The BEST thing EVER!

Should've Majored in Civil Engineering

No one told me that I would have to be able to create cities, roads, train tracks and all that stuff when you have a boy! Isn't that something they are born with? (If so...why does Mom have to help build everything?)

(Heh, not bad if I do say so myself! Maybe I should have gone into Civil Engineering instead of Computer Science! OK...maybe not!)

PS - Dad, notice in the bottom right corner...this city has a helipad AND it's own little helicopter! (You might have to click the picture to see it close up.)

Christmas Recap - Finally!

Oh...and here's the proof that all that snow was gone Christmas morning! What a bummer that was!

Enjoy this slide show - there are some cute pictures of the kids. (By the way, the jumpy thingy? I blew MOST of it up with my own hot air! If you know anything about me, you know I can barely blow up balloons without gagging - I must love these kids to suffer through blowing up their toy! Not happening again...we're getting a new air pump!)

Snow Pictures - a little late!

So I'm trying to catch up with stuff and realized that I hadn't posted these cute snow pictures. Good thing I took them, because Christmas morning, we woke up and it was all gone! The rain had washed it away overnight!



Here you go - snow cuties!

Please Don't Grow Up!

I just can't get over Megan. She is the most adorable little thing, there are so many things that are perfect about her right now that I don't want her to grow up! This is just a small list, but I don't want to forget the things that I love so much about her!

* I love her little curls. Now that she finally has some hair, it's starting to curl all over. Hopefully that will stay once she gets it cut!

* I love how she grabs Ryan's cars and runs off with them laughing.

* I love her laugh!

* I love how she sings ALL the time and whenever there's music playing, she's dancing!

* I love how she still signs even though she's learning the words now. There's nothing like seeing her say "Mommy" while signing it at the same time.

* I love how she looks so pretty in pink!

* I love how she will pick something up - anything really - and just carry it around with her all day!

* I love how she's so cute with her dolls. She loves to hug them and feed them.

* I love how she will ask Ryan to show her "Mana Mana" on YouTube. And then run out 10+ times to tell us that it's playing!

* I love that she's a snuggle bug and that she blows kisses when she signs "thank you."

* I love how when it's time for Family Prayer, she comes over, kneels down, folds her arms, and THEN says "SHhhhhhh..." It just makes my heart melt each time!

* I love how she's a little shadow to Ryan and is learning so fast!

* I love how she repeats things we say so much and is trying to learn new words.

* I love how she loves her shoes! She'll wear two different ones all day long, and if you try to change them, she complains! Her fashion sense is just perfect! :)

* I love how she's started to have fun dressing up. She loves to put on glasses or hats and will keep them on for a while now. She's so pleased with herself and struts around with something new on!

* I love her smile, her squishy thighs, her belly, and toes. She's all girl, and all sweet!

* I love how she climbs up to play the piano every chance she gets.

I don't want her to grow up - she's just perfect right now. Can you tell that I'm in love? :) (Yes, I still love my son, even though he's 3 and a terror right now...)

Just so it's recorded, at her 18-month appointment, Megan weighed 24 pounds 1 ounce and was 32 inches tall. Once again...perfect!

It's Doing Something Daddy

So I know that Ryan will probably die of embarrassment if he ever reads this 10 years from now, but it's too funny not to record.

Overheard after dinner...

Dad: Ryan, what's going on? Keep your hands out of your pants.

Ryan: I can't Daddy.

Dad: Why not? Is something wrong?

Ryan: My weenie is doing something Daddy.

Dad: Doing something? What's it doing?

Ryan: It's moving.

(Pause)

Mom: (Bites lip to keep from laughing out loud)

Dad: Get blogging Mommy...

Music Girl

While I'm getting all the stuff ready to post for a Christmas recap - enjoy this short video. It was taken by a friend at a sing-along party earlier this week. Megan is hysterical!



Thanks for sharing it Lisa! :)

Merry Christmas!

Just the kids in their new Christmas PJ's - at least we got a FEW good pictures!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Ornaments...and other Traditions

When I was about 12 or 13, I had a Young Women's leader who told us about a tradition that she and her husband started together when they got married. It's one that I never forgot and all these years later Ric and I have done since we've been together.

Each year, we talk about something significant that happened in our lives together and choose an ornament to represent that event. Would you believe that we now have 9 different ornaments? (Even though we met in 1999, we didn't start doing this until we put up our first tree together in 2000.)

So now, for the record, here are all the ornaments and their stories, for your Christmas Eve reading enjoyment. (Hopefully Blogger will display all the pictures with their comments, if not, I think you'll be able to figure it out!)



2000
It all began this year. Ric and I moved in together and put up our first Christmas Tree. So here's the ornament to match!




