"
Me: Laughing "No"
Ry: "Yes, I am because you can't see me. Only feel me."

(February 22, 2011)
While looking at a picture of Minnie Mouse from Disneyland...
Ry: "Is that woman dressed up?"
He sounded so mature!

(February 25, 2011)
Ry: "What do mummies do?"
Me: Thinking he asked what 'mommies' do: "They love their kids and give them hugs and kisses."
Ry: "No, mummies."
Me: "Oh, I don't know what mummies do."
Ry: "I'll just ask dad. He'll know."
And mummies certainly are more up Kevin's alley than mine!

(February 28, 2011)
Kev: "Ry, where's the ipod?"
Ry: "It's not in my room."
So Kevin goes straight to Rylan's room and finds the ipod :)

February's This and That

I was enjoying breakfast one morning with some neighborhood girls and while I was away Kevin let the boys play with bubbles. He also let them play with play dough. (Both were done on the carpet which I don't usually allow, but hey, I wasn't the one in charge. I can't complain when I'm off having fun!) But I love how much kids like bubbles!!


One of Asher's favorite hiding spots. What a goof :)

Both my boys LOVE to play at the kitchen sink. If they're not helping me make dinner than they are playing at the sink. And they do a pretty good job of keeping the water IN the sink! But they do usually leave with wet shirts!

I love it when my boys get books out themselves to read. Asher was content for quite some time looking at this book while sitting at the picnic table.

I hope one day Rylan learns how to play the guitar. I think he's got a good start because he loves to sit down with daddy and strum away and sing songs. He's not interested right now in learning real chords, but I really think that since he has so much fun, one day he'll be a good guitar player :) (As a side note, that blanket on our bed is forever old. Kevin had it growing up. And we have a closet full of blankets so I wonder why we use that one? I guess because it keeps us warm!!)

February Birthday Party

It's time for our 3rd annual February Birthday Party! I was a major slacker and put off the party planning. Jen came to the rescue and made some invitations. Thank goodness or else I may have never sent any out! I finally got down to it and had fun with the little preparation I did. It was a fun night and I'm always happy to celebrate with some fabulous girls.
I put my camera right on the counter to help me remember to get a group shot...and then I forgot. Kevin and the boys came home just after 9:00 and he asked me about it. Glad he remembered, even though some of the girls (Allison, Corey, and Kristin) had already gone home to take care of sick kids or husbands. So we have a picture of the J's--Jana, Jen, Jessica, and Janell :)

We dined on salads (pasta, caesar, broccoli, and a super yummy BBQ Chicken salad that Jana brought) and had a brownie trifle for dessert. Then it was chatting and gifts and more chatting!
Tami and I put together this Happy Birthday sign we made using her Cricut. I love it! It will definitely be re-used in the future! And then I hung up some lanterns for another small decoration. Super easy but I think they're cute :)


I really do love any excuse for a girls night out. Thanks girls for celebrating!!

Big Boy Duties

Kevin loves that Rylan is growing up to be such a good helper. It was Rylan's idea to go shovel the driveway and he was so excited about it. He was out there with daddy quite some time, at least a half hour, before he his fingers started to get too cold.

"Don't bother me with pictures, I'm hard at work"!!

Now we'll wait and see what the summer time brings by way of mowing the lawn. Is 5 too young to handle a lawn mower? :)

Grrrrr...

Asher makes the best growling face ever! It usually comes out when we are playing monsters and he's trying to attack someone. Today it came out for Kevin while brushing teeth.

But at least it doesn't come out when he really is grumpy...it's just a play face and I love it!

Cold Park Fun

We were all itching to get out of the house and decided we'd head to the park. We weren't about to let a little bit of snow or cold get in our way. We wanted to have FUN!



Now we're looking forward to more park days! Is spring here yet?

Future All Stars?

Rylan's never been one who is way into sports. Yes, he enjoys kicking the soccer ball with daddy or playing tennis with daddy. (Tennis as in, being tossed a ball and whacking at it. Maybe more like baseball, except with a tennis racket.)
Asher is more into sports. He'll bring me a ball and ask if I want to play basketball or toss with him. Nevertheless, both my boys swing with their eyes squeezed shut!


Ok, so maybe, just maybe I took their picture at the wrong time. Were they blinking? Well, let's look at a few more pictures

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they swing with their eyes closed!

This is more like it. Asher's ready...
And he opens his eyes and smiles just in time for a cute picture. Who knows what Rylan is doing in the background. I'm pretty sure he learned that face from his dad...seriously!

And just to reminisce, here are a few pictures of Rylan from Dec of 2008.


Funny, right?!
Sports All Stars or not, I sure do love my boys!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Rylan had his Valentine's preschool party last Friday and he came home with loads of candy! He picked out the candy he didn't want and gave it to me and Asher. I'll take unwanted candy and Asher was more than happy :) When Ry was getting in bed Friday night he said he had a bump on his tongue and I immediately knew it was from his sugar overload. I'm sure he thought all that yummy candy was worth the sugar bump! Anyways, my super cool friend Janae made these Valentines and I had to copy her because I thought they were so cute. There are two more but I forgot to take pictures before Rylan went to school and these were just two leftovers. Aren't they cute? I had to hurry and glue some of the googly eyes back on before school so I hope they all stayed on!

I had my 24 week checkup today. All is well. I'm loving being pregnant. My feelings of excitement for another boy definitely now outweigh by moments of disappointment. I'll get a girl one day, gosh darn it :) My boys have been having so much fun together lately that it makes me excited to stick another boy in there and add even more fun :) Before my appointment Rylan asked if he would be able to see the baby. I told him no, but we would be able to hear his heartbeat. So he asked if the baby was a girl. No, we already know it's a boy. To which Ry replied "I haven't seen it yet so I can still think it's a girl."

Rylan and I made sugar cookies today. Somehow I didn't have any red food coloring so we made them green instead. Nice and springy--I love it!

I love my hubby. He is the best Valentine I could ever hope for. And I love my two little Valentines, too. They are my joy. I feel so blessed to have this little, growing family :)

Doyle FHE

We always take our camera to our FHE gatherings but we don't always take pictures. Today we got a couple of Asher.

Really enjoying his dessert!

Ash and Ash!
He had loads of fun with Ashley and her phone

Bowling

For part of my birthday fun I wanted to go bowling. We took the boys to a little bowling alley in Payson and had a good time! I'm usually at my best while pregnant and, even though I did win, it wasn't the greatest of games (and we even had bumpers for Rylan's sake. Well, obviously for our sake as well!) Kevin tries to blame his score on the fact that he let Asher bowl for some of his turns :)

Ry doin' the Happy Dance! I just love this picture :)

I really do like bowling and Rylan often asks to go. I think we need to go again soon!!

My Birthday :)

I'm putting less and less into my birthday celebration each year. Maybe when I turn 35 I'll pick it up again! This year Kevin took the day off so I could read without interruption. I occasionally get this panicked, anxious feeling when I have so many books I want to read and not enough time. That's when I dream about a weekend vacation locked up in a cabin with several stacks of books and nothing else to do. Sounds nice, right?! So, no weekend in a cabin, but a day at my own home.
The morning of my birthday Rylan said he was too sick to go to preschool. Early that morning he came into our room dry heaving and the day before he said his throat was hurting a little. After inspecting his throat I suspected strep and made a doctor's appointment. So Ry stayed home with Kev while Asher and I headed to the gym.
While we were at the gym Kevin and Ry had decorated. Two Happy Birthday signs, leftover balloons (from a couple different things), flags, and a shoelace. Beautiful!! I got to play 'Hot/Cold' to find my birthday present. It was hidden behind Rylan's bed, under the covers. I was excited to open a Flip Video camera--yea! And then Rylan asked "Did you get me a present, mom?"