2001
We took a trip to Seattle and stayed with my Dad for a week or so. We found this ornament while doing some sight-seeing after taking a ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. It was a fun trip, so this was our official annual ornament. (By the way, on that ferry ride, we actually ran into a roommate of mine from college - small world!)



2002
For obvious reasons, we chose a "romantic" ornament this year because we were married in October! Rhonda, my good friend and roommate from college, gave Ric and I this ornament and it became our official 2002 ornament.



2003
We didn't do anything REALLY huge this year. It was our first full year being married and figuring out the whole "husband and wife" thing. My "bestest friend evah" Shelly sent this ornament as a gift and it was a perfect representation of our first married year together.



2004
We bought a house in 2004 and started to make it into our home. We've really loved it here since. Our neighborhood and neighbors are all fantastic, and you can't beat the fact that we're only a 10 minute walk to the beach! (A bonus we didn't even know about until after we moved in!)



2005
Ryan was born on December 1st this year. It was a no-brainer to get a baby's first Christmas ornament. We actually received this one from my sister, Andrea as a gift and decided that it was the official ornament this year.



2006
On March 31st, 2006, Ric and I were sealed together with Ryan as an Eternal Family in the Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork, Utah. This was the most important event of the year, and our lives together so far. We found this gorgeous ornament to represent that event, and I've loved to hang it in a special place every year since.



2007
This year was an easy one - Megan was born in June. I remember that it was hard to find a Baby's First Christmas ornament that I really liked, so this one was what I chose because we could put Meg's picture inside of it. There she is! Our little "Meg-oo"


2008
You aren't seeing things, this year, our ornament is Ryan's "Retired" RedSox Binky. It's the year of the "B" - and if you've been keeping up with us this year, you'll know that many posts were dedicated to that "B"! Not only does it represent a HUGE milestone in the kids life (and ours) when they gave them up, BUT, it also represents the fact that Ryan went to his first PawSox game with Daddy.

Hmmm...if 2008 was the year of the "B", then maybe 2009 will be the year of the potty chair! I don't think that the Elmo potty seat will fit on the tree though! Maybe we should hope for a more "appropriate" event in our lives, what do you think? hehe


So there you have it - Our Christmas Ornament Tradition. This year, we're also adding something new...Chinese food for Christmas Dinner! :) Can't wait! (No more cooking all day, waiting for others to cook, we're just ordering in and enjoying dinner with chopsticks!)

What are your Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Festivus, or whatever!) Traditions? Are you planning to start any of your own this year?

What's Wrong - Take II

Since it was a little tricky to see what was wrong with the first picture...here's a closeup.

Can you believe that this kid INSISTED that he have a popsicle while he was outside AND while it was snowing?

(Yep - Dad gave in on that one. Mom would have said otherwise...though it did create a great blog update!)

Overheard tonight... (a.k.a. JC.com)

Mom: (Fixing dinner and singing while Christmas Music Plays) ...the Little Lord Jesus lays down His sweet head...

Ryan: No Mom! It's Jesus Christ DOT COM!

(This kid spends TOO much time on the Internet!)

Wrapping up the night shift for Christmas 2009 - Oops 2008!

It's been an interesting 3 weeks while on the night shift for work. This has probably been the easiest job I've had to cover in all my years of working with the Transportation and Networks office during the Christmas Priority Mail operation. Up until December 1st, I had been told that I wasn't going to be needed this year and had resigned myself to working my normal hours and position at the Cranston RI 02910 office. That was until I checked m work email and found out that I had been drafted by my friends at the Transportation and Networks office in the main plant in Providence.

Instead of working in one central facility (Mansfield MA) which was about 1 hour away from home, I was assigned to cover 3 separate and smaller facilities that replaced the larger one due to smaller expected mail volumes and cost saving steps taken this season. I've spent most of my time between the North Kingstown and Warwick hubs along with coordinating with the Taunton MA hub. The job has been the same as far as paperwork, observations, emergencies but the overall responsibilities and demands of the position (stress / total hours worked) are much easier to deal with this season. The majority of the mail and hours occurred between 12 noon and 9pm, I was home almost every night by 9pm; which made Marni and the kids happy that I wasn't out until some awful hour of the night in Mansfield MA driving home half-asleep.

I report back to my normal job in Cranston on Friday the 26th from 9-5 like before. Vacation coming up in February when the in-laws come for a visit.

Ric

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Just taken moments ago...

Leave a comment if you can figure it out!

(It's really not THAT hard, but funny! And no...it's not the fact that Ryan is standing in the sled and not wearing gloves!)

Need Sleep?

How would it be to just lay down wherever you are and sleep? Those were the days! :)

SNOW! Lots of IT!

So on Thursday, while the sun was still shining, all schools announced that they were closing on Friday. Businesses decided to send their employees home early in anticipation of another snow fiasco like last year. Parking bans were in effect at 9:00 AM, HOURS before anything started happening! Can you say "overkill?"