After lunch I left to go to Rod Works. I went there last year on my birthday, too! I got a few cute things I was excited about and then headed home.
Asher was napping and Kevin agreed to take Ry to the doc. Reading time! (Is it a little bit nerdy I get so excited for quiet reading time??!!) I finished the book 'Pathfinder' by Orson Scott Card--really good! And then I started 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet' which is what we're reading for book group. I only got a few pages into it though before it was time to straighten up and get ready. Kevin had asked my mom to come babysit while we went to a movie. There really wasn't a movie on I was way excited about so I told my mom just to come by later so Kev and I could go to dinner.
Kevin and Rylan got home from the doctor. It was strep. Last time Ry had strep he was put on amoxycillin and we had to fight him every time it was time to take his medicine (twice a day for 10 days). This time I asked Kev to ask if there was a shot they could give him instead. Kevin called from the doc's office and said yes, there was a shot, but Ry did not want it and said he would take the medicine. NO!! I said. Make him take the shot. I know Kev felt horrible, seeing Ry with those big tears, not wanting a shot, but I also know the one time shot was the better way to go. They stopped at Wendy's on the way home to get Ry a frosty. Kevin ordered a small and Ry asked why he got such a big ice cream. He ate two bites and was done.
So, my mom came over, Rylan was asleep on the couch, and Asher was thrilled to have grandma to play with. Kevin and I left for Red Robin--I love my free birthday burger :) It really was nice to sit there with my hubby and have a conversation and enjoy our food. We should do it more often!
Kevin had mentioned that he was feeling bad that he didn't make me a birthday cake. I had even stopped at the grocery store earlier that day to buy stuff for a Strawberry Danish Dessert Cake. So, to ease his guilt, I told him he could buy me a cupcake from Sweet Tooth Fairy. Even though I was completely stuffed from dinner, I knew it would be yummy the next day :)
We got home and Kev put the kids to bed while I got to chat with my mom. After she left I made Kevin play Rummikub with me while we watched tv.
It really was a nice day and I'm happy with the way the day turned out :)

Dino Museum

I wonder when I'll stop taking pictures while at the Dinosaur Museum?! And the pictures are always the same, too:
Playing in the sand (either at the erosion table or digging for bones)

Sitting on this little dinosaur (where I can never get Ry and the twins to sit still long enough for them all to be looking at the camera)


And with the giant shark---"ahhhh he's gonna eat you!!" It never gets old :)

My Boys

Things I'm loving about my boys...
The way Rylan holds up three fingers--his index, middle, and pinky are up and he holds down his ring finger. He's always done this and I've always loved it. Kevin's tried to teach Rylan the 'real' way to hold up three fingers, but I always tell him to stop cause I don't want it to change :)

Ry's loving preschool. Somedays he'll get in the car, I'll ask how preschool was and responds "It was great!" Of course when I ask what he did or what they learned about he says he doesn't remember. But at least I know he had a good time!

Asher no longer wants to sit in the booster seat at the dining room table. He wants a big chair. And instead of having someone help him into his chair he finds the step stool, pushes it over to his chair and climbs up. And then he uses it to get down, too. It's actually quite nice for me!

Lists and Charts

Kev takes the car to work on Thursdays so that means the boys and I stay home all day. Sometimes I'm really motivated and I make a big list of things to clean--usually things I didn't do earlier in the week. As I was making my list Rylan said he needed to make a list, too. He told me what to write on his list:

1) Make a train city
2) Exercise
3) Play in the snow with Asher

(And, yes, 'exercise' was on my list, too. The boys love to bounce around me, run around, and climb all over me while I'm trying to do my pilates or whatever. Rylan asks repeatedly for me to watch what he's doing and asks "Is this exercise?" whether it's kicking his feet or trying a pushing or spinning in circles. Any type of movement is encouraged around here!)

So Rylan got busy with his list and immediately started working on the train city. Trees, people, tracks, and signs were all set up. Once I popped in my dvd he told Asher "I have to go exercise now" and they both joined me. Afterwards he asked if they could go outside and chop up the snow. They grabbed their coats and shoes, shovels and rakes, and started whacking at the snow. Rylan made a really cool maze out there. It was only ten o'clock and he was already done with all three things on his list. I had marked off one thing on my list (exercise)!!

Kevin had promised Rylan his very own itouch if he brushed his teeth with big boy toothpaste morning and night, without crying, for 30 days in a row. I was shocked, but I also felt that desperate! Kevin confessed later that he knew Rylan wouldn't be able to do it so he felt at ease to make a big promise. (Is that bad to have little faith in your son? But trust me, if you knew Rylan and big boy toothpaste you might understand. If we told him he could get an itouch if he ate his dinner for 30 days in a row, then I know we'd for sure he'd be sitting here by me playing his very own itouch.) Today the 30 days are up so we took his sticker chart, congratulated him, and headed to Toys R Us. He asked a few times throughout the month if he was going to get an itouch and we always told him 'no'. So he wasn't too disappointed to pick out a new toy! (I have to say that it is easier to brush Rylan's teeth. He still procrastinates and gags and won't do it on his own, but it's much better than the beginning of the month! Yea!)