That's the way we do it here in Li'l Rhody! :) At least it's entertaining to watch!

The snow started to fall around 2:00 pm - and around 3:30 it was pretty heavy. By the time 8:00 rolled around, we had about 10 inches on the ground! YEP - we were DUMPED on! Luckily, it wasn't all that heavy, because I was out there shoveling! (Much heavier this morning though! Glad I did most of it last night! And if you're wondering...I actually like shoveling, Ric had worked all day and I was glad to have a "break" from the kids!)

I took these pictures this morning - things are plowed, we've got the ruler in the snow keeping the tally, and I'm sure the kids will be outside later playing around in it. Right now, my toes are frozen and I'm getting ready to sit by the fire. (Good thing we brought the wood in from outside!)

Nursery Girl!

Yippeeee! Megan is 18 months old now...and that means she's in the Nursery at Church! (Mom and Dad do the happy dance.)

Actually, she's been going in there the past few weeks and has adjusted very well. In fact, if you remember Ryan's LONG-DRAWN-OUT experience, Megan hasn't shed one tear yet! Ryan has been splitting his time between Primary (sharing/singing time only) and Nursery and didn't want to go back to Nursery today, he wanted to stay in Primary!

WOW, I'm going to have a "Sunbeam" in a few weeks - time sure flies by!

Overheard during a diaper change...

No, Ryan has not been potty trained yet. In fact, we think we figured out that he just doesn't want to stop playing long enough to go! (At least he's not saying that he's scared of the potty anymore!)

Yesterday, Ryan climbed up on to the changing table (I know...it's TIME when he can climb up himself!) and started to lay down the opposite way he always does.

Here's what was over heard...

Mom: Ryan, turn around so I can change you.

Ryan: I want to lay this way.

Mom: Well, I'm right-handed, so you need to turn around.

Ryan turns around...

Ryan: Then Daddy must be wrong-handed.

HUH? Last I checked, Daddy isn't wrong-handed OR left-handed! At least he knows his opposites!

A Banana on the Keys?

Apparently, I'm a slave driver when it comes to practicing the piano. Megan thinks she needs to bring along a snack! :)

(No...she's really not playing, just "pounding" and singing too! You should hear her rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!")

Ric headed for the night shift starting 12/08

To my surprise, I received an email at work that I had been drafted for 12/08 through Christmas to work on the night shift as a Transportation Specialist and cover for someone that is out on extended sick leave. I accepted the offer with a little persuasion from Marni and I'll be working the 15:00 to 24:00 shift with OT on Saturdays and Sundays off until Christmas.  Instead of my usual trip and assignment in Mansfield (the USPS didn't need a building this year due to a 50% reduction in projected mail volumes), I will be working in the Providence Main Post Office pictured above.

Ric

Of course I'm a little biased...

...but aren't these the most gorgeous kids you've EVER seen? :)

Watch your mailboxes Aunties, Uncles, Gramma's and Grandpa's! Your copies are soon on the way!

Overheard in the office...

Ryan: (Banging on the empty plastic trash can he turned upside down)

Mom: Ryan will you stop banging please?

Ryan: I'm not bangin', I'm drummin'!

(Hmmm...wonder if that's why MY mom thought all those years when I was "practicing" my drumming! hehe)

Does your Vacuum Lose Suction?

No...this isn't a commercial for the Dyson Vacuum - save your $400 and just check for THESE little guys in the hose! (Lovingly placed by some "random" 3 year-old!)

Ours works much better now...thanks for asking!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

I can't believe he made it! Ryan turned THREE YEARS OLD yesterday! (Yep - just a little late putting up the pictures!) Both Ric and I had our doubts about it, but somehow he woke up yesterday morning with a smile on his face - AND the decision to wear his PJ's all day. Fine with me - it was HIS birthday!

(OK, we have "PJ Days" more than just birthdays - but no one knows but you!)

Just to PROVE how smart he is now, he actually typed his name into a Lego game he was playing online! I watched him do it - no prompting for the letters or anything.


After I got home from school with balloons and Ric got home from work with pizza, we had a little party for Ryan with some friends.

Ryan had fun opening presents - especially the Mickey Mouse bowling set (that Mom picked up for only $5 on a whim at Walgreens! Who knew that the cheapest present would be the most loved?) In fact, both Megan and Ryan love it so much they've fought over who plays with it already!

GiGi made the cake - it matched perfectly with his PJ's! (No...we didn't plan that one!) We had to use a candle from last year's cake (Nemo) since we forgot to get candles. *sigh*

It was a lot of fun and chaos, but Ryan had a special day!

Happy Birthday Ryan! Dad and Mom LOVE YOU very much! We're so proud of you and can't wait to see what being 3 years-old means! :)

ps - just had to throw in the cute picture of Megan - she loved wearing Ryan's birthday crown, which is a Burger King "knock off!"