At Toys R Us the boys always head straight for the trains. Silly. They play with our trains all day and then want to play with trains at the store. Rylan really wanted a portable train track and train carrier but Kevin felt it was worthless and we were determined to talk him into something else. He'd been wanting a big car transporter so I knew he'd be happy with that. Once we found one (and secretly set aside the train carrier) he was more than pleased and ready to go home to play.

Yeah for Rylan and clean teeth!!

Kangaroo Zoo

Last weekend little two year old Abbi celebrated her birthday at Kangaroo Zoo and we were lucky enough to join her!

Rylan jumped right in to enjoy the less intimidating slides and bounce houses. He ran around with Kade and Kaleb for nearly two hours having a ball. I didn't get many pictures of Ry because he was running all over the place and I was mostly watching Asher who took some time to warm up. He wanted me to place him on the top of a slide so he could slide down. He followed Brooklyn around for awhile and he also had grandpa taking him around to play. He eventually decided this place was fun after all and after the two hours, didn't want to leave! In fact, Rylan was ready to go eat so he rode with grandpa and grandma while Kev and I stayed back and let Asher play for 10 more minutes. He didn't care that his cousins were gone--he was having too much fun!

Here's grandpa tossing Asher onto the snail's back. As you can guess, Asher tipped over backwards and fell off that snail. Being Asher, he stood right up with a grin on his face, ready to try again!

Asher and Gavin both had lots of fun in this spot. They'd lean down on that hump (part of a sea monster) and as they'd try to stand up the hump would pop right back up and toss them backwards. They laughed and laughed and did it over and over again. And it made me laugh every time, too!

While the kids ran around having fun, Kevin kicked his feet up to chat with the women :) Actually, he and my dad both sat in their cars listening to the end of the BYU basketball game and ended up being a bit down the rest of the afternoon because of the loss. So I guess Kevin was looking for some good gossip to cheer him up!

We went over to Deborah's house for some yummy sandwiches, chips, dip, fruit, and of course--birthday cake! It's always cute to see little kids trying to blow out their candles and Abbi was no exception!! It was a great afternoon and evening. Thanks for the party Abbi! :)

Circus!

Kevin came home from work one day last week with some passes to the circus for the following Wednesday. We kinda put them aside and didn't talk about it. Wednesday morning he pulled them out and set them on the bed. We still hadn't talked about if we wanted to go. So later that afternoon we (as in, I made Kevin make the decision) decided to go ahead and go...something fun to do. It was in South Jordan so the plan was for me and the boys to pick up Kev from work, we'd grab some dinner, and then go see some clowns and acrobats.
Zupas was close to the circus and we were glad! A yummy dinner started the night out just right. (It was definitely better than the Wendy's Kevin suggested. Zupas over Wendy's any day!!)
We showed up at the circus with plenty of time to grab a seat and wander down below to see the ponies, llama, and elephant. As we walked inside I heard someone say "Heeeyyyyy" and I turned around to see Lily, Oakley, and Ashley! What a surprise! They were there with Kim who was buying their tickets so we told them we'd save them a seat!
Rylan really wanted to ride the ponies. We gave in and the boys loved it! Asher was full of smiles and giggles. Rylan was himself, secretly enjoying the pony ride but not letting it show on his face! Afterwards I had to ask him several times if he enjoyed it, to just make sure. He always said "Yes, it was fun!"


The circus itself was a little dull. Kevin said "It's like some guy who happened to have an elephant and 5 Mexican friends." I guess I should say it was quite a simple circus. Some of it was quite enjoyable, like the "Wheel of Destiny" and the motorcycles driving inside the big ball. The high wire guys were good enough. I wanted to see more clowns. There was one clown. "Moosic?" he'd yell. We'd cheer and he'd turn on some music. Then someone would make him turn it off and he'd again yell "Moosic?". It went on and on. The stars of the show were the elephants for sure!! Lily cheered and clapped throughout the entire show and it was nice seeing someone so excited! (Our boys got a bit bored and tired.)

We got in our car after 10:00pm where Rylan zonked out right away. Asher, of course, was awake the entire ride home but went right to sleep when I got him in his bed.

It sure is nice to get out and do something fun with our boys :)